A Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, or CADC, is a common type of addiction specialist, and in order to become a CADC, you must complete educational units, pass an exam and more. While substance abuse counselor requirements do vary by state, here is a general idea of what you can expect.
Educational Requirements
The first of your substance abuse counselor requirements will be to complete your educational units. In general, most states require 315 units of coursework from an approved educational provider.
Sober College of Addiction Studies offers substance abuse counseling curriculum to students throughout the United States (excepting Alaska, Montana and North Dakota). Our curriculum is approved by The Association for Addiction Professionals (known informally as NAADAC due to its previous name, the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors). Our curriculum also is IC&RC approved. IC&RC is the organization responsible for providing standardized testing for substance use disorder counselors, or SUD counselors.
As we are based in California, we also are approved by the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP). This is one of the main credentialing organizations in California. Every state has one or more organization or agency that awards CADC certification to qualified candidates, and we highly recommend finding your state organization and researching all of the requirements specific to your state.
Practicum
Most states require a practicum, or internship, of at least 255 hours. During this practicum, you will be required to spend at least 21 hours working on each of the 12 Core Functions of Addiction Counseling. These include:
- Patient Screening
- Intake
- Orientation
- Assessment
- Treatment Planning
- Counseling
- Case Management
- Crisis Intervention
- Client Education
- Referral
- Reporting & Record Keeping
- Consultation With Other Professionals
Testing Requirements
Once you’ve completed your educational units and practicum, you should be prepared to take the IC&RC Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) exam. This exam can be taken up to four times. If you do not pass after four tries, most states will require you to complete more educational units and likely more supervised work experience hours.
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