Millions of Americans struggle with addiction, and the need for addiction counselors continues to grow. If you’d love a job where you help others every day, this can be a rewarding career, and at Sober College of Addiction Studies, we can provide you with the coursework you need to earn your Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor (CADC) certification. Here’s a quick look at our addiction studies program as well as some facts about working as a CADC.
Our CADC Coursework
Our addiction studies program includes six academic classes and two classes that serve as supervised practicum experiences. All of these classes and the practicum can be completed in just six months. You take one class each month and you can complete the practicums concurrently as you take the classes. Let’s take a look at each of the classes included in our CADC education program.
SCSAS 101: Introduction & Overview of Drug and Alcohol Addiction
During this class, students examine the history of alcohol and other mood-changing drugs in the United States. This course also probes into the myths and stereotypes associated with alcohol and drug use and sociocultural factors that contribute to the use of drugs.
SCSAS 102: Physiology & Pharmacology of Alcohol and Other Drugs
In this course, students will learn about the effects of alcohol and similar legal psychoactive drugs on the body and behavior, including the brain, liver and other organs.
SCSAS 103: Law & Ethics
During this addiction studies course, you will learn about ethics related to the client and the counselor as well as the protection of clinical information and confidentiality.
SCSAS 104: Case Management
There are many elements included with case management, and during this course, you will learn about the process of case management from initial intake to the development of a treatment plan that helps your clients achieve long-term sobriety and success.
SCSAS 105: Individual, Group & Family Counseling
As a CADC, you lead all three of these types of addiction counseling and this course examines each of these counseling approaches. You will learn the best practices for working with social populations and how to effectively facilitate groups (including family groups).
SCSAS 106: Personal and Professional Growth
This course was designed to help beginning counselors recognize their personal strengths and limitations, as well as gaining knowledge to help promote professional growth. During your years as a counselor professional growth is not just a recommendation, it is a requirement, and this course will inform you of the benefits of continuing education.
SCSAS 107: Supervised Practicum
This is a brief supervised practicum where you will be supervised by a qualified instructor.
SCSAS 108: Supervised Fieldwork Practicum
In order to earn your CADC certification, you must complete a 255-hour fieldwork practicum, which is basically an internship. During this internship, each student must have experience with each of the 12 Core Functions (NOTE: link this blue text to https://sobercollege.com/addiction-blog/addiction-counseling-understanding-the-12-core-functions/) of addiction counseling.
The Online Advantage
While the pandemic might have forced colleges around the world to work online, our addiction studies program has offered an online option since its inception, and we’ve streamlined the process of online education. You take one class per month, and everything can be completed online, making it easier for working adults to fit education into their schedule.
Testing Requirements
Once you’ve completed your coursework, you will need to pass the IC&RC Alcohol and Drug Counselor exam. The average annual pass rate for this is exam is more than 70%, and while our curriculum prepares you for this exam, we do offer test prep materials to help you get ready for testing.
Completing Your CADC Training
In addition to your addiction studies coursework, passing the IC&RC exam and completing 255 hours of practicum experience, you will need additional supervised work experience hours to fulfill your requirements and become an official CADC. These work hours are paid work hours, and you will be completing the same tasks as certified CADCs, you simply will be doing the work under a supervisor.
There are three levels of CADC, and each level has a unique number of required hours of work experience. For instance, a CADC-I must complete 2,080 hours of supervised work experience if they have earned an associate’s degree in Behavioral Science or an Allied Mental Health Profession or 3,000 hours without this degree. You do not need any college degree (just a high school diploma or the equivalent) to become a CADC, you simply must complete a few more hours of supervised work experience if you don’t have a behavioral science-related or mental health-related degree.
A CADC-II must complete 6,000 hours of supervised work experience, regardless of any college degree. A CADC-III must complete 4,000 hours of supervised work experience, but they do have to have earned a bachelor’s degree. For all three levels, your 255 hours of practicum experience will be included in this total number of hours.
In general terms, aside from the six months of addiction studies, it will take a CADC-I about a year to complete their supervised work experience if they have an approved associate’s degree, and about 16 months without the degree. For a CADC-II, it will take about three years to complete the supervised work experience, and for CADC-III it will take a bit less than two years to earn the credential. Many people start as a CADC-I and then continue on to become a CADC-II.
What To Expect As A CADC
Whether or not you are CADC-I, CADC-II or CADC-III, your daily tasks will look much the same. Even during your supervised work experience, you will be handling all of the tasks that certified counselors handle, it simply includes some supervision.
Most CADCs work at in-patient or outpatient treatment facilities and handle everything from intake to evaluation to counseling and the development of treatment plans. Each patient is unique, and the goal is to individualize their care and create a workable long-term plan for their success.
Many of your patients will come to you with co-occurring disorders, so you will need to consult with other professionals to meet your patients’ needs. For instance, a person might suffer from drug addiction, as well as an eating disorder or chronic pain. Another patient might suffer from addiction and bipolar disorder or depression. In order to provide the best care, all of these issues must be addressed. This can be challenging, but the reward of helping a person achieve a happier, healthier life cannot be understated.
How To Get Started
Our addiction studies program is CCAPP-approved, NAADAC-approved and IC&RC-approved, which means our curriculum meets the standards in just about every state and many countries. We can provide quality online education for people across the United States and abroad.
To get started with our addiction studies program, just click on the Get Started tab on our homepage. You can fill out our quick contact form if you have any questions about our program or download the application and get started with the registration process. We offer rolling admission, so you can be approved and jumpstarting your new career as a certified addiction counselor in just a few days.
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