Section 17-8703. EXPERIENCE

 

8703.1  An applicant for certification as an addiction counselor I shall have     obtained at least five hundred (500) hours of supervised experience, with a

  minimum of forty (40) hours in each of the following areas:

 

(a) Understanding the dynamics of human behavior and family

  systems;

 

(b) Signs and symptoms of substance abuse;

 

 (c) Recovery process, stages of change, relapse prevention, treatment

 approaches, group dynamics and other adjunctive treatment recovery  support groups, motivational interviewing, and models and  theories of  addiction;

 

(d) Ethics, rules and regulations;

 

 (e) Professional identity in the provision of substance abuse services;

 

(f)  Crisis intervention;

 

  (g) Substance abuse counseling treatment planning and research;

 

 (h) Counseling skills for individual and group, motivational      interviewing;

 

(i)  Cultural factors and competencies in addiction;

 

(j)  Co-occurring disorders and interdisciplinary treatment;

 

(k)  Diagnostic and screening criteria in addictions;  and

 

(l)  Psychopharmacology resources in the treatment of addictions.

 

8703.2 An applicant for certification as an addiction counselor II shall have obtained at    least one hundred eighty (180) hours of supervised experience.  Of the one    hundred eighty (180) hours, at least one hundred twenty (120) of the hours    shall consist of performing at least ten (10) hours in each of the following     tasks with substance abuse clients:

 

(a)Screening clients to determine eligibility and appropriateness for

admissions into a particular program;

 

(b)Intake of clients by performing the administrative and initial assessment tasks necessary for admission to a program;

 

(c)Orientation for new clients to program’s rules, goals, procedures, services, costs, and rights of the client;

 

(d)Assessment of client’s strengths, weaknesses, problems, and needs for the development of a treatment plan;

 

(e)Treatment planning with the client to identify and rank problems to be addressed, establish goals, and agree on treatment processes;

 

(f)Counseling the client, utilizing specialized skills in both individual and group approaches to achieve treatment goals and objectives;

 

(g)Case management activities which bring services, agencies, people, and resources together in a planned framework of action to  achieve  established goals;

 

(h)Crisis intervention responses to clients’ needs during acute mental,

emotional, or physical distress;

 

(i)Education of clients by providing information about drug abuse and available services and resources;

 

(j)Referral of clients in order to meet identified needs unable to be met by  the counselor and assisting the client in effectively utilizing     those resources;

 

(k)Reporting and charting information about the client’s assessment, treatment plan, progress, discharge summaries, and other client-     related  data; and

 

(l)Consultation with other professionals to assure a comprehensive quality of care for the client.

 

authority

The Director of the Department of Health, pursuant to the authority set forth under section 302(14) of the District of Columbia Health Occupations Revision Act of 1985, effective March 15, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-99; D.C. Official Code § 3-1203.02(14)), and in accordance with Mayor’s Order 98-140, dated August 20, 1998.

source

Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 57 DCR 11937, 11940 (December 17, 2010).