{"id":9569,"date":"2022-02-06T12:24:59","date_gmt":"2022-02-06T17:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=9569"},"modified":"2022-02-06T12:25:16","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T17:25:16","slug":"becoming-a-drug-alcohol-counselor-what-you-need-to-know-about-certs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/becoming-a-drug-alcohol-counselor-what-you-need-to-know-about-certs\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming A Drug & Alcohol Counselor: What You Need To Know About Certs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are roughly 327,500 substance abuse and mental health counseling jobs in the U.S<\/a>. as of 2020. Analysts predict that number to grow 23% by 2030. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you considered a position as a drug and alcohol counselor? Are you aware of the addiction counselor certifications needed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several key steps to becoming qualified. The following guide will explain each step and help you to become an alcohol and drug counselor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Required Education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Make sure to document all of your education. You must have at least a high school diploma or GED, but some boards require higher education. You don’t need a college degree for lower-level certifications in most states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

States do require a certain amount of related education hours. Some hours will help you get certified in addiction studies<\/a>, while other hours will focus on counseling. You can complete hours through formal coursework or continued education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competence Requirements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Credential agencies have several policies in place. They ensure that you meet the ethical and legal requirements to work competently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some licensing requires a fingerprint-based criminal background check. You might also sign a release to conduct a background screening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent certification boards usually need several reference letters. They’ll usually have you sign a code of ethics as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They’ll also want to know if you’ve ever had substance abuse or addiction problems. If you have, they’ll want to know that you’ve been drug-free for a certain period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience Required<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You will need to work around 2,000 hours or more before receiving full credentials. You might have to register or conduct an entry-level credential to complete this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some state agencies only mandate that a percentage of counseling staff are fully qualified. The rest of the staff can be continuing their education. Supervisors have to give an evaluation or recommendation to the certification board eventually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Counseling Examination<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You will also go through a process of examination. It usually happens after you have applied. Most boards request examinations like NAADAC or IC&RC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some states require written examination and other states require you to take an oral examination. You might be asked to submit case studies with your application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes aspiring counselors need to take a jurisprudence examination. It’s a law and ethics test related to counseling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional Credentials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You’ll be authorized to use a title after meeting all requirements. The title might include things like \u2018licensed\u2019 or \u2018certified\u2019 but it varies in different states. Third-party boards only issue certifications and not licenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term \u2018licensed\u2019 refers to master\u2019s level practitioners in certain states. Likewise, the term \u2018certified\u2019 refers to anything below the master’s level. Other states use \u2018licensed\u2019 for every title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming a Drug and Alcohol Counselor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now you know the basic steps to becoming a drug and alcohol counselor. Expect to spend time gaining credentials and counseling experience before landing a job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember this guide and start your journey to becoming a certified or licensed counselor. Check out the rest of our site for more fascinating articles and helpful tips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are roughly 327,500 substance abuse and mental health counseling jobs in the U.S. as of 2020. Analysts predict that number to grow 23% by 2030.  Have you considered a position as a drug and alcohol counselor? Are you aware of the addiction counselor certifications needed? There are several key steps to becoming qualified. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9569"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9569"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9571,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9569\/revisions\/9571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}