A college degree is almost always a standard part of a career in substance abuse counseling. Not only do most states have some baseline college degree requirement to become credentialed in a full authority clinical counseling role, there’s simply no way around the fact that it takes a deep understanding of everything from the pharmacological effects of different agents to the psychology of addictive behaviors to do the job. And that breadth of knowledge can only come from a college degree.
And even when a degree isn’t required to get started in more entry-level roles, it’s nearly inevitable that a degree will be part of normal career progression.
A study of staff working with the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network found that 83 percent of counselors had at least an associate degree; almost half, 46 percent, had a master’s or doctoral degree.
Yet there are many obstacles to earning a college degree. Everything from the cost to carving out the time out to attend class can be a challenge no matter how dedicated you are to helping treat addiction patients.
There’s a new option, though, for people interested in substance abuse counseling degrees who haven’t found room in their lives for a traditional on-campus program.
Advantages of Earning a Substance Abuse Counselor Degree Online
It’s no mystery why you might want to consider an online degree or certificate for substance abuse counseling. Particularly for non-traditional students, there are huge advantages that come with online studies.
Flexibility
The first is sheer flexibility. Most online substance abuse counseling degrees are offered in an asynchronous format. That means that the instructor and the students don’t all have to be online at the same time. The professor may record a video lecture that the class can stream at any time that is convenient, and their discussions may occur in a chat room or via email, where people can reply and comment when they have time. Your assignments can be turned in remotely via a learning management system.
All of this frees you up to pursue other obligations that might not be as flexible—working a full-time job, maybe, or getting the kids to school on time. Your schedule isn’t dictated by the school’s schedule with online programs.
Opportunities
Speaking of schools, you will have many more options to choose from when you take the online path. Instead of perhaps one or two universities that may be within commuting distance from your home, you will find dozens in your state, or hundreds across the country that you can attend remotely.
That means you have a much better chance of finding a school that combines the price tag, the coursework, and the specializations that best fit your abilities and interests. There’s no need to settle when you are choosing online addiction studies degrees… the perfect fit is out there somewhere.
Affordability
Speaking of price tags, you will typically find that yours gets a lot lower when you are attending an online substance abuse counselor school.
That’s because online studies are just less expensive for schools to deliver since there’s no carve out for classroom space, parking lots, or heat and electricity. The major expense in online programs are high quality instructors and support. And that’s a very good thing for students.
You can also find deals simply based on geography. A college located in a cheaper state or in another part of your own state may simply charge lower tuition rates than you could find locally.
Your own expenses can go down as well. By staying close to home, you can avoid costs like:
- Moving expenses
- Higher rents for short-term housing
- Commuting costs
- Dropping hours at work to make time for school
Amenities
Online degrees don’t exactly have you rubbing shoulders with your classmates each day. Missing out on making those valuable connections, for both networking and study purposes, can be a real drawback.
That’s why most online programs go out of their way to foster online student support groups, e-mail lists, and virtual networking events to fill in the gaps. You will also find that online degrees come with dedicated technical and academic supports to make sure you always have someone to reach out to when things are going sideways.
Online Studies in Addiction Counseling Are Ideal for People Drawn to Addiction Counseling Careers
Considering the significant number of substance abuse counselors who come to the profession after getting on top of an addiction of their own, these are all important considerations. Typically, that kind of background means you will be older than the average student.
You probably don’t come from a rich family and will often have to work your way through school. And since the majority of treatment professionals are women, according to several studies cited by the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network, you may be taking care of a family, as well.
So the flexibility you find in substance abuse counselor degrees online may be the perfect fit… to a point.
Why Some Substance Abuse Counselor Online Classes Aren’t Actually Entirely Online
Of course, in a high-contact field like substance abuse counseling, online studies only get you so far. While you can generally find programs that allow you to complete all your classroom work remotely, substance use disorder degrees at most levels also come with required chunks of experiential learning.
These practicum or internship placements almost always have to be completed in-person.
Although there are new opportunities opening up in remote substance abuse counseling, remote practicums aren’t common in addiction treatment education yet.
Though you’ll have to show up in person for your practicums, that doesn’t mean it has to be at a location near where your college is physically located. Online degree program advisors and administrators are generally experts at helping students line up local placements to take care of in-person learning commitments.
This is often easier when you are attending an online university that is located within the same state, at least. The school is more likely to have relationships with placement locations and providers that aren’t all the way across the country.
It can also be a good idea to look for substance abuse counselor degrees online from universities in your state because each state has slightly different educational requirements tied to their credentials. While programs from outside the state may fulfill those qualifications, it’s most likely that you’ll hit all the marks with a school that is directly familiar with them.
In most cases, online schools do a good job of providing disclosures about exactly which states their program will satisfy licensing requirements in. Ultimately, though, it’s up to you to verify their claims—and you can save yourself a lot of headaches by doing so before you enroll.
How Substance Abuse Counselor Online Classes Differ By Degree Level
Online programs in addiction counseling come with all the same coursework and classes as their traditional counterparts. That means you can expect an education in subjects such as:
- Diagnosis and Treatment Planning
- Crisis Counseling
- Psychological and Physiological Bases of Addiction
- Pharmacology
- Human Services Systems and Case Management
- Counseling Techniques
Substance abuse counseling is a field with career opportunities for dedicated people with almost any level of education, so it only makes sense that online degrees are also open at every level. But each of these offers a somewhat different experience for online students.
Naturally, although you will study the same general subjects involving addiction treatment whether at the undergraduate or graduate levels, everything becomes more focused and in-depth as you climb to higher levels. You will also find that different kinds of experiential training are typical with these programs will vary from level to level.
