Alcohol and Other Drug Addiction (AODA) Certification program

A program for learning in the assessment, treatment, and prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse.
The Psychology department offers a program designed to foster the development of Psychology professionals knowledgeable and proficient in the field of chemical addiction. This training is integrated into Alverno's liberal arts major in Psychology.

BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS

For students who wish to be credentialed as a Substance Abuse Counselor: Alverno was the first four-year college fully accredited to provide all the required academic and training hours needed to obtain a paid post-graduate internship, and subsequent certification by the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing as a Substance Abuse Counselor or a Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor.

For students who do not wish to be certified, but who will be seeking employment in the human services field following graduation: Because addiction is so prevalent among the populations these field professionals serve (e.g., families involved with child protective services, adolescent populations, corrections populations, the homeless, the disabled, the elderly, and the mentally ill), there are strong advantages for the applicant who has expertise and training in identifying substance abuse and effectively helping with this pervasive problem.

For students who plan on graduate school after graduation: Among master and doctoral level professionals, knowledge and expertise in the addictions field has become highly valued.  In fact, the American Psychological Association now offers a certificate training program in addictions for psychologists who wish to further their expertise.  With the high involvement of substance abuse issues among clinical populations and their families, proficiency in this area is a distinct advantage.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Because this is a psychology degree, students take the same curriculum that other psychology majors take.  Where there are elective options for the standard psychology major, those specializing in addiction take the AODA (Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse) seminar, the case management course, and the assessment course.  These are cornerstone courses for developing expertise in the substance abuse area. 

In addition, the internships are taken “back-to-back,” that is, in two consecutive semesters.  The consecutive semesters of internship can be either summer/fall, or fall/spring.  This gives students opportunities to delve into their same-site internship on a considerably more intensive level.  These internships are at recognized substance abuse treatment facilities.  Interns are generally assigned actual individual counseling cases, as well as groups to conduct.  Students are supervised at these sites by an Independent Clinical Supervisor (ICS) certified by the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing.  Some students may wish to acquire the academic expertise, but may not necessarily wish to pursue the internship training.  This might be the case for some who are not pursuing the Substance Abuse Counselor certification.  Students who opt to follow this route can be placed at internship sites that are open to any psychology major. 

By the time the student is in the second semester of her PDC internship, she will have applied for the Substance Abuse Counselor -In Training certificate and taken the Wisconsin Substance Abuse Counselor Ethics and Jurisprudence Exam (see http://drl.wi.gov).  Upon completion of her second internship and her graduation from the Psychology/Drug Counselor (PDC) major, she will have accumulated 1,300 hours toward the 4,000 hours required for the Substance Abuse Counselor credential, and she will have completed all of the education requirements (though not all of the clinical practice hours) that are needed for either the Substance Abuse Counselor, the Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor, or the Clinical Supervisor-In Training.

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Last updated January 31, 2011.    
Contact kris.vasquez@alverno.edu with questions or comments.