If you are searching for a career that truly can make a positive impact on others, the work of certified recovery specialist might be a good fit. Helping others move from addiction into recovery is challenging, but rewarding.
In California and many other states, you can earn a credential to become a certified recovery specialist. This credential is the Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS). As the word “peer” suggests, the people that earn this type of credential are those who have been through the recovery process themselves.
In many cases, it’s wise to enlist the services of someone who has lived through the experience of addiction, rehab and recovery. After all, these individuals truly understand the difficulty of staying sober as well as the difficulty of simply asking for helping and knowing how to get help when you need it.
A certified recovery specialist might work at a hospital, working with patients that come in after an overdose. You might work in an outpatient facility, helping patients as they move from rehab to recovery. You might work with families to create strategies to help increase the success of recovery. Additionally, you might even work to educate others about addiction and the many issues that can lead to addiction.
Your knowledge and experience can be a huge benefit to many different people, not just those dealing with addiction. Earning a credential is not always a requirement for recovery specialists, but becoming a certified recovery specialist can make it easier for you to find better employment opportunities.
In order to earn a credential, you will need to complete 100 hours of education/training. These educational hours must be approved by your credentialing organization. In California, for instance, you will want to find curriculum that is approved by the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP).
In addition to the 100 hours of CCAPP-approved education, you will need to complete 500 hours of either paid work or volunteer work. Again, this will need to be from a CCAPP-approved source. CCAPP also requires each applicant to complete an additional 25 hours of supervised work experience, and your previous 500 hours may or may not have including working directly under a supervisor.
You also must the IC&RC Peer Recovery Examination. IC&RC is an internationally-recognized testing provider. They offer several exams for addiction professionals, including a Prevention Specialist (PS) exam, a Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor (CADC) exam as well as the aforementioned exam for peer recovery specialists.
At Sober College, we concentrate on helping people earn their CADC and PS credentials. While attaining your peer recovery specialist credential can be an excellent first step into the profession of addiction counseling, we highly recommend that eventually you work toward earning your CADC credential or PS credential as this truly opens up your employment opportunities.
A CADC works with patients, either in-patient or out-patient, and helps develop comprehensive recovery plans to ensure that recovery can be successful. You will be working as a counselor in one-on-one sessions, group sessions and possibly family sessions. You also will find resources for your patients to use during recovery, such as finding local 12-step programs, helping them find therapists, and perhaps finding suitable sober living arrangements.
A Prevention Specialist focuses on the other end of the spectrum, trying to help others avoid addiction and other risky behaviors. As a person in recovery, you can provide a huge amount of insight about the best ways to help people avoid addiction and sharing your experiences can be highly valuable.
These two credentials do require a significant educational and work commitment. In order to attain a CADC-I certificate, for example, you must complete 315 hours of approved education, 255 practicum hours, a passing score on the IC&RC ADC exam and between 2,080 to 3,000 hours of supervised work experience. Of course, these 2,080 to 3,000 hours of work experience are paid, so you will be earning a salary and working toward your credential requirements concurrently.
At Sober College, we can provide you with the CCAPP-approved educational requirements needed to become a CADC or a Prevention Specialist. We also offer test prep for the IC&RC exams. These can be tricky, but our test prep materials definitely can give you an edge going into the exam.
We offer an online program, as well as an in-class hybrid program that meets once per month at our Los Angeles-area campus. Our program can be completed in just six months, and our online options make it easy for working adults to complete their education.
Our programs also are NAADAC-approved, which means that you don’t necessarily have to live in California to take advantage of our Sober College educational programs. Our classes can be used to complete educational requirements for credentials in Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania and just about all 50 states.
To learn more about our programs, you can give us a call or look under the Counselor Training tab on our homepage. If you want to learn more about becoming a certified recovery specialist, consider going to the CCAPP website as they provide information about peer counselor credentials and several other specialized credentials.
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