Online Certificate in Substance Abuse Counseling
Maybe the most common kind of online program in addiction studies is at the certificate level. Programs like an Online Certificate in Alcohol and Drug Counseling are focused, brief sets of classes that are typically designed specifically to meet requirements for state licensing or certification as a substance abuse counselor.
That puts them squarely in the column of programs you should double-check when it comes to qualifying classes for your own particular state. Many online certificates are aimed primarily at regional students. If you are looking at certificates from all over the United States, you need to be sure you’re choosing one that works for your state.
Online Associate in Substance Abuse Counseling
It’s very common to find schools that offer both certificate and associate programs in addiction counseling. The major difference is that an associate degree also comes with the required general education classes to make it a solid building block in your college education… and a stepping stone to bachelor’s degrees and further through transfer programs.
Degrees like an Online Associate of Arts in Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counseling are often more flexible than traditional associate programs in substance abuse counseling, however. Rather than a straight two-years of study, you can take classes at your own pace, working around your own schedule.
In most cases, these degrees entirely skip experiential placements, so getting in any practice hours while you are in school will only happen if you arrange them with a local organization yourself.
Online Bachelor’s in Substance Abuse Counseling
Like other online programs, degrees like an Online Bachelor of Science in Counseling and Applied Psychological Sciences – Substance Abuse and Addictions tend to offer more scheduling flexibility. That gives you the option to stretch your four-year degree out a bit longer if that’s what it takes… or accelerate it and get through in as few as three years in some cases.
A bachelor’s program is more likely to have requirements for on-site practicum or internship work. On the other hand, most schools that offer such programs have a good track record of finding local options for you to fulfill those requirements.
Online Master’s in Substance Abuse Counseling
An Online Master of Science in Addiction Psychology has only a handful of classes compared to a bachelor’s degree, but the intensity kicks up a few notches. Almost all of these programs come with practicum requirements, which are also fulfilled in your area. Some programs require short on-campus residencies for face-to-face instruction. The advanced coursework requires a lot of individual motivation and drive to power through independently, however.
These degrees unlock higher licensing levels—and higher paychecks—for those who complete them. You will have to ensure that the coursework assigned meets the requirements for your state credentialing authority, however.
Online Doctorate in Substance Abuse Counseling
In some ways, a doctoral program already has most of the flexibility people are looking for from online studies. With a lot of independent research and writing, you may not spend much time on campus even in typical PhD programs. On the other hand, PhDs are some of the least likely degrees to be offered in a remote format.
But you can find a few such programs that are aimed in and around addiction studies. An Online PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision will help prepare you for teaching or advanced roles in counseling. Programs like a PhD in Counseling & Psychological Studies – Addictions Counseling concentration online or an Online PhD in Addiction Counseling come with extensive research opportunities and advanced skills.
Doctoral studies in addiction counseling often aren’t designed for licensure, so that’s something to triple-check for any online PhD you might be considering. On the other hand, most people have already gotten the necessary credentials by the time they advance to this level, so it’s likely to be less of an issue.
What To Look for in a Substance Abuse Counselor School Online
It takes more than just giving professors an email account to make a regular substance abuse degree program into an effective online alternative. Not every school takes the extra steps needed to turn a curriculum that works in the classroom into one that works on a laptop at the kitchen counter or coffee shop up the street.
So while you are digging into licensure, concentration options, and other important considerations before signing up for an online substance abuse counseling program, it’s also worth doing some digging on the school itself. These are the characteristics you should keep an eye on.
A Proven Track Record of Online Education
Online degrees aren’t shiny and new anymore. The concept has been in play for more than 30 years now. So schools have had plenty of time to jump in and show their stuff.
Your best bet will be with programs offered by schools that have been running online studies for long enough to get the kinks worked out. You should be able to find testimonials from and data on graduation rates. And the system should show some signs of having been tested and improved over time. Excellence in Learning Management Systems (LMS), easy-to-use communication tools, and smooth streaming video systems are all things you should see.
Innovations Only Available Online
Another factor that tells you someone at an online university has their thinking cap on is when they take advantage of the format to allow options that would never even be possible in a traditional format. When a school goes outside the box to find new ways to make your education easy, it means they really get the potential and power of online learning.
One example of that is schools that allow you to begin your degree at any time, not just at the start of a year or semester. Multiple start dates would never work in conventional classes. But for virtual classrooms, there’s no reason not to accept new students any time—and that gives you even more flexibility in your education. Some online substance abuse counseling degrees allow entries as frequently as once a week!
Robust Technical and Academic Support Options
With online degrees, your technology is a lifeline, not a cool accessory. You have to be able to connect and communicate, on-demand, around the clock.
So it’s not too much to ask for an online school to offer 24/7 tech support. When you have a glitch, you need to know someone can get it cleared up in time for you to get your assignment in under the wire.
Remote academic support and tutoring services are also needed. With fewer opportunities to drop in to campus counseling and writing centers, online students need to have the same support offered through phone and internet.
Professors Who Know Their Way Around Technology
All the great teaching and communication tools in the world aren’t much good without professors who know how to use them. So you should expect schools where the instructors are all familiar with the online teaching tools and aren’t trying to draw on laptop screens with chalk.
That doesn’t mean they have to be young, but they do need to be on point when it comes to video presentations, electronic communications, and LMS management. Chances are, if the instructors have been with the school for a while, and the school has a strong track record of online substance abuse degrees, you’ll be in good shape.
With plenty of choices and a lot of great reasons to pick one, looking for a substance abuse counselor school online could be the smartest option to prepare for your career in substance abuse counseling.