| The mainstream media has highlighted addiction, treatment, and recovery. Some popular cable shows including Intervention, Celebrity Rehab, and Sober House all outline the lives of addicts. Within each of these shows are drug counselors who provide support to recovering addicts.
Addiction counseling majors will learn a variety of skills and information on how to work with clients. Such skills include listening techniques and integration of counseling theories. Information that will be learned includes drug identification, addictive personalities, and effects of addiction. College addiction counseling programs need to offer these skills and knowledge and an additional internship so that students can pass a state board test.
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Located southwest of the Twin Cities, Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU) offers a drug and alcohol studies program. This program is located under the Department of Health Science. Students have the option of taking the program as a major or minor; however, only the major track can provide students an opportunity to take the state exam.
The program requires students to take courses to obtain helping skills and group facilitation. Additionally, student must also take courses specific to addiction, assessment, and mental health. After the completion of these courses, students are then expected to complete an 880 hour internship in a treatment center, hospital, correctional facility, or half-way house.
Admission into MSU is straightforward. Students are automatically admitted to the school if they rank within the top 50% of their high school class. They can also automatically be accepted if they score at least a 21 on an ACT and have a decent class rank. Students do not need to take the ACT writing portion. Additionally, students must have taken the correct high school courses.
Nevada State College, Henderson
While Nevada State College does not offer a major in addiction counseling, the college provides it as a minor under the psychology major. The same types of courses are required as with MSU, and the student must complete a 1500 hour internship. The experience will provide students the opportunity to take the Certification Examination for Addiction Counselors.
The college is located in Henderson, Nevada which borders Las Vegas. Admission into the college is basic, including at least a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 in high school and taking the basic core classes. The college also requires students to take either the SAT or ACT to evaluate the student's readiness for college level work.
Colleges for Substance Abuse Counseling
Many colleges offer substance abuse counseling programs from certificate, associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees. The following are some college options for a bachelor's degree or emphasis in substance abuse counseling:
Barnard College in New York
Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho
Jamestown College in North Dakota
Southwestern College in Texas
For students interested in this type of academic program, it is important that the student research the college's program. Some programs are state specific and will only prepare students for that state's certification exam. Other programs may only have a handful of classes and not provide students with any type of certificate or degree.
Students interested in substance abuse counseling can also find further information on programming. The Association for Addiction Professional and The American Counseling Association have great resources on additional colleges that offer programming in abuse counseling.
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