Certificate of Achievement in Addictive Disorders Counseling

The Addictive Disorders Counseling Program is designed to prepare students to work in the field of addiction counseling. Both a Certificate of Achievement and an Associate Degree are available. The program provides students with the education and training to develop paraprofessional expertise and qualify for employment as entry-level addiction counselors. A required fieldwork component offers students invaluable hands-on experience working at a facility dedicated to the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction. Licensed clinicians seeking expertise in addictions can complete the new non-fieldwork-based Certificate of Achievement: Post-Professional Practice in Alcohol and Drug Counseling.

The Certificate of Achievement in Addictive Disorders Counseling program is designed to provide students with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to work in the field of addiction counseling. The program focuses on the nature of addiction, the impact of addiction on individuals and families, and effective interventions for treatment.

The program typically takes one year to complete and consists of a combination of lecture-based classes, practical training, and supervised internships. Students will work closely with experienced instructors who are also licensed professionals in the field of addiction disorders counseling.

The curriculum of the program includes courses in addiction studies, counseling theory, group counseling, individual counseling, and ethics. Students will also receive training in evidence-based practices for treating addiction, such as motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and relapse prevention.

Throughout the program, students will gain practical experience in counseling through supervised internships in community-based organizations and treatment centers. Students will have the opportunity to work with individuals and families who are struggling with addiction and apply the skills and knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world situations.

Upon completion of the program, graduates will have the foundational skills and knowledge necessary to work as an addiction counselor in a variety of settings, such as substance abuse treatment centers, community-based organizations, hospitals, and private practices. Graduates may also choose to continue their education in a related field, such as psychology, social work, or counseling.

SBCC offers a Transfer Agreement Guarantee (TAG). A TAG is a contractual agreement between the student, SBCC, and specific four-year colleges or universities. This includes six University of California ( *UC) institutions, six California State Institutions (CSU), seven California private institutions, nine out-of-state institutions, as well as Honors Transfer Agreements with ten institutions and 8 CSUs without campus impaction. Students must enroll in the TAG program and work with a TAG advisor. Please click here to Learn more on the TAG program website.

Addictive Disorders Counseling (ADC)

ADC 111 Substance Abuse and Society (2 Units)

Prerequisites: ADC 120.

Skills Advisories: Eligibility for ENG 110 or ENG 110H.

Hours: 36 (36 lectures)

Study of the impact of substance abuse on American society and governmental and community responses, including reducing crime, promoting education, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. Topics include the cost of substance abuse, the failure of the War on Drugs, current trends in diversion and treatment-based specialty courts, the efficacy of different treatment modalities, and the effects on minorities.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable, UC Transferable

ADC 120 Alcohol and Other Drugs (3 Units)

Skills Advisories: Eligibility for ENG 110 or ENG 110H.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Study of psychoactive substance use, abuse, and dependence from social, historical, and current perspectives, including biological, psychological, and socio-cultural models of addiction and dependence. Explores the impact of alcohol and drugs on American society and the dynamics of chemical dependency. Other topics include the cost of substance abuse, different treatment modalities and philosophies, and the effects of substance abuse on minorities, seniors, and women.

Transfer Information: CSUGE Area E, CSU Transferable, UC Transferable

ADC 121 Basic Interviewing And Counseling Skills (3 Units)

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Presents skills fundamental to effective interviewing and counseling, including how to deal constructively with clients whose behavior is unpleasant. Students learn the dynamics of behavior and relationships and develop a conceptual model for observing and assessing patterns of personal interactions. Skills learned may be applied in counseling, mediation, negotiation, and interpersonal settings.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 122 Pharmacological And Physiological Effects Of Alcohol And Other Drugs (3 Units)

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Survey of the medical and pharmacological aspects of alcohol and psychoactive substances. Includes theories and research about chemical dependency, pharmacological actions of drugs, drug classifications, medical and physical effects of alcohol and other drugs, the potential for abuse and dependency, and how psychoactive substances affect the mind and body.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 123 Group Treatment (3 Units)

Corequisites: prior or concurrent enrollment in ADC 121.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Examines the theory and practice of group therapy as a primary modality in the treatment of substance abuse/dependency and explores group structures and compositions that work best for different populations in successive stages of recovery, stages of group process, and practical group leader skills.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 124 Chemical Dependency and the Family (3 Units)

Course Advisories: ADC 120 and ADC 121.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Presents theory and clinical practice designed to provide a basic understanding of the family dynamics involved when a member has a chemical dependency problem. Therapeutic techniques facilitate effective intervention strategies for the family as a system and individuals within that system.

Transfer Information: CSUGE Area E, CSU Transferable

ADC 125 Co-Occurring Disorders I: Recognition and Referral (3 Units)

Course Advisories: ADC 120 and ADC 121.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Explores historical and current theories dealing with clients who have both a substance abuse and co-existing psychiatric disorder. Includes concepts, definitions, epidemiology, historical divisions of the fields of substance abuse and psychiatry, funding, clinical implications, recognition, and assessment and referral of clients.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 126 Treatment And Case Management Of Chemically-Dependent Individuals (4 Units)

Prerequisites: ADC 121.

Hours: 72 (72 lectures)

Theories, skills, techniques, and legal/ethical practices fundamental to bio-psycho-social therapy for chemically-dependent individuals. Includes eliciting an appropriate case history; assessment and diagnosis; implementing effective intervention; case management skills; treatment plan development; and a review of legal and ethical issues governing the alcohol and drug counselor's responsibilities.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 129 Emotional Balance and Mindfulness in Recovery (3 Units)

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Introduces bio-psychological approaches to the treatment of trauma and addiction, engaging dynamics between the brain and the mind. Presents research demonstrating the efficacy of meditation, mindfulness, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), neurofeedback, and physical/emotional lifestyle choices as transformative practices which lead to increased and lasting emotional balance.

