Substance Abuse Counseling Certification in Washington
There are two levels of certification in Washington State for Substance Abuse Counselors. The first level of certification is a training level certification required to accumulate the necessary experience for full certification. This is known as the Chemical Dependency Professional Trainee (CDPT). The full level of certification after one has acquired the necessary experience and passed the required examinations is known as the Chemical Dependency Professional (CDP).
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CDPT Requirements
- Possess a High school Diploma or GED.
- Pass a Criminal Background check.
- Provide proof of current enrollment in a Bachelor’s degree program for Chemical Dependency Counseling.
- Provide proof of current or pending employment as a Chemical Dependency Trainee.
- Provide proof of four hours of AIDS transmission related training.
- You can find the application for the CDPT title here.
CDP Requirements
- You must possess a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Dependency Counseling
- You must have at least 30 semester credits in the following: Understanding addiction; Pharmacological actions of alcohol and other drugs; Substance abuse and addiction treatment methods; Understanding addiction placement, continuing care, and discharge criteria, including American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria; Cultural diversity including people with disabilities and its implication for treatment; Chemical dependency clinical evaluation (screening and referral to include comorbidity); HIV/AIDS brief risk intervention for the chemically dependent; Chemical dependency treatment planning; Referral and use of community resources; Service coordination (implementing the treatment plan, consulting, continuing assessment and treatment planning); Individual counseling; Group counseling; Chemical dependency counseling for families, couples and significant others; Client, family and community education; Developmental psychology; Psychopathology/abnormal psychology; Documentation, to include, screening, intake, assessment, treatment plan, clinical reports, clinical progress notes, discharge summaries, and other client related data; Chemical dependency confidentiality; Professional and ethical responsibilities; Relapse prevention; Adolescent chemical dependency assessment and treatment; Chemical dependency case management; and Chemical dependency rules and regulations.
- Pass either the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) or the International Certification Reciprocity Consortium (ICRC) level II exam.
- Accumulate 2,000 hours of supervised work experience.
- If you have a Master’s degree this is lowered to 1,500 hours.
- You can find the application form for the CDP title here.
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