CDC Program ~ Program available IN CLASS & ONLINE
Our fast track (In Class option: 12 weeks; Online option: 6 months) Both options require 11 week Practicum Course and Internship also available in class and online

MFT / CDC  - 8 weeks + 11 week Practicum Course and Internship

Practicum + Internship Only (11 weeks)
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CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY COUNSELING PROGRAM
570 Clock Hours / 35 Semester Credit/Units
Our 570 hour CDC Program qualifies the student for employment and/or self-employment as a Chemical Dependency Counselor. Students receive instruction in the physiology of addiction, drug pharmacology, case management including effective performance of the other 11 counseling core functions, individual and group counseling skills, family counseling, ethics, law, treating special populations, personal / professional counselor growth and burnout prevention, therapeutic theories and techniques, relapse prevention, CAADAC and more. Students are required to write a written report on various topics for each Phase of the Course. Students must also complete in a 255-hour internship at an approved facility and 45 hours of concurrent educational classroom coursework including TAP 21 - "Addiction Counseling Competencies", case management and the core functions of counseling, as well as a review of their progress in their internship. Upon successful completion of our program, students will receive a Certificate of Completion as a “Chemical Dependency Counselor” and a Transcript for the completed course. The CDC Program graduate qualifies to counsel in private practice or as a treatment center employee, to apply for Certification -- preferably with CAADAC, since the course is designed to meet CAADAC requirements and prepare students for CAADAC exams.
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COMPREHENSIVE COURSE DESCRIPTION

CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY COUNSELOR; 570 Clock Hours/35.0 Credit Units

CDC 101 Addiction Overview & Drug Pharmacology; 45 Clock Hours/4.0 Credit Units
Addiction Overview and Drug Pharmacology gives the student basic knowledge and skills to understand chemical addiction, its’ history, processes, signs, symptoms, physiology and addictive behavior. Students will learn the pharmacology and the characteristics of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and other commonly abused substances and their sources, methods of ingestion, addictive properties, and withdrawal. Various approaches to substance abuse treatment and recovery are included.

CDC 102 Case Mgmt and Other Core Functions; 45 Clock Hours/4.0 Credit Units
Case Management and Other Core Functions covers Case Management, including the 12 Core Functions of Counseling. Students will also learn about the DSM-IV TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), its classifications of substance abuse disorders, and parameters for identifying a substance abuse disorder vs. substance dependency and other disorders. The students will learn how to perform each core function, how they overlap, and will prepare a written Case Presentation applying what they have learned.

CDC 103 Individual and Group Counseling Skills; 45 Clock Hours/4.0 Credit Units
Individual and Group Counseling Skills helps the students understand the basic counseling skills involved in individual and group (including family) counseling, including: active listening, attentiveness, reflection, questioning, paraphrasing, summarizing, and more. They will also study the basics of group process and group dynamics as well as basic ground rules for group/family process. After each skill set is learned, the students practice them by role-playing with each other while being videotaped for review and feedback to enhance the learning process and prepare them for counseling participation during their internships.

CDC 104 Ethics, Law, & Other Treatment Issues; 45 Clock Hours/4.0 Credit Units
Ethics, Law & Other Treatment Issues covers the legal and ethical guidelines that pertain to the substance abuse counseling field. Critical topics include ethics and the law, confidentiality, informed consent, clients’ rights, dual relationships, confrontation, scope of practice, and more. It also includes special issues relevant to chemical dependency counseling such as HIV – AIDS, TB, and hepatitis awareness, gambling and sex addiction, counseling special populations (including multi-cultural awareness and sensitivity), cross-addiction, dual diagnosis, anger, resentments and forgiveness, brief grief and loss counseling, and the importance of addressing spirituality in a non-religious context.

CDC 105 Personal/Professional Growth & CAADAC; 45 Clock Hours/4.0 Credit Units
Personal/Professional Growth & CAADAC covers professional behavior, burnout signs, symptoms, and prevention, and counselor assets and liabilities inventory. It also includes the role and dynamics of counseling the families involved in chemical dependency. Relevant issues include the stages and signs of the family illness, co-dependency, enabling, detachment, Al-Anon, communication issues, con-joint sessions, and multi-family and couples process groups and educations. Students finalize their written Case Presentations and receive a systematic overview of CAADAC, the written and oral CCBADC exams, CAADAC Scope of Practice and Code of Ethics.

CDC 106 Counseling Theories and Relapse Prevention; 45 Clock Hours/4.0 Credit Units
Counseling Theories and Relapse Prevention addresses the major theories of personality development -- including Freud, Adler, Lazarus, Rogers, Ellis, Glasser and more -- and how each method of therapy originated.  The 11 phases of relapse (particularly the work of renowned relapse preventionist Terence T. Gorski) will be studied along with the tools and coping skills necessary to deal with major relapse triggers and to help patients prepare a personal relapse prevention plan.

CDC 107 Supervised Practicum; 45 Clock Hours/5.0 Credit Units

The Supervised Practicum is designed to meet the practicum study requirements as outlined by CAADAC through the CCBADC. These 45 hours of educational study, course work and classes provide the student with the guidelines of TAP-21, “Counselor Competencies - The knowledge, Skills and Attitudes of Professional Practice", as well as more on the 12-Core Functions of a counselor, home study work, written reports, and a review of internship issues to prepare the student for efficacy with the environments and populations of treatment. Practicum classes are taken concurrently with the supervised internship

CDC 108 Clinically Supervised Internship; 255 Clock Hours/6.0 Credit Units

During the Clinically Supervised Internship the student participates in supervised on-the-job training at one of the local, approved treatment facilities or providers. This is a combined effort between the school and the internship facility. Students are able to apply the knowledge acquired in the classroom to real-life situations while they observe and experience at least 21 hours in each of the 12 counseling core functions. The student has the opportunity to discover areas of needed improvement while receiving support and guidance from the internship supervisor and from our Practicum Instructor. The students must have all evaluation paperwork completed and signed evidencing the required 255 hours of supervised internship work.

*COURSE OFFERINGS APPROVED CURRICULUM BY (CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL COUNSELORS) CAADAC.