Build On Your Bachelor’s - Earn a Master's to Become a Substance Abuse Counselor

You have a bachelor’s degree. Maybe it’s in psychology or even a human services field that intersects with substance use disorder, like social work or counseling. Maybe you’re already licensed in one of those fields. Or maybe your bachelor’s is in an entirely different field. In any case, holding a bachelor’s is a powerful starting point that you can build on with a master’s in substance use disorder counseling and the advanced certification it can qualify you to earn.

For anyone graduating from college today with plans to go into any aspect of human services, the substance addiction epidemic looms large.

Spurred by unchecked prescriptions for opiate-based pain medications, rates of misuse and overdose death have steadily climbed in the past two decades. As they did, they left a pile of wreckage behind:

According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, nearly 60 million Americans use or misuse drugs in any given year. Another 30 million or so have alcohol misuse disorders.

And while name brand prescription opioids like Oxycontin dominated the illicit drug market just a few years ago, criminal enterprises have been cooking up and flooding the streets with cheaper and deadlier versions of pharmaceutical opioids like fentanyl.

And it’s not just opioids. Many other substances are leading people into similar straits, including some that have just started popping up on the radar in the last decade – everything from the powerful sedative xylazine (known as tranq) to a cheaper and deadlier new form of meth.

It all has reverberating effects that are felt in the fields of human services and psychology— the area you yourself might have majored in during your bachelor’s program.

Substance abuse and its effects will certainly define many social services careers in America today, even for those who didn’t initially plan to specialize in addiction counseling.

The reality is that no amount of social services are going to turn lives around and pull communities back from the brink without facing the addiction crisis head on. And substance use disorder (SUD) counselors are the people digging out the roots of that crisis.

By earning your bachelor’s degree in psychology or counseling, you have already taken the first big step to becoming one of them. With a master’s degree in addiction or chemical dependency counseling, you’ll be a powerful force for turning the tide, rescuing communities one person at a time.

How Addiction Counseling Fits in With the Big Picture of American Social Services

Substance use disorders are such a broad part of the social fabric in the United States today that pretty much every human services job has some role in dealing with them.

Many licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) spend the larger part of their days lining up resources and getting assistance to clients with substance use disorders. Many licensed professional counselors (LPCs) and licensed mental health counselors (LMHCs) work with clients who self-medicate in response to mental and emotional traumas. Many marriage and family therapists (MFTs) address marital issues stemming from a spouse’s alcohol or drug use.

Substance use disorder is so intertwined, that some professions even have dedicated credentials in addiction counseling, such as the Master Addiction Counselor (MAC) offered through the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC).

But those roles are in some ways just dealing with the fallout of chemical dependency. The catastrophic outcomes of substance use end when patients receive treatment for their addictions. And that’s where substance use disorder (SUD) counselors come in.

SUD professionals go by many different titles in different parts of the country:

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor
Addictions Therapist
Chemical Dependency Counselor
Addictions Counselor
Substance Abuse Counselor
Substance Use Disorder Professional

The preferred terms in the field are drifting away from loaded words like abuse or drugs or even addict in favor of more neutral and unbiased terms like substance use and patient. But the print in state licensing laws isn’t going to change overnight, so it will be a while before you see less judgmental terms show up in professional titles.

Whatever they are called, SUD counselors spend their days going right at the heart of America’s drug epidemic. In clinical counseling centers and on the streets, they help pull patients back from the abyss.

The good news is that a bachelor’s in psychology, counseling, or even social work hands you all the tools you need to prepare for certification as a SUD counselor. And if you choose to build on it with a master’s degree in addiction counseling, you’ll be prepared for leadership roles and independent practice in the field.

Your objective in earning a bachelor’s degree with a major in psychology or human services was to make lives better. And you’ll find that taking on substance use disorders goes right to the roots of the problems many people experience.

