Custom AI Assistant: Build Your Personal SUD Counseling Reference System

What This Builds

Instead of starting every Claude conversation from scratch — re-explaining your role, your documentation format, your facility's requirements — you'll build a persistent Claude Project that already knows all of that. Every conversation starts with a fully configured assistant that understands SUD counseling, your note format, your most common client presentations, and your clinical framework. It becomes the documentation and clinical reference tool that feels like it was built specifically for you.

Prerequisites

• {{tool:Claude.plan}} subscription ({{tool:Claude.price}}) — Projects require a paid plan
• Comfortable using Claude for basic drafting and Q&A (Level 3)
• Your facility's progress note format and treatment plan template (any format)
• 1–2 hours to build; 10 minutes per week to maintain

The Concept

A Claude Project is like a new hire who has already read everything in your employee manual — they know your documentation format, your clinical population, your treatment philosophy, and your most common tasks. Every time you start a new conversation inside the Project, they start with that context already loaded. You never have to re-explain who you are or what format you need.

Think of it this way: right now, every time you open Claude, it's a new person on their first day. A Project is the same person every day, who has been your clinical assistant for months.

Build It Step by Step

Part 1: Create the Project and write your system instructions

1. Log in to claude.ai with your Pro account
2. In the left sidebar, click Projects → New Project
3. Name it: "SUD Counseling Assistant"
4. Click Project instructions or System prompt (the pencil icon or settings gear)
5. Write your system instructions — this is the most important step. Copy and customize this template:

You are a clinical documentation and research assistant for a licensed substance abuse counselor.

ROLE: I work at an [outpatient / IOP / residential] treatment facility. My caseload includes adults with substance use disorders — primarily [your common substances, e.g., opioid, alcohol, stimulant]. Many clients have co-occurring mental health issues, housing instability, and/or justice involvement.

DOCUMENTATION FORMAT: I write progress notes in [DAP / SOAP / BIRP] format. My treatment plans use ASAM criteria for level-of-care justification. My facility uses [EHR name] but I write drafts outside the EHR.

HOW I USE YOU:
- Draft progress notes from my voice memo summaries or bullet-point notes
- Write treatment plan goals, objectives, and interventions
- Draft court letters and probation correspondence
- Create psychoeducation handouts and group session plans
- Summarize clinical research and explain evidence-based practices
- Help me prepare for supervision and case review meetings

CLINICAL APPROACH: [Trauma-informed / Motivational Interviewing / CBT-based / 12-Step facilitated] — or describe your general approach

PRIVACY: I will only share deidentified clinical information (no client names, DOBs, or record numbers). You should never prompt me for identifying information.

DEFAULT BEHAVIOR: Be direct and practical. Give me clinical language I can use or adapt immediately. If I ask for a draft, give me the draft — don't ask clarifying questions unless something essential is missing. Length should match the task: concise for short tasks, comprehensive for summaries and full documents.

1. Click Save — these instructions are now active for every conversation in this Project

What you should see: Your Project instructions are saved and visible in the Project settings.

Part 2: Load reference documents

This is what makes the Project genuinely powerful — Claude can reference actual documents from your practice.

1. In your Project, click Add content or Upload files
2. Upload or paste these documents (all deidentified / non-PHI):

High-value documents to include:

• Your facility's progress note format (copy the blank template)
• Your facility's treatment plan format (blank template)
• ASAM Level of Care descriptions (copy from ASAM.org or your training materials)
• Your most common 5–10 DSM-5 substance use disorder diagnostic criteria (copy relevant sections)
• Your standard court letter format
• Any clinical policy documents you reference frequently

1. For each document, give it a clear name so Claude can reference it: "Progress Note Format," "ASAM Level Descriptions," "DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorder Criteria"

What you should see: Your Project now has a knowledge base it draws from in every conversation.

Part 3: Test and refine

Start your first conversation inside the Project:

1. Click New conversation inside your SUD Counseling Assistant Project
2. Type: "What progress note format do I use and what does a good DAP note look like for a session focused on relapse prevention?"
3. Claude should answer based on your uploaded format — not a generic answer

Test a few more scenarios:

• "Draft a court letter for a client who has attended 10 of 12 sessions"
• "Write a SMART goal for a client with opioid use disorder and employment instability"
• "What are the ASAM Level 2.1 criteria?"

If any answer doesn't match your documentation standards, update your system instructions to be more specific.

Real Example: A Full Session Using Your Project

Setup: You've loaded your DAP note format, ASAM criteria summary, and standard court letter template.

Input — Monday morning check-in: "I have three tasks: (1) Draft a DAP note from this summary: client reported weekend urge to use, identified work stress as trigger, practiced breathing exercise, no safety concerns, plan to call sponsor if urges recur. Goal 2 addressed. (2) Draft a progress update court letter confirming 8 of 8 session attendance. (3) What's the criteria for stepping down from Level 2.1 to Level 1?"

Output:

1. A formatted DAP note matching your facility's template
2. A complete court letter in your standard format
3. A clear ASAM criteria explanation

Time saved: 45–60 minutes of drafting reduced to 5 minutes of review-and-sign.

What to Do When It Breaks

• Claude ignores your note format → Re-state the format in your question: "Using my DAP format, draft a note for..."
• Responses are too generic → Add more specificity to your system instructions about your clinical population and documentation standards
• Documents aren't being referenced → Reload the document in Project knowledge; very long documents sometimes need to be broken into sections
• Context gets confused over a long conversation → Start a new conversation (Projects reload your instructions fresh each time)

Variations

• Simpler version: Skip the document uploads and just use the system instructions — you'll still save significant time over starting fresh each conversation
• Extended version: Add a separate section of your instructions with your top 20 most common clinical phrases and sentence starters — Claude will use your actual vocabulary

What to Do Next

• This week: Start with just system instructions — upload your note format and write 5 notes from it
• This month: Gradually add your reference documents; rate each conversation on how much editing you needed to do
• Advanced: Create a second Project specifically for group content (session plans, handouts, curriculum) to keep documentation and content work organized separately

Advanced guide for Substance Abuse Counselor professionals. Claude Pro Projects require a paid subscription. No PHI should be included in any Claude Project — use deidentified content only unless your facility has a signed BAA.