Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC)

Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselors help clients recover from addiction to alcohol and drugs. Most states have a multi-level system for Alcohol and Drug Counseling licenses to reflect differences in the professional's education, training and work experience. Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor would be the highest level. Similar titles include Alcohol and Drug Counselor and Substance Abuse Counselor.

In addition to providing alcohol and drug counseling services, these professionals are also charged with training and supervising the lower license levels. States use several different titles for the same profession including Addiction Counselor and Substance Abuse Counselor.

Licensure as a Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor requires a Master's degree or higher in alcohol and drug counseling or a related field, passage of a licensure exam and supervised work experience of between 2000 and 3000 hours. This work experience is above and beyond the work experience required for licensure at lower levels (often 1000 to 3000 hours).