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Addiction Therapists

Certification, Licensing, and Special Requirements

Certification or Licensing

The American Mental Health Counselors Association offers board certification to mental health counselors who are independently licensed and currently practicing. Certification is provided at different levels and for different specialties. Visit https://www.amhca.org/members/career/credential to learn more. NAADAC, Association for Addiction Professionals (https://www.naadac.org/certification), National Board for Certified Counselors (https://www.nbcc.org/exams), and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (https://aamft.org) also offer certification programs. Visit their Web sites for more information.

Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors who are in private practice must be licensed. Specific requirements vary by state, but all states require counselors who are applying for licensure to have a master’s degree and 2,000 to 4,000 hours of supervised clinical experience, pass a state-issued exam, and complete continuing education classes each year. Licensing requirements for substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors who are not in private practice vary by state. Information on licensing requirements for each state can be found at the Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network’s Web site, https://attcnetwork.org.

All states require marriage and family therapists to be licensed. To become licensed, therapists must have at least a master’s degree, have 2,000 to 4,000 hours of post degree supervised clinical experience, pass an exam, and complete annual continuing education classes. Contact the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (https://amftrb.org) for information on licensure in your state.

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