Transfer Information: CSUGE Area E, CSU Transferable

ADC 130 Diversity and Cultural Issues In Counseling: Identity, Expression, and Addiction (3 Units)

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Examines the importance of diversity and culture in determining an individual's reality as applied to the prevention and treatment of alcohol and other drug abuse or dependence. Explores both dependence and codependence from different cultural perspectives, with emphasis on increasing the student's awareness of the social and economic factors that influence substance abuse among ethnic populations.

Transfer Information: CSUGE Area E, CSU Transferable

ADC 131 Attitudes, Motivation, and Behavior Change (3 Units)

Prerequisites: ADC 120.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Explores and contrasts models of motivation and behavior change in substance-abusing clients. Students examine and practice motivational-enhancing techniques, with an emphasis on learning therapeutic skills to create conditions that facilitate an individual's motivation to change, enlisting the cooperation in developing a plan of change and helping the client to maintain a positive attitude.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 132 Substance Abuse and Adolescents (3 Units)

Course Advisories: ADC 120 and ADC 124.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Focuses on the treatment needs and challenges of substance-abusing adolescents. Includes screening and assessment; developing effective prevention and treatment approaches; levels and types of care; case management; detoxification; individual, group, and family therapy; peer-driven treatment; treatment in the juvenile justice system; and why adolescent treatment has been so unsuccessful.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 133 Anger Management and Family Violence (3 Units)

Prerequisites: ADC 120.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Examines anger, aggression, and violence, particularly domestic violence, and their connection to substance abuse. Explores screening for domestic violence and the creation of effective treatment plans.

Transfer Information: CSUGE Area E, CSU Transferable

ADC 135 Chemical Dependency Counseling Case Management and Treatment (3 Units)

Prerequisites: ADC 121.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Theories, skills, and techniques fundamental to bio-psycho-social counseling for chemically-dependent individuals, including eliciting an appropriate case history; assessment, and diagnosis; treatment plan development; implementing effective interventions, and case management skills.

ADC 139 Introduction to Process Addictions (3 Units)

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Presents the psychological and physiological aspects of process addictions within a meta-pattern called Addiction Interaction Disorder (AID). Explores how addictions, compulsions, and deprivations combine, interact and become part of one another and how these packages can be unbundled and approached separately or in whole.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 140 Recovery Through Movement (2 Units)

Hours: 36 (36 lectures)

Explores how daily physical practice can build conscious awareness and transform negative self-perception patterns and interpretations, resulting from addictive conditioned tendencies, by building an awareness of how the body and the mind are connected, developing an awareness of how the body takes on the shape of our experience.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 146 Substance Abuse Prevention (3 Units)

Course Advisories: ADC 120 and ADC 121.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Provides training from evidence-based prevention initiatives and practices; the application, effective planning, and evaluation of those practices from research that validates the advantages of prevention; and the creation of new opportunities for expansion in the field of substance abuse.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 147 Tobacco Addiction and Treatment (3 Units)

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Explores the nature and severity of tobacco addiction and effective interventions and strategies to promote using cessation, personal awareness, and wellness, modeling these strategies. Topics include, but are not limited to, managing symptoms of stress, diet, physical movement, goal setting, habit change, resistance, and fear of change regarding cessation.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 148 Legal and Ethical Issues in Addictive Disorders Counseling (3 Units)

Prerequisites: ADC 121.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Theories of legal/ethical practices fundamental to counseling for chemically-dependent individuals, including a review of legal and ethical issues governing the addiction disorders counselor's responsibilities.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 152 Clinical Process (3 Units)

Prerequisites: ADC 126.

Corequisites: ADC 290.

Hours: 54 (54 lectures)

Through the use of case presentations, clinical process, and supervision, this course further develops and integrates specific skills and competencies central to the entry-level alcohol and drug counselor's professional and clinical efficacy.

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

ADC 290 Work Experience in Alcohol and Drug Counseling (1-4 Units)

Prerequisites: ADC 126.

Hours: 300 (300 lab)

Provides certificate and degree students in Alcohol and Drug Counseling with fieldwork at an agency offering counseling and/or case management services to individuals and families with alcohol or other drug problems. Experiential Learning consists of 220 hours of supervised fieldwork over a 16-week semester. Course restricted to 3 repetitions

Transfer Information: CSU Transferable

Learning Outcomes

1. Implement a systematic approach to screening and assessment of individuals thought to have a substance use disorder and who are being considered for addiction-related services in a crisis situation.
2. Use a collaborative process in which professionals and the client develop a written document that identifies important treatment goals within measurable, time-sensitive action steps toward achieving those goals with expected outcomes.
3. Employ the administrative, clinical and evaluative activities that bring the client, treatment services and other resources together to focus on the issues and needs identified in the treatment plan.
4. Facilitate the clients progress toward mutually determined treatment goals and objectives, including counseling methods that are sensitive to individual client needs and to the influence of significant others, as well as the clients cultural and social norms.
5. Present clients, families, significant others and community groups with information on risks related to psychoactive substance use, as well as available prevention, treatment and recovery resources.
6. Record the screening and intake process, assessment, treatment plan, clinical reports and progress notes, discharge summaries and other client-related data.
7. Adhere to the obligations of an addiction counselor within accepted ethical and behavioral standards of conduct and professional development.