As a busy adult, fitting in school can be tricky, but if you want to earn a substance abuse counselor degree or credential, Sober College School of Addiction Studies makes it easy. We offer online education for anyone wishing to earn their Certified Addiction and Drug Counselor (CADC) credential and our program can be completed in just six months. Here’s a quick look at our program.
CCAPP-Approved & NAADAC-Approved Curriculum
There are several types of addiction counselors or addiction specialists, and one of the most common options is to earn that aforementioned CADC certification, which doesn’t require a “substance abuse counselor degree.” Some counselors will have a college degree, and some will not, but to earn your CADC credential, you don’t actually need to have completed a college degree. You only need a high school diploma or the equivalent.
At Sober College, we can provide students the coursework needed to complete the 315 hours of education that are required for the CADC credential. This includes six online classes, which range in topics from Case Management to Law & Ethics.
Our curriculum is approved both by the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP) as well as the NAADAC, which is the national association for addiction professionals. Both of these groups are credentialing organizations and to earn a credential approved by either organization, you must complete educational coursework approved by these organizations or the organization in your state.
For our California students, we have earned CCAPP approval, but for students in other states, the NAADAC-approval means that Sober College’s curriculum should be accepted by your state’s credentialing organization. We also have IC&RC reciprocity in most states. IC&RC is the organization that provides the testing component of your CADC credential requirements. In general, we can provide coursework for students in just about every state except for Alaska, Montana and North Dakota.
Practicum Support
In addition to the 315 educational units required to earn your CADC credential, you must complete 255 hours of practicum experience. As you work toward earning your substance abuse counselor degree credential, this practicum will be a time when you start to use the knowledge you’ve gained in a real-life setting.
You will be working with the supervision and support of a Sober College instructor as well as working under an experienced supervisor at either an in-patient or outpatient facility. The team at Sober College can help you find suitable practicum experiences, which basically could be considered as internships.
In order to earn your credential, you also must pass the IC&RC Alcohol and Drug Counselor exam. While your coursework will include all of the information that will appear on the exam, Sober College offers IC&RC test prep. This is a rigorous exam, and our test prep materials can increase your chances of earning a passing score.
Online & Self-Paced Options
For the last year or so, just about every student has been working online. However, at Sober College of Addiction Studies, we’ve been providing quality online education for years and our system, Moodle, is time-tested and user-friendly, making it easy for our students to learn and access professors whenever needed. We also offer weekly sessions where students and professors can discuss what they’ve learned and ask questions.
We offer two online educational options to help you earn your substance abuse counselor degree/credential. We have our traditional online program, which includes one class per month for six months, and we also offer a self-paced program. With this second option, you can complete your coursework in as little as three months, but you also have the option of taking up to 18 months to complete our coursework. This provides the ultimate level of flexibility for our students.
Degrees Vs. Credentials
At Sober College, we can help you quickly complete the educational requirements for your CADC credential. This requires no college degree, and some people get started with their credentials and eventually continue with their education to earn a bachelor’s degree or even a master’s degree.
In general, the decision to pursue a substance abuse counselor degree, such as a degree in behavioral science, psychology or some type of allied mental health profession, is one that people might decide to make a few years down the line. If you want to get started quickly in the addiction counseling field, earning your substance abuse counselor certification and becoming a CADC is your best option.
Once you have earned your CADC-I or CADC-II credential and have gained experience as an addiction specialist, you may wish to earn credentials such as a CADC-III or as a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LAADC).
A CADC-III is a type of counselor that has earned their bachelor’s degree. If you already have earned your bachelor’s degree before beginning a CADC credential program, you will want to work toward the goal of becoming a CADC-III rather than a CADC-II or CADC-I, neither of which requires a college degree. Sober College offers a curriculum that is approved for anyone earning their CADC-I, CADC-II or CADC-III credentials, as the educational requirements are the same for all three credential levels.
A LAADC is, as the name suggests, a more advanced type of alcohol and drug counselor. LAADCs often work toward the goal of becoming a supervisor, and to become a LAADC, you must have completed a master’s degree in behavioral science or an allied mental health profession. Typically, LAADCs make higher salaries than CADCs, but, of course, one must factor in the substantial investment in education required to earn a master’s degree.
In the end, both of these professionals, CADCs and LAADCs, are out there helping people heal every day on the job. Whether you opt to earn a substance abuse counselor degree or prefer to jumpstart your new career with a CADC credential, this is a rewarding and meaningful job at all levels. If you would like to learn more about Sober College and how we can help you earn your CADC credential, simply click on the Get Started tab at the top of this page.
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