38-316. Alcohol and drug counselor; license requirements.

(1) To be licensed to practice as an alcohol and drug counselor, an applicant shall meet the requirements for licensure as a provisional alcohol and drug counselor under section 38-314, shall receive a passing score on an examination approved by the board, and shall have six thousand hours of supervised clinical work experience providing alcohol and drug counseling services to alcohol and other drug clients for remuneration. The experience shall be polydrug counseling experience.

(2) The experience shall include carrying a client caseload as the primary alcohol and drug counselor performing the core functions of assessment, treatment planning, counseling, case management, referral, reports and record keeping, and consultation with other professionals for those clients. The experience shall also include responsibility for performance of the five remaining core functions although these core functions need not be performed by the applicant with each client in their caseload.

(3) Experience that shall not count towards licensure shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) Providing services to individuals who do not have a diagnosis of alcohol and drug abuse or dependence such as prevention, intervention, and codependency services or other mental health disorder counseling services, except that this shall not exclude counseling services provided to a client's significant others when provided in the context of treatment for the diagnosed alcohol or drug client; and

(b) Providing services when the experience does not include primary case responsibility for alcohol or drug treatment or does not include responsibility for the performance of all of the core functions.

(4) The maximum number of hours of experience that may be accrued are forty hours per week or two thousand hours per year.

(5)(a) A postsecondary educational degree may be substituted for part of the supervised clinical work experience. The degree shall be from a regionally accredited postsecondary educational institution or the educational program shall be accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation agency.

(b) An associate's degree in addictions or chemical dependency may be substituted for one thousand hours of supervised clinical work experience.

(c) A bachelor's degree with a major in counseling, addictions, social work, sociology, or psychology may be substituted for two thousand hours of supervised clinical work experience.

(d) A master's degree or higher in counseling, addictions, social work, sociology, or psychology may be substituted for four thousand hours of supervised clinical work experience.

(e) A substitution shall not be made for more than one degree.

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