While all jobs have value, there are only a few where you help others heal on a daily basis, but addiction counseling can be a truly meaningful career where you guide people toward a brighter future. If you are interested in this career choice, here’s how to become a substance abuse counselor and the steps you’ll need to take.
1. Complete Your Education
In general, when you are just getting started with substance use disorder (SUD) counseling, you will work toward becoming a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, or CADC. This is a common type of SUD counselor, and it’s appealing to many people because most states do not require CADCs to have earned a college degree.
Some states will use a different term than CADC for this certification, such as Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) or Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC), etc. Despite the unique names, the requirements for certification tend to be similar, including the number of educational units/hours that are required.
At Sober College, our curriculum can be used to fulfill CADC certification requirements in most states. Our addiction studies program is CCAPP-approved, NAADAC-approved, and IC&RC-approved, which means it can be used to fulfill educational requirements in all 50 states (and internationally) except Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota.
Most states require 315 hours of education for certification. With traditional colleges or universities, this can take several years to complete, but our program can be completed in just six months. Our program also is 100% online, which allows you to fit learning into your busy schedule rather than having to attend in-person classes.
2. Complete Your Practicum
A practicum is an internship where you work at a treatment center that provides substance use disorder counseling services. Our program includes both your educational units as well as your practicum experience, which you can begin once you have completed your first class at Sober College.
In California, where Sober College is based, 255 hours of practicum experience are required for substance abuse counselor certification, although some states do require more practicum hours. Typically, you will be required to spend at least 21 hours handling each of the 12 Core Functions of Addiction Counseling, which includes:
- Patient Screening
- Patient Intake
- Patient Orientation
- Assessment
- Treatment Planning
- Counseling (Individual, Family & Group)
- Case Management
- Crisis Intervention
- Client Education
- Referral
- Reporting & Record Keeping
- Consultation with Other Professionals
Again, some states do require more than 255 hours, which means you will simply need to continue working at your approved facility until you have completed the required number of practicum hours.
3. Earn a Passing Score on the IC&RC Exam
IC&RC is an international organization that provides testing for several different types of addiction specialists, including a CADC. To become certified, you will need to earn a passing score on the IC&RC Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) exam.
Typically, this exam has a passage rate of about 70%, and you have four chances to pass the exam. After four attempts, you will need to complete some additional education hours to retake the exam, but most people pass the first or second time, and our curriculum, as well as your practicum, will provide you with the information you need to prepare for the exam. You also can purchase additional test prep materials, and these include practice exams, as well as study aids.
4. Complete Your Supervised Clinical Hours
Once you have completed the first three requirements, you will be able to work as a substance abuse counselor, but you will be under supervision until you complete the supervised hours required for certification.
The number of hours varies by state and by the level of CADC you wish to become. For instance, in California, a CADC I must complete 3,000 hours of supervised work experience, while a CADC II must complete 6,000 hours. In California, neither level requires completion of a college degree. Some states do require CADC-II’s to have a bachelor’s degree or an associate’s degree.
While the number of hours varies state to state, these hours will be paid work. In many cases, your practicum experience hours also count toward this total. For most CADC candidates, it takes about 18 months to two years to complete these hours.
5. Apply For Your Credential
Every state has its own independent organizations that are authorized to certify addiction professionals. For instance, in California, the main organization is CCAPP (California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals). In Texas, it’s TCBAP (Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals).
You will need to fill out an application, pay the application fee, and provide documentation for your education units, practicum, testing, and completion of your supervised work experience hours.
Once you are certified, it is important to note that you will need to renew your credential or certification every two years. In order to renew, you will need to complete some Continuing Education (CE) hours. The number of hours varies by state, but typically it is between about 20 and 40 hours.
Get Started at Sober College
Becoming a certified addiction counselor can be a rewarding career, and we can help you take the first two steps – your education and practicum. We offer rolling admissions and, best of all, affordable tuition. The total cost of our program is just $4,250. Books will cost $300 to $500 in total, but there are no other fees, and all other class materials are included in your tuition costs.
Now that you have learned more about how to become a substance abuse counselor, if you are ready to jumpstart this career, you can head to the Get Started tab on our homepage and select “Apply.” From there, you can download our application and quickly begin working toward completion of your education hours.
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