It’s automatic to make the internet your first stop for all kinds of education and training in almost any profession. You may even be pursuing an online degree in substance abuse counseling!
But at the same time, the shifty nature of the internet can make it tough to tell exactly what you are getting into with online programs…
Does the program really deliver everything it promises when it says it can make you a fully-qualified addiction counselor in only six weeks? … Is it accepted by the official certification board in your state? … Will you actually have full legal authority to practice in your state when you complete the program?
A little skepticism and a healthy dose of knowledge about how exactly the certification game works in the world of substance abuse treatment are important tools when you are sorting through these programs. And we are here to help.
What Online Substance Abuse Counselor Certification Programs Can and Cannot Offer
For starters, it’s not just scams or artfully worded marketing gimmicks all the way down. There are many completely legitimate and even useful organizations out there offering online certification options. They are perfectly clear about what you stand to gain from their courses and what you won’t.
Online certification programs are a method of getting mandatory, state-required substance abuse training hours clocked in without having to drive across town and sit in a community college classroom every evening for a few months. In addition to classroom hours, some online certification programs even include some or all of the on-site practicum hours your state requires. They are pre-approved by state licensing or certification bodies to offer accepted modules of that training.
It follows that legit programs offering addiction counselor certification online depend not just on the program itself, but also on the state where you are pursuing certification. Every state has its own standards and supervised practice-hour requirements. Many also have in-person training and classroom hours requirements. And all of them have tests you have to pass before becoming officially certified.
So that means, online certification programs will NOT satisfy your state’s…
- Minimum degree requirements
- Supervised experience requirements
- Final certification exam requirements
Always keep this in mind:
The legal authority to practice substance abuse counseling can only be granted at the state level. This usually comes through a state government licensing board, though in some states, credentialing has been delegated to a non-governmental state professional association.
An official state-recognized credential is your only path to professional substance abuse counseling practice.
So you’ll want to think of online certification programs as being only part of your full path to official certification at the state level. But it may also be the part that would be the most difficult to fulfill in a traditional in-person format: The specific hours of substance abuse counseling courses your state requires, including those that may not be fully covered even in a formal degree program.Â
If Your State Recognizes the Online Certification Program You’re Looking At, Then It’s a Go
Because of the various requirements and restrictions, it’s important to find providers that are completely up-front about the states where their coursework is accepted. And it’s never a bad idea to verify with your state certification board or licensing agency to ensure that’s the case.
Usually, these resources work because they are in some way aligned with IC&RC (International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium) Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) .
State-level IC&RC boards applying those standards act as the certification authority for substance abuse counselor practice in 40 states. So it’s generally possible to provide educational hours that align with those standards that can be applied toward credentials in those states.
The material also prepares you to take and pass the required ADC examination.
The IC&RC reciprocity agreements also means that earning an online addiction counselor certification in one of these states theoretically means you can transfer it to practice in any of the others. But this isn’t automatic. Instead, it requires a formal reciprocity agreement to exist between states, and a formal application process on your part.
Why You Need To Pause and Do Your Research When Looking at Substance Abuse Counselor Certification Online
All of this is made more complicated by the fact that the word certification is used in so many different senses. You need to be entirely clear about which kind of certification is on offer when you explore online options.
In more than half the states, the authority to legally practice technically means pursuing licensure rather than certification, but a lot of online resources play fast and loose with the terms. That’s okay, just make sure you understand the actual credentialing process required to become a substance abuse counselor in your state. The online program may offer exactly the courses your state requires, but may refer to it as a certification program when in fact you’ll be earning a state substance abuse counselor license.
The term certification is typically used in states that have delegated credentialing to a non-governmental board… licensure is usually the term used in states where a state government board issues the credential. There’s some exceptions to this rule where states use the terms differently, but this is broadly applicable as a general rule.
There are also completely legitimate national professional certifications, such as those offered by NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals. They have their own training requirements and standards. But they are NOT a path to practice authority in any state—instead, they serve as qualification over and above the minimums. This can also serve as a way to attest to your specialization in certain practice areas, like adolescent addiction or criminal justice, even when those roles don’t require a separate level of authority through state credentialing boards.
Finally, you will also see certification used to refer to some educational certificate programs offered both by colleges and private educational providers. Complicating matters further, some of these may lead to the other types of certification… but they are not considered certifications by themselves.
Online Substance Abuse Counselor Certification Course Providers
Just like online degree programs, online certification providers use learning management systems, video streaming, and online collaboration tools to help you absorb and digest the content needed for certification.
One of the first things you’ll notice is that many of the available online certification training sites are the same sites you’ll eventually be looking at for continuing education hours after you earn your cert. That’s no accident—becoming recognized as a provider for continuing education also validates the instruction and coursework for certification purposes. And depending on the state, some of the exact same classes may go toward either need.
