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Substance Abuse Counselor Training in Washington - WA

By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: July, 18 2010

The State of Washington leads the nation in the efficient production of baccalaureate degrees among students already enrolled in college and produces more graduate degrees relative to the number of graduate students enrolled than do most other states, according to data from the United States National Center for Education Statistics. For students interested in pursuing a career as a substance abuse counselor, Washington offers numerous educational opportunities – both on campus and in online and distance learning.

Note that the Washington State Department of Health mandates that substance abuse counselor training in Washington must cover the following topics that relate to alcohol and drug addicted individuals: understanding addiction; pharmacological actions of alcohol and other drugs; substance abuse and addiction treatment methods; addiction placement, continuing care, and discharge criteria; cultural diversity including people with disabilities and its implication for treatment; chemical dependency clinical evaluation (screening and referral to include comorbidity) and HIV/aids brief risk intervention for the chemically dependent.

Other mandated topics are chemical dependency treatment planning; referral and use of community resources; service coordination; individual and group counseling; chemical dependency counseling for families, couples and significant others; client, family and community education; developmental psychology; psychopathology/abnormal psychology; documentation; chemical dependency confidentiality; professional and ethical responsibilities; relapse prevention; adolescent chemical dependency assessment and treatment; chemical dependency case management, rules and regulations.