Last month, Governor Holcomb called for increasing the number of trained addiction counselors to help combat opioid abuse. Employment of mental health and substance abuse social workers is expected to grow by 19 percent between 2014 and 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s growing opioid addiction crisis will only further accelerate the need for licensed addiction counselors.
Ivy Tech Community College is the only state college in Indiana that offers the necessary technical coursework required for Indiana’s addiction counselor license. The Addiction Studies Certificate offered within the School of Public and Social Services includes coursework that covers eight of the education content areas required to apply for the state addiction counselor license.
“If a person already has a bachelor’s degree in a helping field such as counseling, psychology or social work, the Addiction Studies Certificate provides the technical coursework under the education requirements of the license,” said Jo Micon, Human Services Program Chair at Ivy Tech’s Lafayette campus. “Current mental health and social workers don’t have the means of obtaining the license without this course content. The Certificate fills in the content gaps.”
Coursework in the Addiction Studies Certificate includes treatment models of substance abuse, counseling issues, drug classifications and history of the substances of abuse, and issues related to substance abuse within families are covered. The certificate is comprised of nine courses (27 credit hours) that can be taken over two to three semesters.
“The certificate is a great opportunity for bachelor level mental health and social work professionals to obtain the necessary training to become licensed addiction counselors and help combat opioid addiction that has become a national health crisis,” Micon said.
For more information on the Addiction Studies Certificate program, visit www.ivytech.edu/human-services, or call the School of Public and Social Services on the Lafayette campus at (765) 269-5730.
For more information on the requirements to obtain addiction counselor licensure administered by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, visit www.in.gov/pla/social.htm.