Build on Your Bachelor’s: The Steps to Earning a Master’s Degree and Advanced Certification in Addiction Counseling

First, it’s worth noting that your bachelor’s degree probably already qualifies you for some level of licensure in SUD counseling. Associate or supervised substance abuse counselors can work in any state with only a bachelor’s degree and the right number of education hours specific to addictions and substance use disorders.

The advantages to earning a master’s degree are twofold:

How dramatically? In Washington state, the base number of supervision hours is 2,500 for a SUD Professional license. A master’s degree cuts that down to 1,500, shaving at least six months off the requirement.

In many cases, states will require even LPCs, LMHCs and social workers to hold an additional state license or certification in chemical dependency counseling to be able to describe themselves as SUD counselors and offer related services. And as a practical matter, they would need the specific skills and training gained through this process in order to work effectively with patients experiencing substance use disorders anyway.

Step 1. Earn a Master’s Degree in Addiction Studies

There are a range of master’s programs available to deliver both the knowledge and skills needed in SUD counseling, and that provide the required coursework needed for certification or licensure.

At the heart of the profession are degrees like the Master of Science in Addiction and Substance Abuse Counseling, Master of Arts in Addiction Studies, or Master of Science in Addiction Psychology.

These all build on the foundations of your undergraduate studies in psychology, counseling, social work, or similar human services fields. They take a deeper dive into the specifics of addiction and substance use disorders, however, through coursework in:

It’s important to find a program that focuses on substance use disorders when looking at addiction studies graduate programs. Addictions can take many forms, but for this field you want an in-depth education in chemical dependency counseling.

They also give you the tools to work with patients and their families struggling with substance use disorders through classes that include:

And they’ll go in-depth on the ethical obligations of SUD treatment, covering confidentiality, legal requirements, and how to handle sticky conflicts.

That’s all packed into two years of intensive study, with internship and research experiences also included. There’s a good reason states require fewer experiential hours on the other side of these degrees—you’ll get plenty of experience just in the course of earning one.

Other Majors Are Often Accepted for Advanced Addiction Counseling Licenses

Because addiction counseling also falls into the wheelhouse of other human services occupations, you’ll also find degrees available in psychology, social work, or counseling that offer concentrations in substance use disorders. In many cases, these are expressly designed to qualify you not only for licensing as a counselor or psychologist, but also as an independent chemical dependency counselor.

There are many of these programs under a variety of names, covering a wide range of professional studies:

Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling Substance Use Disorders Concentration
Master of Science in Counseling, Addiction and Substance Abuse Emphasis
Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a Focus on Substance Abuse
Master of Arts in Psychology and Addiction Studies
Master of Science in Psychology with a Concentration in Addictions
Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology, Addiction and Recovery Specialization
Master of Social Work Mental Health, Addiction and the Family Focus Area
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy Systemic Treatment of Addictions Specialization

These degrees are designed specifically to prepare graduates to treat mental health issues that co-occur with substance use disorders—a very common combination. Some states have specific licensing pathways designed for such practitioners.

What if You Already Earned a Master’s in Another Social Services Field?

It’s not unusual for people in fields like social work and counseling to go straight through in college from bachelor’s to master’s without a break. In fact, there are accelerated programs designed for exactly that purpose.

So it’s entirely possible you’re building not only on a bachelor’s degree, but also master’s by the time you get to the point of considering a career in addiction counseling.

That’s not a problem in most states. The accepted list of majors that can qualify you as an advanced SUD counselor is typically very broad, ranging from music therapy to audiology to pastoral studies.

But most of those programs won’t meet other requirements in the code regarding the educational hours needed in areas specific to substance use disorders: coursework like the pharmacology of drugs and alcohol, the physiology of addiction, and developmental psychological impacts on substance use.

To fill in those gaps, the natural choice is a graduate or postgraduate certificate in addiction studies. Offering the needed coursework at a graduate level, it both helps you meet licensure requirements and expands your existing master’s-level training to deal with the challenges of addiction counseling.