Although this list has many providers that can offer online addiction counselor certification courses in many states across the nation, there is no provider that can meet certification in every single state. Even the largest online services may only offer certification pathways in a handful of states… but these are the organizations which offer the best chance at finding an option that works in your state:
Sober College is one of the biggest national players in certified substance abuse counselor online training. They deliver both self-paced and accelerated options that can help students rack up 315 hours in as few as six months. It includes the required 255 hours of supervised practicum needed in states like California.
Like the name says, you can find all kinds of continuing education credits at this site. But they also offer over 400 hours of specific training in addiction counseling, including courses leading to certification for SUD counselors and peer support specialists. You will also find coursework supporting advanced certification, like the Master Addiction Counselor available in some states. With a convenient and current state approvals page, you can quickly find out if AllCEUs is an option where you live.
While some private providers shout it out from the mountain top when they have approval to offer courses online for initial addiction counselor certification, others hide their light under a bushel and make you dig for it. That’s Addiction Counselor CE, which offers continuing education classes for most states… and initial certification approval for a few, such as Ohio. You will have to drill down to your own state to see if it makes the list or not.
The Academy for Addiction Professionals
Sometimes, you’ll find a provider that essentially focuses on certification options for a single state. That’s the drill with the Academy for Addiction Professionals, which is overseen by the Florida Certification Board and offers Certified Addiction Counselor online training specifically to meet their standards. The Academy relies on reciprocal agreements the board has to help you qualify for credentials in other states, but this is where your own due diligence needs to apply—have a conversation with your own state board about this path first!
The Center for Addiction Studies and Research
As a popular CE provider for both IC&RC and NAADAC, it’s not much of a stretch for the Center for Addiction Studies to also step up and offer initial certification courses. With a handy state-by-state tool you can click through and see if your state accepts their classes.
ATI currently has approvals from five states and offers an IC&RC-compatible online certification training covering both drug and alcohol counseling and peer recovery support. The ADC certification program includes the necessary 45 hours of supervised practicum along with a minimum of 255 hours of on-site clinical instruction. It’s all built around your schedule and your convenience.
Wellspring Center For Prevention
Wellspring has a foot in both oceans when it comes to offering online certification training. Their Addiction Counselor course series delivers 270 hours of required online training leading to certification and licensure as a CDA, CADC, or LCADC in New Jersey. They also have approvals from the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP).
Finding Resources Specific to Your State for Addiction Counselor Certification Online
Because of the state by state nature of counselor certification requirements, you’ll also often find online certification programs that are very niche—operated in and focused entirely on a single state.
The ground-up nature of remote learning has resulted in many organizations that have already been offering in-person certification training in various states that have taken the opportunity to shift some of their options online. This is particularly true in states where long-distance learning has been a longstanding challenge. In Alaska, for instance, RADACT was specifically created as a correspondence/intensive training non-profit to deal with the extreme distances and remote locations of that state which has since jumped on the Zoom and virtual training wagon.
In other cases, new companies have been created specifically to offer online substance abuse counselor certification courses for certain states. Colorado Counselor Training, for example, has virtual and online courses leading to Colorado CAT, CAS, and LAC certification.
In some cases, you will find that the very same board that offers certification in your state also offers online education courses leading to that credential. That’s the case, for example, in California, where CCAPP, the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals not only offers the RADT, Registered Alcohol and Drug Technician, initial license, but also will sell you the nine hour online course you need to earn it.
This is also often the case with various college certificate programs in various states that lead to initial certification. In Georgia, for example, the Mercer College Substance Abuse Counseling Certificate of Completion meets the requirements of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Board for CADC I/II certification. Because these schools have long offered similar programs in traditional formats, it’s a short step for them to move the training online… so they are a good resource to look for in your state.
More Online Substance Abuse Counselor Certification Options Will Emerge As More States Adopt Remote Learning Options
These state-based options follow the general pattern of supply and demand for counselor certification education as well as the unique requirements imposed by various states. California, for instance, has an initial certification scheme that is easily delivered online. It also has a huge demand for counselors. So you will find many online addiction counselor certification programs in California alone.
Hawaii, on the other hand, is a fairly compact state with a lower demand for counselors overall. In-person learning isn’t as tough to manage. But Hawaii’s certification Board also only permits 135 of the total 300 hours of training to be completed online. So online options aren’t nearly as common.
Still, no one is putting the online genie back in the bottle. The COVID-19 pandemic revolutionized the way a generation looks at education and work… there are more and more remote substance abuse counselor jobs emerging all the time. So you can also expect more and more states and training organizations to start offering certified substance abuse counselor online education courses.