Addiction Counseling

Overview

The Addiction Counseling Associate Degree will provide you the education and training required for a career in the Substance Use Disorder Treatment profession and to become Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counseling in NH. Substance Use Disorder Treatment and specifically Addiction Counseling are professions seeking qualified workers now. NHTI provides the education and training employers need and want.

Students acquire a broad understanding of Substance Use Disorder Treatment to include an interdisciplinary knowledge base and the skills required to be a Best Practices Addiction Counselor. These include: Critical Thinking, Complex Reasoning, Communication, Being a Team Member, Engaging in Human Interaction, Applying Content Knowledge, Lifelong Learning, Ongoing Professional Development, and Personal Growth.

Why NHTI?

We will prepare you to assist individuals and families coping with the effects of substance use. As a program graduate you will be educated and trained to support prevention, addiction treatment, and recovery efforts in a variety of settings. Upon graduation, we encourage you to continue networking with your NHTI-based practicum supervisors, professors, and other professionals you met during your college experience. Program-specific courses taught by instructors with practical experience as helping Professionals. NHTI’s flexible scheduling allows for learning on your terms. Year-round day, evening, 8-week and online classes help get you there.

Internships / Practica

• Our program provides your supervised, hands-on training in the form of two 15-week Practica each comprised of 125 hours (~ 8 hours/week). Site Options include the range of substance use treatment facilities in NH (e.g., residential, IOP, OP, MAT) in a variety of settings and populations (e.g., adolescent, adult, families, correctional).
• At your Site, your will practically apply classroom knowledge and theory as you refine your skills related to the 12 Core Functions and 46 Global Criteria. At the same time, you will gain confidence on your pathway to becoming an ethical, best practices treatment professional.
• In addition, you will build a solid foundation and a competitive advantage for future success and employment. This foundation also includes the development of soft skills which are essential for employability. The Practicum Experience often leads to full-time entry level positions.

Two Practica = The Training You Need to Succeed! 

Unique to This Program

We offer three options which respond to (1) your need for a credential that can lead to employment on the way to degree completion and (2) employer demands for individuals trained in how to interact with others.

• SUD Tx Certificate Option: The 6-course, 19-credit Substance Use Disorder Treatment (SUD Tx) Certificate which responds This Certificate includes five courses embedded in the Addiction Counseling Degree plus the one additional course (ADCL 230C) described below.

• Certified Recovery Support Worker (CRSW) Course Option: The ADCL 230C: Four Domains of the Certified Recovery Support Worker course provides the education required in NH for eventual credentialing as a CRSW.

• Mindful Communications Certificate: This certificate includes 4 courses which provide students with skills to improve focus, attention, mood and even reduce stress. These courses are embedded in the Addiction Counseling Degree.

This program is financial aid eligible. 

If you have a desire to help communities and people better their lives and situations, contact us!

Addiction Counseling Degree

FIRST YEAR

SECOND YEAR

Program Outcomes

• Learning Outcomes (PDF)

Admission Requirements

• Candidates may be required to have a personal interview with a department faculty member.

Transfer Information

• Transferring to other institutions
• Transferring to NHTI
• Transfer (Articulation) Agreements

Health, Technical and Character Standards

The college must ensure that patients/clients are not placed in jeopary by students during learning experiences. Therefore, students in practica, service learning and clinical experiences must demonstrate sufficient emotional stability to withstand the stresses, uncertainties, and changing circumstances that characterize patient/client care responsibilities. Furthermore, the student is expected to have the emotional stability required to exercise sound judgment, accept direction and guidance from a supervisor or faculty member and establish rapport and maintain sensitive interpersonal relationships with employees, customers and/or patients/clients and their families.

Character Expectations

• Human Service and Addiction Counseling students work closely with individuals of all ages in the field. Many of the Practicum sites and potential employers will perform a background check through the New Hampshire Department of Safety as well as police and potential FBI checks. A student’s driving record will also be examined and considered prior to acceptance of some practicum and employment opportunities. The student may be called upon to pay for the previously mentioned background checks, etc;
• Applicants who have been in difficulty with the law, depending upon the nature of the problem, may not be employable or even eligible for practica. Applicants need to discuss these issues in an interview or meeting, so that future goals will not be compromised.

Health Consideration

• All Human Service majors will receive NHTI Health forms following acceptance. These forms must be completed and along with requested health physical exam, TB testing, prior to the start of classes. Each student is required to obtain NHTI Liability Insurance, starting in each academic year. The students will be billed directly. Students are also eligible to purchase Health Insurance through NHTI for their own health needs.

Technical Standards

Technical Standards have been established as guidance tools to inform program applicants of skills and standards necessary for successful completion of the Human Service programs. Any applicant who has concerns or questions regarding the Technical Standards is encouraged to contact the Department Chair to discuss their individual issues. Students in the Human Service programs must be able to demonstrate:

• Ability to communicate verbally as a student in classes, and later as a professional in individual and group counseling situations;
• Sufficient verbal skills and language to: collaborate with a wide variety of helping professionals in clinical, societal and professional areas; deliver accurate and required information; and to search for information, e.g., questioning;
• Sufficient writing ability to formulate written assessment, charting notes, and reports, etc.;
• Ability to sustain cognitive integrity in areas of short- and long-term memory, areas of written documentation and follow-through of responsibilities;
• Ability to concentrate on the execution of treatment plans, assigned skills and tasks as well as the integration and communication of this work for both short and long term periods of time;
• Ability to work in settings that may lend themselves to frequent interruptions, immediate crisis response and role responsibility exchange;
• Ability to cope with a variety of stressors, including people-place occurrences, and demonstrate safe and required care for individuals and the workplace as a whole;
• Ability to secure transportation to practicum sites and classes;
• Ability to consistently attend and participate in classes;
• Ability to demonstrate and maintain organizational skills, time management and professional respect and conduct as a human service student, either at a practicum site, or in the community;
• Ability to adhere to and practice the Human Service Department’s ethical guidelines.

Sobriety Statement 

The Human Service Department abides by the accepted national standard that recommends a minimum of two years of sobriety for any prospective trainee in the field of alcohol and other drug use counseling.