Step 2. Build Your Clinical Experience in Substance Use Disorder Counseling

Although that master’s degree will cut down on the total number of hours of clinical experience you’ll need to commit to in most states, you’re still likely to spend a year or more building up direct postgraduate patient contact and supervision hours to earn your state license or certification. Anywhere from 600 to 10,000 hours may be needed depending on your state.

It’s likely that a bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work or counseling has already helped you build up some experience through practicum courses or an internship. That experience is very valuable, but if it didn’t include substance use disorder counseling specifically, it likely won’t count toward meeting SUD licensing requirements.

Those hours are important, however. Often, you’ll start the process as part of your degree. Clinical practicum requirements are an important part of helping graduate students shift from theory in class to practice on the streets. Working under the supervision of experienced counselors and instructors, you get a safe space to make your initial moves as a SUD counselor.

That time will be spent in a variety of scenarios, including:

Every state has different requirements to meet, so you’ll need to check with your local licensing agency. It’s also very common to find internships at facilities offering rehabilitation and treatment that help you meet the standards.

Step 3. Pass the Exam Required for Advanced Substance Use Disorder Counselor Certification

Like other human services professions, licensing and certification for substance abuse counselors runs through standardized testing.

For master’s graduates, there are two organizations that offer the tests most commonly used:

The National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) has the NCAC II (National Certified Addiction Counselor Level II) and the MAC (Master Addiction Counselor) exams.
The International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) operates through associated state certification boards to offer the Advanced Alcohol & Drug Counselor (AADC) credential.

Each of these has around 150 multiple choice questions covering the full range of expertise required in advanced addiction treatment. They include:

Screening, intake, and assessment skills
Treatment planning
Counseling services (ranging from individual to group to crisis counseling)
Documentation and general case management ability
Prevention and continuing care
Legal, ethical, and professional issues in addiction counseling
Psychopharmacology and the physiology of addiction

The tests are conducted as part of the licensing or certification process; you aren’t able to register until a competent agency or board has verified your other license qualifications and approved you.

Finally, a handful of states offer their own homegrown tests, and the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) has their own Master Addiction Counselor certification and test that is accepted in many places. These are all fairly similar to the NAADAC and IC&RC exams, however. In fact, NAADAC will accept the NBCC MAC or AADC exam as valid for NCAC II certification.

Also, some states may require that you pass a jurisprudence exam that quizzes you on specific state legal and regulatory obligations for counselors and treatment facilities. These are often fairly short, but important to study for since the material isn’t covered in standard texts.

Step 4. Become Licensed or Certified in Your State as an Independent Substance Abuse Counselor

Every state requires that SUD counselors become licensed or certified, just like other social service and counseling professions.

The exact process for these credentials vary from state to state.

Thirty-six states recognize a master’s degree as the educational minimum for attaining the highest level of licensure available, qualifying SUD counselors to work as supervisors and independent practitioners:

Alabama
Arkansas
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi

Missouri
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Washington, DC
West Virginia
Wyoming

You can find the specific details for your area on our detailed state-by-state guides:

What you’ll find is that in some states, there is a state government agency responsible for licensing substance use disorder counselors directly. In others, they delegate the responsibility to a non-profit professional certification board. Finally, some states set specific standards for counselors, but allow individual employers to verify and enforce those standards for the counselors they hire.

National certifications also play a role, particularly if you already hold a license in one state and are interested in transferring to another. In other cases, states have reciprocal agreements which recognize licenses from other states with similar standards.

At the end of the day, however, the practical requirements to work as a master’s-qualified substance abuse counselor are fairly similar from state-to-state. You’ll have to check the boxes on the previous steps for education, experience, and testing to become fully authorized to work as a SUD counselor.

A Master’s in Other Fields Like Psychology or Social Work Can Also Provide a Path to Addiction Therapy Licensure

Because of the crossover between fields like psychology and social work and substance abuse counseling, many states offer another path to licensure designed for professionals who are already licensed as LPCs, LMHCs, LCSWs, and MFTs.

