Substance Use Disorder Studies Programs

Programs Offered

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Estimated cost of attendance for the academic year (three quarters), based on 12 credits per quarter for Washington residents.

• 92 creditsTuition and fees: $12,879
• Books and supplies: $1,515 

Substance Use Disorder Professional Trainee License:

• Application fee for Washington State: $110

Grand Total: $14,504

The minimum education requirements for a substance use disorder professional credential are:

An associate's degree in human services or related field from an approved school;

• The minimum amount of instruction required in topics related to the substance use disorder profession is at least:
  • Forty-five quarter college credits;
  • Thirty semester college credits; or
  • Four hundred fifty hours of related/supplemental instruction provided by a competent instructor in an approved and registered apprenticeship program.
• Education and apprenticeship program course work must include the following topics specific to individuals with substance use disorder in their recovery:
  • Understanding addiction;
  • Pharmacological actions of alcohol and other drugs;
  • Substance abuse and addiction treatment methods;
  • Understanding addiction placement, continuing care, and discharge criteria, including American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria;
  • Cultural diversity including people with disabilities and its implication for treatment;
  • Substance use disorder clinical evaluation (screening and referral to include comorbidity);
  • HIV/AIDS brief risk intervention for individuals with a substance use disorder;
  • Substance use disorder treatment planning;
  • Referral and use of community resources;
  • Service coordination (implementing the treatment plan, consulting, continuing assessment and treatment planning);
  • Individual counseling;
  • Group counseling;
  • Substance use disorder counseling for families, couples and significant others;
  • Client, family and community education;
  • Developmental psychology;
  • Psychopathology/abnormal psychology;
  • Documentation, to include, screening, intake, assessment, treatment plan, clinical reports, clinical progress notes, discharge summaries, and other client related data;
  • Substance use disorder confidentiality;
  • Professional and ethical responsibilities;
  • Relapse prevention;
  • Adolescent substance use disorder assessment and treatment;
  • Substance use disorder case management; and
  • Substance use disorder rules and regulations.

The required number of supervision hours is based on the applicant's level of formal education. This includes:

• Four thousand hours of substance use disorder (SUD) counseling for applicants participating in an approved and registered apprenticeship program*
• Two thousand five hundred hours of substance use disorder (SUD) counseling for applicants with an associate degree or qualifying coursework.
• Two thousand hours of SUD counseling for applicants with a baccalaureate degree.
• Fifteen hundred hours of SUD counseling for applicants with a master's or doctoral degree.
• One thousand hours of SUD counseling for people who are licensed in one of the approved professions for the alternative track in WAC 246-811-076.

*Note – the increased experience requirement for SUDP apprentices is an apprenticeship requirement.

Eight hundred and fifty hours of experience including:

• Two hundred hours of clinical evaluation
• One hundred of the 200 hours must be face-to-face patient contact.
• Six hundred hours of face-to-face counseling to include:
• Individual counseling
• Group counseling
• Counseling families, couples and significant others
• Fifty hours of discussion of professional and ethical responsibilities.

The remaining experience hours must be divided among WAC 246-811-047(2)(d) through (i) as determined by the supervisor.

The alternative training education requirements is for applicants with a license in good standing in one of the following credentials, as outlined in WAC 246-811-076:

• Psychologist under RCW 18.83.
• Marriage and family therapists, mental health counselor, advanced social worker, or independent clinical social worker under RCW 18.225.
• Osteopathic physician under chapter 18.57 RCW.
• Osteopathic physician assistant under chapter 18.57A RCW;
• Physician under chapter 18.71 RCW; or
• Physician assistant under chapter 18.71A RCW.
• Pharmacist under chapter 18.64 RCW

Requirements include 15 quarter or 10 semester college credits from an approved school in the courses specific to alcohol- and drug-addicted people for each of the following topics:

• Survey of addiction;
• Treatment of addiction;
• Pharmacology;
• Physiology of addiction;
• American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria;
• Individual, group, family addiction counseling; and
• Substance use disorder law and ethics.

The National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) level one or higher. Also the Intentional Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (ICRC), the Alcohol Drug Counselor (ADC), or the Advanced Alcohol Drug Counselor (AADC) exam is accepted for certification. Note the ICRC exam is not available in Washington state, however it is eligible for individuals licensed in other states where this exam may be required.

Applicants must meet all certification requirements before being approved to sit for the examination. Approval from the Department of Health is only for the NAADAC examination, the ICRC exam is not available to take in Washington state. Verification must be sent directly from NAADAC or ICRC, or from the state in which applicants passed the exam. If the exam was administered as part of an applicant's education, the school must verify the scores.