If you live in California and are interested in a career as an addiction counselor, the first step will be finding a CCAPP-approved educational provider. At Sober College of Addiction Studies, we can provide you with a CCAPP-approved curriculum, so let’s take a quick look at the CCAPP and our program.
What Is The CCAPP?
The California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals is an organization that provides credentials for several different types of addiction professionals. This includes a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC), which is one of the most common types of addiction counselors and the type of counselor for which Sober College can provide you with the required educational units.
CCAPP also supports and advocates for addiction professionals as well as for those suffering from addiction. Substance abuse counselors can join CCAPP and with your membership, you support their advocacy efforts as well as receive a subscription to Counselor Magazine and the CCAPP Weekly Dispatch, both of which provide counselors with a plethora of helpful information.
Additionally, you receive a discount to the annual CCAPP conference. This conference provides you with many opportunities to earn Continuing Education (CE) units, a certain amount of which are required in order to renew your credential. CCAPP members also are eligible for group rates for health, dental and vision insurance as well as professional liability insurance.
Perhaps most importantly, CCAPP membership includes substantial discounts on your credential. With membership, you’ll save 80% off a standard renewal of your credential and 70% off of advancement certifications. You can join the CCAPP as a student, and it can be wise to consider this option.
Our CCAP-Approved Education
The first step toward earning your CADC credential is to complete your 315 hours of approved education and 255 hours of supervised work experience, also known as a field practicum.
At Sober College, we can help you with both of these steps. We offer eight courses, including:
- SCSAS 101: Introduction & Overview of Drug and Alcohol Addiction
- SCSAS 102: Physiology & Pharmacology of Alcohol and Other Drugs
- SCSAS 103: Law & Ethics
- SCSAS 104: Case Management
- SCSAS 105: Individual, Group & Family Counseling
- SCSAS 106: Personal & Professional Growth
- SCSAS 107: Supervised Practicum
- SCSAS 108: Supervised Fieldwork Practicum
The two practicums can be started as soon as you begin your second course, SCSAS 102. During these practicums, you will be completing all of the 12 Core Functions of Substance Abuse Counseling. The practicums along with our coursework will provide you with all of the knowledge you need to pass the IC&RC Alcohol & Drug Counseling exam, which is one of the requirements needed to earn your CADC certification.
Our program can be completed entirely online and in just six months. We offer excellent instructor support, and instructors are available daily to assist students. You can either email your instructor or schedule a phone appointment when needed. We also provide a General Questions discussion forum in our online platform where students can post questions and concerns.
While Sober College’s curriculum can be used by students throughout California, our curriculum is also NAADAC-approved and IC&RC-approved. This means students throughout the United States can utilize our online learning program. The only states where our program is not available include Alaska, Montana and North Dakota.
Other Steps To Take
In order to earn your CADC credential, you must complete your education and practicum experiences and pass the IC&RC exam. You also must complete a specific number of supervised work experience hours. These hours vary based on the level of CADC credential you hope to earn.
For a CADC-I, you will need complete 3,000 of supervised work experience. However, if you have an associate’s degree in behavioral science or an allied mental health profession, you need only complete 2,080 hours of work experience.
For a CADC-II credential, you will need to complete 6,000 hours of supervised work experience, regardless of any earned college degrees at any level. You can become either a CADC-I or CADC-II with no college experience, the only educational requirement (beyond our coursework) is that you have a high school diploma or the equivalent.
To become a CADC-III, you must have completed a bachelor’s degree. If you do have a bachelor’s degree, you can earn your CADC-III credential with just 4,000 hours of supervised work experience.
For all levels of CADC, your fieldwork practicum will be included in the total number of hours, and sometimes volunteer hours may be included. Most of the supervised work experience will be paid work, so you will be earning a salary and handling all of the tasks typical to the daily job of a certified addiction counselor.
Once you’ve completed these requirements, you will be eligible to apply for your credential with CCAPP or your state’s credentialing board. If you are in California, once you have your credential, don’t forget to use CCAPP as a resource to help your find continuing education options, which will be needed when you renew your credential. CADC credentials must be renewed every two years.
To learn more about our CCAPP-approved curriculum or to enroll in our program, simply head to our homepage and select the Get Started tab. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with one of our admissions specialists at any time.
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