These matters are also handled on a state-by-state basis. But in general, states handle this in one of two ways:

The shorter path typically allows you to count your training in a related field toward qualifications for SUD counseling. You may have to show that your training included a certain number of hours in subjects like:

It’s possible to make up required education hours in SUD topics through a graduate certificate program or stand-alone course sequence without having to earn an additional degree.

Though it’s standard practice to stack SUD credentials if you already hold one of these licenses, it’s also entirely possible to earn both sets of credentials concurrently.

The professional paths most commonly combined with SUD credentials are:

Social Workers

Licensed clinical social workers (LCSW) are on the front lines of handling the fallout from the chemical addiction epidemic and its broader effects on society. They have a larger, more systemic perspective on the issue, and can access more tools and resources to help SUD patients in various ways, even beyond counseling.

On the other hand, the coursework in a Master of Social Work degree doesn’t take in all the specialized SUD background and counseling skills really needed on the job. Learn how to become a licensed SUD counselor as well as an LCSW in our guide here.

Counselors and Mental Health Therapists

Licensed professional counselors (LPC) and licensed mental health counselors (LMHC) have always had a strong focus on offering assistance to people facing any kind of life challenge. With substance use disorders becoming more prevalent and more dangerous, drug and alcohol counseling are the root cause of many of those challenges today.

To pick up the specific pharmacological knowledge and treatment skills to meet that challenge, see our guide to adding a SUD counseling license as an LPC or LMHC.

Marriage and Family Therapists

Drugs and alcohol reliably tear families apart. So substance use disorder practice is increasingly becoming a regular part of the work of licensed marriage and family therapists. Without the specialized training and background of SUD counselors, though, their reach is limited.

To learn more about becoming a credentialed substance use disorder counselor as an LMFT, see our guide here.

Psychologists

Psychologists in most states, apart from school psychologists, have already chugged all the way through university for nearly a decade to earn a PhD. So in many cases they are allowed to perform substance abuse therapy without any additional licensing required.

Even that advanced training isn’t necessarily specific enough for the complexities of addiction counseling, however. So check out our guide how to become certified to perform substance abuse counseling as a licensed psychologist for details.

Using a Master’s as a Path To Unique Licensing in Co-Occuring Disorders

In other states, there are special license enhancements. A co-occuring disorder specialist enhancement can be obtained by psychologists, mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and so on to allow some limited practice of SUD counseling within the context of their existing practice.

So, for example, an LMFT who might not normally work with SUD patients would be allowed to do so as part of their work counseling a family where some member was experiencing an addiction issue.

These credentials come with considerably less education and training requirements and a similarly limited number of required supervision and patient contact hours.

Step 5. Find the Perfect Niche for Your Advanced Skills in Addiction Counseling

As you would expect, holding a master’s degree in addiction counseling opens up not just higher level licensing, but more opportunities to make a difference in substance use disorder treatment.

For starters, it unlocks advanced clinical counseling positions across most of the country. These come with job titles like:

These are all roles that allow you to independently diagnose patients, design treatment plans, and work with minimal supervision, in providing services like:

Clinical evaluation and diagnostics
Advanced treatment planning for SUD patients
Making referrals and coordinating treatment services
Conducting direct therapy, counseling, and education with individuals and groups
Client and community education

Additionally, in many cases these are jobs where you will be the one supervising treatment by other SUD counselors. As a lead therapist, you may take on additional administrative responsibilities, coordination with other agencies, and case management.

People with these backgrounds can also advance into leadership roles in social service organizations with management responsibilities that go beyond just addiction therapy. Since substance abuse is a root cause of the problems many communities are experiencing today, having a SUD expert take the helm makes a lot of sense for many human services organizations.

Focusing Your Career on a Particular Population or Specialty Treatment Method

Even as a lead SUD counselor, there is a lot of room for specialization. There are many different populations and niche treatment roles in the field. You may end up running programs devoted to:

You might also choose to specialize in a specific population impacted by substance use disorders. The field has found that different groups respond better or worse to certain therapeutic approaches, so you have opportunities to join teams who specialize in treatment for:

Or you might land a job as a specialist consulting on SUD in hospitals, healthcare practices, social services agencies, or even policy organizations. The additional training that comes with master’s degrees gives you a level of expertise that can make a difference at nearly any level of SUD counseling and services.

