Education Equivalency for Addiction Counselor Certification
When an applicant submits college courses on an application to the Center for Credentialing & Education
(CCE) in lieu of one of the required training classes, it is the applicant’s responsibility to demonstrate how their
college course is equivalent to the Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) approved core competencies for that
class. Anyone wishing to use college equivalents must submit the following to CCE:
1.
An official transcript from an accredited college or university in a sealed envelope. The courses must
be in a behavioral health science or field. Each college class being offered as the equivalent of a
CAC required class must have a grade of C or above.
2.
A cover letter with an attached syllabus and a written description about why the college class is
equivalent to the CAC required class.
3.
A college course must offer college credits that are equivalent or greater than the number of clock
hours required for the OBH training class.
College equivalency hours:
One semester credit hour = 15 clock hours
Two semester credit hours = 30 clock hours
Three semester credit hours = 45 clock hours
One quarter credit hour = 8.5 hours
Two quarter credit hours = 17 hours
Three quarter credit hours = 25.5 clock hours
CAC required classes that must be taken (no college course equivalency)
Client Record Management, 14 hrs.
Infectious Diseases in Addiction Treatment, 14 hrs.
Pharmacology I, 14 hrs.
Pharmacology II, 14 hrs.
Trauma Informed Care for Diverse Populations, 14 hrs.
Clinical Supervision I, 21 hrs.
Clinical Supervision II, 14 hrs.
CAC required classes that may have college equivalency (see core competencies posted on
the OBH website)
Addiction Counseling Skills, 21 hrs.
Principles of Addiction Treatment, 21 hrs.
Culturally Informed Treatment, 14 hrs.
Professional Ethics I: Ethics and Jurisprudence, 14 hrs.
Professional Ethics 1 1 , 14 hrs.
Motivational Interviewing, 21 hrs.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 14 hrs.
Clinical Assessment and Treatment Planning, 14 hrs.
Co-Occurring Disorders, 14 hrs.
Group Counseling Skills, 21 hrs.
Advanced Motivational Interviewing, 14 hrs.
Professional Practice, 7 hrs.
Colorado Addiction Counselor Education Equivalency Review: revised 03/2019
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