Addictions Studies

Look What You Can Do

A career as a professional addictions counselor offers a chance to have a valuable impact on people's lives. Through using effective sets of skills and knowledge, addictions counselors are able to meet the various needs of the individuals and families who seek assistance. Counselors address complicated emotional, physical, mental and social concerns that are a result of addiction. As one addictions counselor put it, "You're dealing with patients (clients) who have the potential to get better and when they do it's incredibly gratifying."

Addiction professionals work in chemical dependency residential/inpatient treatment for youth and adult, community outpatient treatment agencies, methadone programs, hospitals, therapeutic communities, detoxification centers, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), state government, public and private social services agencies, psychiatric and mental health programs, schools, criminal justice facilities for youth and adult, employee assistance programs (EAP), and the military.

Associate of Arts Transfer degree
Interested in moving up the treatment career ladder or supervising other drug and alcohol counselors? What about preparing for your bachelor's or master's degree in counseling? Then COCC's associate of arts degree transfer is the degree for you. Designed so that students can easily transfer to an Oregon public university to pursue a bachelor's degree, the AA program offers students a wide array of courses and an introduction to the counseling field. Better yet, students have the opportunity to add an additional 1,000 hours of on-the-job training, preparing them for the State of Oregon CADC, level II exam.

Associate of Applied Science
The AAS, with an emphasis on Addictions Studies, is designed for students who wish to sit for the Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) II exam, but aren't pursuing a specific bachelor's degree option. See: Addictions Studies degree requirements.

Career Pathways
The COCC Addictions Studies program is proud to offer a Career Pathway to help students achieve their academic and career goals in related fields. View Career Pathway information and roadmap.

Certificate of Completion in Addictions Studies
The certificate of completion provides the coursework and 1,000 hours of supervised experience that are required to qualify to sit for the Oregon Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) I exam. The certificate also provides coursework in the addictions field to other human services and criminal justice workers who help addicted persons and their families. See: Certificate of Completion in Addictions Studies details.

Department Contact

For more information, please contact Monica Vines.