Posts Tagged ‘substance abuse counselor’
Question by Dan W: Can i become a councilor with a GED?
Well i am wondering if you can become a councilor for drug abuse if you only have a GED, because i was addicted to methamphetamine, marijuana, inhalants, and alcohol for about five years of my life and luckily i got myself help and have been clean for about 2 years now and i would really like to help people overcome the demons i also faced trying to become clean, any help would be wonderful. Thanks for any feed back.
Best answer:
Answer by jannsody
Congratulations on having almost two years of sobriety! With regard to becoming a substance abuse counselor, I believe that most with a Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC) have a master’s degree which takes about six years of college, if attending on a full-time basis. There are different levels of training for addictions counseling, but most jobs prefer those with a master’s degree.
Please also be aware that in order to get one’s certification as a CAC (or similar credentials), the person needs A LOT of clinical experience which includes having an actual patient caseload of those with addiction.
With regard to schooling, please AVOID those private overly priced For-profit schools such as kaplan, ashworth, capella, university of phoenix, devry, ITT tech, strayer, everest, brown mackie, american public university, keiser, argosy, penn foster, ashford, grand canyon, westwood, stratford career, pima medical institute, colorado tech and others as they are merely out to “make a profit” (** and their course credits usually do NOT transfer to other schools).
These consumer sites have a lot of negative posts by former students about those for-profit schools, and please heed the students’ warnings:
– http://www.ripoffreport.com
– http://www.pissedconsumer.com
– http://www.complaintsboard.com and can search.
Please instead consider the more affordable community college and/or public/state university as long as the program is accredited within the industry.
For U.S. colleges: http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ
This site is supposed to have more info re: (regarding) getting certified in addictions counseling: http://www.naadac.org/certification and can scroll down a bit.
General career info: http://www.bls.gov/oco and can search “counselors”, “social workers” or such.
Regarding inhalants or “huffing” (fumes or chemical vapors), my friend actually has a Brain Injury from inhalant use at the age of 12, now in her 30s.
Other risks of huffing include sight loss/blindness, heart/liver/kidney damage, seizures, limb spasms, hearing loss and even death, all of which can happen after the very FIRST time of use.
For anyone, this site has more info about the dangers of huffing – National Inhalant Prevention Coalition: http://www.inhalants.org
Wishing you continued recovery and wellness and that you continue making good, HEALTHY choices in life 🙂
Give your answer to this question below!
A little TLC: Substance abuse counselors opening new center for those trying …
Erin Houchin, left, and Amanda Juhl pose for a portrait at The Last Connection in East Naples. The two are proud to say that they are clean and sober thanks to counselors, like those who are opening a new substance abuse center called New Paradigns …
Read more on Naples Daily News
California Pushes For More Thorough Background Checks for Substance Abuse …
The California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes recently released a report that revealed lapses in the reporting process for the 36,000 certified substance abuse counselors working in the state. Those lapses included details of counselors who …
Read more on PR Web (press release)
Substance Abuse Counselor Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for …
According to court documents and statements made in court, Bradley, a certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor, obtained the Medicaid identification numbers of various Medicaid clients and used the identification numbers to submit hundreds of claims …
Read more on 7thSpace Interactive (press release)
California Pushes For More Thorough Background Checks for Substance Abuse …
The California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes recently released a report that revealed lapses in the reporting process for the 36,000 certified substance abuse counselors working in the state. Those lapses included details of counselors who …
Read more on PR Web (press release)
Question by Cancerbeater: How To obtain a “CSAC”.Certified Substance Abuse Counselor” accreditation?
I am wanting to get my certification to work in the “Substance Abuse” field. I am slowing dying from having had throat cancr and I also have Lung Disease to go with it.
This is more important to me than life. I Need help !!
I live in Atlanta and will go home to Roanoke, Va to work when completed. It use to be in some states, if you could pass the test, you got your accreditation. That easy !! But where and how do I start now, being on a limited time schedule ????
Best answer:
Answer by allen e
In most states it is required that you can show that you have the experience working under another CSAC before you are allowed to sit for the test. The average is about 2 years as a helper under supervision and a bit of classroom learning as well, CEU’s showing that you have had exposure to the various aspects of the job here in my state it is 149 CEU’s on the various parts and an additional 9 on ethics.
What do you think? Answer below!
Addiction counselor: Drug culture squanders freedom earned by our heroes …
Legend has it that the renowned Swiss chemist, Albert Hoffman, in a failed attempt to manufacture synthetic ergotamine, produced an entirely new drug: lysergic acid diethylamide. It came to be known by its shortened name: LSD-25 or simply LSD. The …
Read more on MLive.com
EDITORIAL: Boost oversight of substance abuse counselors
Californians struggling with drug or alcohol abuse should not also be at risk from their addiction counselors. The Legislature needs to bolster the state's oversight of substance abuse counselors, to protect the public from people who do not belong in …
Read more on Press-Enterprise
Question by Dan W: Can i become a councilor with a GED?
Well i am wondering if you can become a councilor for drug abuse if you only have a GED, because i was addicted to methamphetamine, marijuana, inhalants, and alcohol for about five years of my life and luckily i got myself help and have been clean for about 2 years now and i would really like to help people overcome the demons i also faced trying to become clean, any help would be wonderful. Thanks for any feed back.
Best answer:
Answer by jannsody
Congratulations on having almost two years of sobriety! With regard to becoming a substance abuse counselor, I believe that most with a Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC) have a master’s degree which takes about six years of college, if attending on a full-time basis. There are different levels of training for addictions counseling, but most jobs prefer those with a master’s degree.
Please also be aware that in order to get one’s certification as a CAC (or similar credentials), the person needs A LOT of clinical experience which includes having an actual patient caseload of those with addiction.
With regard to schooling, please AVOID those private overly priced For-profit schools such as kaplan, ashworth, capella, university of phoenix, devry, ITT tech, strayer, everest, brown mackie, american public university, keiser, argosy, penn foster, ashford, grand canyon, westwood, stratford career, pima medical institute, colorado tech and others as they are merely out to “make a profit” (** and their course credits usually do NOT transfer to other schools).
These consumer sites have a lot of negative posts by former students about those for-profit schools, and please heed the students’ warnings:
– http://www.ripoffreport.com
– http://www.pissedconsumer.com
– http://www.complaintsboard.com and can search.
Please instead consider the more affordable community college and/or public/state university as long as the program is accredited within the industry.
For U.S. colleges: http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ
This site is supposed to have more info re: (regarding) getting certified in addictions counseling: http://www.naadac.org/certification and can scroll down a bit.
General career info: http://www.bls.gov/oco and can search “counselors”, “social workers” or such.
Regarding inhalants or “huffing” (fumes or chemical vapors), my friend actually has a Brain Injury from inhalant use at the age of 12, now in her 30s.
Other risks of huffing include sight loss/blindness, heart/liver/kidney damage, seizures, limb spasms, hearing loss and even death, all of which can happen after the very FIRST time of use.
For anyone, this site has more info about the dangers of huffing – National Inhalant Prevention Coalition: http://www.inhalants.org
Wishing you continued recovery and wellness and that you continue making good, HEALTHY choices in life 🙂
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!