About Drug Treatment Certification Programs

When it comes to choosing a career path, few things are as rewarding as becoming a drug and alcohol treatment counselor. As part of this growing field of professionals, you will have the ability to help those struggling with addictions get on the road to recovery. With drug and alcohol addictions on the rise, graduating from a drug treatment certification program may also be one of the smartest decisions you could make in ensuring you are entering a career choice that will last.

Personality

• Entering a drug treatment certification program is not for everyone. Those who thrive in this type of program are those that love people and are patient with them. It also takes the type of person who is not judgmental. A candidate for the program must also be able to separate friendship from professionalism, while still caring about the addict. An interest in sociology and psychology will also help you thrive in the drug addiction field of work.

Clean and Sober

• Most drug treatment certification programs require that you are clean and sober from drugs for at least a year before entering a certification track. This is both for your safety, as well as the safety of your future clients. Classes for drug treatment certification go into great detail about drugs and how they work. For someone who has just become clean, this can be difficult as the talk and study of drugs may trigger a relapse. Also, upon graduation, students will be working with clients who are currently using. A drug treatment specialist who is not clean himself will be unable to fully help someone else who is also struggling with addiction. Working with these clients on a daily basis could also open the world of drugs back up to the recovering counselor. As such, it is important that you be clean before entering the certification program.

Time

• Most drug treatment certification programs last two years. They can be found through many community colleges and some state schools throughout the nation. All states have at least one college that offers a drug treatment certification program. At some schools you may have the option to take some of your classes online. However, in each certification track, regardless of the school, you will be required to have at least some on campus classes.

Class Requirements

• Drug treatment certification programs will take you through a variety of subjects to ensure that you are able to meet your state's requirements for becoming a drug and alcohol counselor. Sample classes that you can expect to take are introduction to drugs and alcohol, drug use and abuse, ethics in counseling, HIV/AIDS training, family counseling, small group counseling, drug counseling methods and criminal justice classes. This is just a small sampling of what may be available in the typical drug treatment certification program. Other classes may also be available in your area, and will vary depending on your state's requirements for certification hours. You will also have the chance to participate in practicum hours. Practicum allows you to work directly in a drug and alcohol treatment program to receive hands-on training, as well as the necessary practicum hours for certification.

NAADAC/ ICRC Certification

• Since each state varies on its requirements for becoming a drug and alcohol counselor, the best route to go after graduating your drug treatment certification program is to take the NAADAC ( National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors) or ICRC (International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium) examination. Most every state, upon verification, will grant you a treatment license if you have passed either one of these exams. However, it is still important to verify your states requirements before applying for a license. Each of these exams test and verify your knowledge both on drug and alcohol definitions and effects, as well as counseling skills and ethics. Links to each of these organizations can be found in the additional resources section of the article.