If you are in the market for a new career and looking for a job where you help others heal, substance abuse counseling might be a great fit. For those wondering how to become a substance abuse counselor, there are several steps you’ll need to take, and Sober College can help you jumpstart this new career.
Step One: Learn About This Career
If you’ve already decided that a career in addiction counseling is for you, just skip ahead to Step Two. For those just in the initial steps of making a career change, it can be helpful to gain a general understanding of the type of tasks that an addiction counselor handles on a daily basis.
In our blog section, we have a helpful article that details the 12 Core Functions of Addiction Counseling. This will give you a general idea of what it’s like to be a substance abuse counselor.
One of the most common types of addiction counselors are known as Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselors, or CADCs. In some states, a CADC might be known as an ADC (Alcohol and Drug Counselor), and while the names are slightly different, the job itself and the requirements to become this type of counselor usually are the same.
Counselors might work in a variety of settings, including inpatient facilities, outpatient facilities, hospitals or perhaps within the criminal justice system. You might also work with various community groups. Once you have become a substance abuse counselor, you can even work toward an area of specialization, such as working as a Medication-Assisted Treatment Specialist (MATS), an Intervention Specialist (IS), a Women’s Treatment Specialist (WTS) or something else.
Step Two: Find An Education Provider
When learning how to become a substance abuse counselor, you will see that the first requirement will be to complete your educational units, and this is where Sober College can help. We can provide you with the quality education that is NAADAC-approved, CCAPP-approved and IC&RC-compatible.
All CADCs must complete 315 hours of approved education as well as 255 hours of field practicum experience. All of this is included as part of our substance abuse counselor certification curriculum, and our program takes just six months to complete. We offer rolling admissions, so you can begin at anytime and our program is available online, so you can learn from anywhere and make your learning fit into your busy schedule.
Another perk is that CADCs only need to have a high school diploma or the equivalent to get started with their education. While many CADCs do earn college degrees, you are not required to have any college coursework completed beyond the courses in our addiction counselor training program.
Step Three: Pass The IC&RC Exam
Once you’ve completed your 315 hours of education, you can take the IC&RC Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) exam. IC&RC stands for International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium, and this is an organization that provides credentialing exams for different types of addiction counselors. It’s similar to how the College Board organization provides SAT and AP testing for high school students.
The IC&RC ADC exam has an average pass rate of about 72% although it varies from year to year. The curriculum we provide includes everything that you might encounter on this exam although IC&RC can provide you with test review materials and we recommend that you consider ordering these materials to further help you prepare for the exam.
Step Four: Complete Your Supervised Work Hours
There are three levels of CADCs – CADC-I, CADC-II and CADC-III. The educational requirements and practicum hour requirements, as well as the testing requirements, are the same for all three levels and up until the supervised work experience, the path of how to become a substance abuse counselor is identical. Once you reach the supervised work experience requirement, that’s where you will see some important differences.
For CADC certification as a CADC-I, you will need to complete 2,080 supervised work hours if you previously have earned an associate’s degree in Behavioral Science or an Allied Mental Health profession. If you have no associate’s degree or a degree in some other subject matter, you will need to complete 3,000 hours of supervised work.
To become a CADC-II, you must complete 6,000 hours of supervised work experience, regardless of any college degrees. You do not need a college degree to become a CADC-II, but even if you have a degree, 6,000 hours are required for all candidates.
If you want to become a CADC-III, you only need to complete 4,000 hours of supervised work experience, but you also need to have earned a bachelor’s degree. Keep in mind, that for all three levels of CADC, your practicum hours (part of our educational process) are included in the total, and sometimes you can count hours that you worked as a supervised volunteer or as an employee at a facility.
Additionally, most of these work hours are paid work hours, they are simply supervised. You will be working as a CADC and handling all of the common job tasks of a CADC, but you will be working under a supervisor until you earn your credential and become an official addiction specialist.
Step Five: Extend Your Education
Once you have earned your CADC credential, you will need to complete a set amount of Continuing Education (CE) units to renew this credential every few years. There are many sources to help you find CE units, including your state credentialing board and the NAADAC. Your employer likely also will provide you with information about interesting classes and workshops you can take to complete your CE units.
In some cases, a CADC-I might work toward becoming a CADC-II by simply completing more supervised work hours. You also can work toward earning a bachelor’s degree to become a CADC-III.
If you already have a bachelor’s degree, you might consider earning your master’s degree in Behavioral Science or an Allied Mental Health Profession and work toward becoming a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LAADC) or a LAADC-S, which is a LAADC that is also a licensed supervisor, this is the highest level of an alcohol and drug counselor.
LAADCs also must pass the IC&RC Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor exam and complete 300 hours of alcohol/drug-specific counseling education as well as six hours of counselor ethics (which likely will be included in your work toward earning your master’s degree).
Get Started Today!
We hope this blog has helped you understand how to become a substance abuse counselor. If you are ready to take the plunge and dive into this new career, you can sign up at Sober College today. Just click on the Get Started tab on our home page and either select Apply or, if you have questions, select Speak With Someone and a registration specialist will be in touch to answer any questions you may have.
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