Step 6. Keep Current Through Continuing Education in Substance Use Disorders

No matter how high you climb on the educational ladder in substance use disorder counseling, you’re never done. New discoveries, new drugs, and new treatments are always coming into play.

That’s why every state requires some amount of continuing education to keep even the highest level licenses current for the most experienced counselors.

While the exact amount varies from state to state, it’s on par with the requirements for other human services occupations, ranging around 20 to 40 hours per year.

Much of this can be general education in relevant areas of addiction and substance abuse, everything from practice management to how to incorporate families into treatment and recovery plans.

Many states do have a specific subset of hours that have to be spent in areas such as:

The venues for picking up this education is equally broad. College coursework, in post-graduate studies, is one source. Conferences, presentations, and symposia, whether you are attending or presenting, are another option. And many professional organizations offer training in the field.

You’ll need to ensure that such organizations are accredited by the relevant board or agency that handles your renewals to make sure that training counts. Big national organizations like NAADAC are commonly recognized; smaller local organizations may or may not be.

Step 7. Expand Your Capabilities With National Certification or Other Licenses

NAADAC will probably be on your radar no matter what. As a master’s-qualified counselor, one of the next natural steps to take in your career will be to become nationally certified in SUD counseling in general, or in one or more of the various specialized areas of the field.

With your level of education, the MAC, or Master Addiction Counselor, probably offers the best fit. You’ve almost certainly already passed the MAC or other qualifying exam in order to get a license. Having a current license, in fact, is one of the requirements for the certification. From there, you also need:

Performing supervision for other addiction counselors putting in their hours toward licensure is another standard role when you have an advanced degree and certification. So the NAADAC National Clinical Supervision Endorsement (NCSE) is also a common option. It requires:

A passing score on the NCSE exam or a combination of passing the IC&RC AADC and CS examinations
A current credential or license in SUD or related counseling fields
At least five years or 10,000 hours of employment as a SUD counselor, with at least two years performing direct clinical supervision, and 200 hours being supervised yourself as you perform supervisory duties
An additional 30 hours of education specific to SUD clinical supervision work

Leveraging Your Master’s in Addiction Therapy to Achieve Credentials in Other Psychology or Counseling Roles

Just as other licensed professionals like social workers and psychologists can use their advanced training as a fast-track to SUD counselor certification, you may also be able to use a master’s in substance abuse counseling to expand your own range with licensure in another field.

Just as it is with stacking SUD credentials on top of other licenses, this is a very state-by-state process. But many states look to specific kinds of coursework as qualification for other licenses, and do not necessarily require a master’s in those fields. So it’s perfectly possible to extend your expertise with a graduate certificate and go on to meet the testing and experiential requirements for those fields, as well.

It’s very common to find licensed SUD counselors who are also licensed therapists, counselors, or psychologists.

Since psychologists typically need a PhD, you can even use your master’s in addiction studies as a basis to apply to doctoral studies in clinical psychology.

The Importance of Master’s Graduates in the Field of Addiction Therapy

Earning a master’s degree in addiction counseling puts you in a slightly more advanced place in this field than a master’s would in most other human services fields. Pretty much every LCSW or LPC has earned a graduate degree just to get that credential.

Because the great majority of licensed SUD counselors come into the field with only two or four-year degrees behind them, that puts you in the running for a leadership position by default in substance abuse counseling. With your additional training, research, and experience, you’ll be expected to take a broader view of the community and how to address substance use disorders. That may include larger prevention efforts, involvement in policy matters, or administering and overseeing other SUD counselors.

Your guidance and input may be critical in pushing back against the epidemic of substance use engulfing the country today. That responsibility isn’t one that just anyone can handle. Your education and commitment can make a real difference.