Addiction counseling is a fast-growing profession in high demand, and it’s also a job where you truly help others. With Sober College School of Addiction Studies, we can help you jumpstart the addiction counselor certification process and dive into your new career.
Why Earn Addiction Counselor Certification?
Substance abuse counseling can be an excellent career for anyone who possesses strong listening skills and organizational skills, not to mention anyone interested in helping others fight addiction. While all professions are important, this is a job where one can truly make a huge impact on other people’s lives.
Some of our students either are in recovery or perhaps had family members who battled addiction, but you don’t have to have experience with addiction to become an excellent certified addiction counselor.
An entry-level addiction counselor salary tends to average at about $45,000 or about $23 per hour to start. This also usually includes benefits such as health insurance and paid time off. In many cases, you do not need any level of college degree, either, and just a high school diploma or the equivalent.
As you progress in your career, there are also many different specializations to consider. For instance, you can become a Prevention Specialist or an Intervention Specialist or consider earning certification as a Medication-Assisted Treatment Specialist (MATS) or perhaps a Certified Criminal Justice Addiction Professional (CCJP) and those are just a few of your options.
You also have the opportunity to work in a wide range of settings. These include in-patient and outpatient treatment facilities, hospitals, schools, community centers and more. No matter where you work, by addressing substance abuse, counselors play a vital role in improving community and public health.
Addiction Counselor Certification Requirements
In order to become a certified alcohol and drug counselor (CADC), you must complete several steps. These include:
- Complete Your Educational Requirements – In most states, 315 hours of approved education must be completed.
- Complete Your Field Practicum – Most CADC candidates must complete 255 hours of supervised work, basically an internship, where you have experience handling all of the 12 Core Functions of Addiction Counseling
- Complete Your Work Experience Hours – The number of hours varies (2,080 hours to 6,000 hours) based on your education level and the level of CADC certification you wish to earn.
- Take The IC&RC Exam – A passing score on the IC&RC Alcohol and Drug Counselor exam is required, as well.
A Note About Work Experience: There are three levels of CADC – CADC-I, CADC-II and CADC-III. To become a CADC-I, you will need to complete 3,000 hours of supervised work experience. If you have an associate’s degree (either in behavioral science or an allied mental health profession), you need only complete 2,080.
A CADC-II must complete 6,000 hours, and many people work toward this goal after being certified as a CADC-I. A CADC-III must complete 4,000 hours but also must have a bachelor’s degree. Your practicum hours will count toward this total and beyond your practicum experience, this will be paid work. In some cases, volunteer work at an approved facility might also count toward your work experience hours.
Why Choose Sober College?
The first step in the process is to complete your education and our addiction counselor certificate program is an ideal option to consider. Traditional universities and colleges offer programs for those wishing to earn addiction counselor certification, but Sober College has many advantages over these traditional types of institutions.
First, our tuition is far more affordable than most other schools. The entire cost of our program, aside from book costs, is just $3,850 with no hidden fees. Books typically cost between $300 and $500 in all, but all other class materials are included in the cost of our program.
Additionally, our program can be completed in just six months while it might take two or three years with a traditional college. Our program also includes both your educational units as well as your practicum experiences, so by the time you’ve finished our program you will be ready to move on to the IC&RC exam as well as your supervised work experience hours.
Our program also can be completed entirely online. We know that these days, many institutions offer online learning, but certainly, some classes still meet in person. However, our curriculum and professors can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection. This is a perfect option for busy, working adults, allowing you to fit your education more easily into your schedule. We even offer rolling admissions, so you can get started whenever you like, rather than waiting for the beginning of a new semester or trimester.
Because our curriculum is CCAPP-approved, NAADAC-approved and IC&RC-approved, you can use Sober College from just about anywhere in the United States. The only exceptions include Montana, Alaska and North Dakota.
Enroll In Sober College Today!
If you are ready to enroll, just click on the Get Started tab on our homepage. You can either select Apply or choose Speak With Someone if you have questions about our addiction counselor certification program.
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