Education Requirements
A chemical dependency professional CDP must have a minimum of an associate’s degree, although a bachelor’s degree is preferred. The degree must be in substance abuse, human services or related fields. An alternative is the successful completion of 90 quarter or 60 semester college credits in courses from an approved school. A minimum of 45 quarter or 30 semester credits must include courses relating to the profession of chemical dependency and must include specific topics. These include:
- Understanding addiction
- HIV/AIDS risk intervention for those chemically dependent
- Substance abuse and addiction treatment methods
- Pharmacological actions of drugs and alcohol
- Cultural diversity, including those with disabilities and treatment implications
- Understanding of addiction placement, continuing care and discharge criteria, as per the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria
- Clinical evaluation of chemical dependency
- Treatment planning
- Developmental psychology
- Coordination of services
- Individual and group counseling
- Family and couples’ chemical dependency counseling
- Use of community resources and referral
- Education for clients, families and communities
- Abnormal psychology and psychopathology
- Chemical dependency case management
- Adolescent chemical dependency assessment and treatment
- Documentation, including intake, screening, assessment, treatment plans, clinical report, recording of clinical progress reports, discharge summaries and similar data relating to the client
- Confidentiality for those chemically dependent
- Professional and ethical responsibilities;
- Prevention of relapse
- Chemical dependency rules and regulations.
Official transcripts are required. Such transcripts must come from an approved college or university. The transcript must include the degree and the posting date. All transcripts must arrive from their prospective schools in an envelope sealed by the school and identifiable as such. If the transcript is not in English, an official translation along with an educational evaluation is necessary. Course topics must be verified in the official transcripts. If this is not the case, the candidate may have to provide the course syllabi.
CACREP Accredited Online Certification
Two types of substance abuse counselor accreditation are recognized in the United States; institutional substance abuse counseling and specialized substance abuse counseling. Institutional substance abuse counseling accreditation takes the entire institution into account while the specialized substance abuse counseling focus on professional preparation programs. The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is a specialized accreditation that focuses on master’s and doctoral degree programs in counseling at colleges and universities worldwide. Only already-accredited institutions are eligible for CACREP review. The review for accreditation will center on programs offering graduate degrees in counseling.
Choosing a CACREP-accredited program ensures that the program meets the highest of quality standards. Many counseling specialties are accredited bythe CACREP, including addiction counseling. Accredited addiction counseling programs prepare individuals to work with those affected by addictive behavior and their families. Addictive behaviors include alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, sex, and anything else that negatively affects your personal or work life by creating addiction behaviors.
CACREP-accredited programs will focus on treatment models and the phases of addiction including prevention, recovery, and relapse prevention. These 60-semester hour programs will include the application of interventions. When students choose a CACREP-accredited program they can be confident that:
- the program meets or exceeds national standards
- the program will focus on professional counseling rather than psychology oreducation
- the program has an excellent reputation
- CACREP graduates statistically receive higher scores on the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE).
- the requirements for licensure will be met.
Counselor Testing & Examination Process
Washington chemical dependency substance abuse professional candidates must take and pass the Association of Addiction Professionals (NAADAC) examination or the International Certification Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) level II exam. The chemical dependency professional candidate must download forms from the Washington State Department of Health website. The applicant must fill out and submit or have the appropriate entity fill out and submit the professional application package, the Verification of Supervision Experience and Statement of Qualifications form, credential verification form and the AIDS Education and Training Attestation. Send forms along with applicable fees to:
Washington State Department of Health
CDC Program Administrator
PO Box 47869
Olympia, WA 98504
The department completes the required background checks and ensures candidates have paid all required fees. Under state law, credentialing supervisors and lead workers are authorized to approve routine applications. If the credentialing supervisor cannot verify that the applicant meets all criteria, the disciplining authority steps in to conduct an additional review. Applicants who are denied are formally notified by the department, and may request an appeal of the decision.
For those taking the NAADAC exam, the registration is done online, via NAADAC’s testing partner, Kryterion. Candidates can receive this information from the state Department of Health once they have approved the applicant for testing. Candidates receive a code from the department with which they can register online. Registration without approval does not permit candidates to take the test, and their fees are not refunded. With NAADAC, testing is on demand, and candidates can see the most convenient times and dates for them to take the exam. Availability of seats is provided online. If a candidate has registered for the exam and then finds they cannot take the test that day, they can reschedule but must pay a $90 fee if rescheduling within 72 hours of the cancelled appointment.
This fee is levied by the testing center. Under NAADAC rules, if a candidate does not pass the exam, he or she may take the test two more times within a calendar year. Scores are sent to the Washington Department of Health, and candidates will also receive their scores via email.
The IC&RC exam’s questions are in a multiple choice format, with the candidate choosing between four possible responses. Of these four choices, just one answer is considered the best, and candidates only receive credit for choosing the best response. Once the exam is successfully completed, candidates must send in the ICRC verification form to the state Department of Public Health. Once the test is passed and all clinical supervision requirements are complete and verified, the candidate may apply for licensure from the Department.
Clinical Supervision Explained
All chemical dependency professional candidates must under approved supervision. If the candidate has an associate’s degree, the clinical supervision consists of 2,500 hours. If the candidate has earned a bachelor’s degree, clinical supervision requires 2,000 hours. hours. If a candidate has earned a master’s or doctoral degree, 1,500 hours of clinical supervision is needed. For candidates who already are licensed in related fields, 1,000 hours of clinical supervision is necessary.
Of these hours, 200 hundred hours must relate to clinical evaluation, and of those, half must relate to face to face patient contact. The initial 50 hours of face to face contact is performed under the direct supervision of the supervisor or a chemical dependency professional. Six hundred hours relates to face to face counseling, including individual, group, family or couples. Another 50 hours must include professional and ethical responsibility discussion.
Renewal and Continuing Education
Licenses are renewed annually, on or before the chemical dependency counselor’s birthday. Chemical dependency counselors must complete 12 hours of professional development and 28 hours of continuing education every two years, for a total of 40 hours. After their initial licensure, they must complete three hours of training in suicide assessment, which also involves screening and referral. This training is repeated every sixth year.
Continuing education may consist of programs or courses, including distance learning. Eligible continuing education includes workshops or seminars and approved industry-recognized professional conferences. Approved industry organizations include, but are not limited to:
- National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC)
- National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP)
- International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (ICRC)
- Northwest Indian alcohol/drug specialist certification board
- Institutions of higher learning accredited by national or regional accrediting bodies recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation
- Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA).
Professional development activities include additional competencies in clinical evaluation; individual or group counseling; family and couples counseling; professional and ethical responsibilities; treatment knowledge; understanding addiction; practice applications; treatment planning; professional readiness; referrals; service coordination; client, family, and community education; screening, intake and assessment; clinical reports; clinical progress notes; discharge summaries and other similar client data.