Alcohol Counselors Degree Programs and Licensure
Alcohol counselors help people to stop abusing alcohol and cope with the problems their addictions can cause. These professionals may also be called drug and alcohol, mental health, substance abuse or behavioral disorder counselors. Their mail goal is to create recovery programs for clients and help them learn healthy behaviors. Sometimes sessions include family members of a person who suffers from alcoholism. Alcohol counselors are trained to recognize the physical and social effects of alcohol addiction.
Education Programs

Alcohol Counselor
If you want to become an alcoholism counselor, you will need to complete a master’s degree in counseling. It takes up to 3 years of post undergraduate work. After that you’ll need to pass a state licensing exam in order to be a certified alcoholism counselor. Courses in a master’s degree program in counseling include individual appraisal, group counseling procedures, counseling ethics, foundations of mental health counseling, multicultural counseling, and psychopharmacology.
Licensure
The District of Columbia and 49 states require counselors who work outside of a school setting to be licensed. Specific education and training requirements differ by state and also vary by counseling specialty and work setting. Applicants should determine what’s needed to qualify as a licensed counselor for drug and alcohol counseling in their state. If you want to become licensed, you should complete a minimal hours of practice and pass an exam.
Additional Certification
Alcohol counselors may be certified through a number of organizations. These are the National Board for Certified Counselors and the National Association of Social Workers. Both groups offer credentials in specialty areas that include alcohol addiction. Although certification is voluntary, it may improve a counselor’s job prospects.
Continuing Education
Nowadays many states and organizations require counselors to complete continuing education to renew their licenses or certification. You may continue education in the form of workshops, graduate classes or individual studies. Sometimes counselors choose to earn a doctorate to advance in their profession or to become university teachers, researchers, supervisors or advanced clinicians.
Schools with Programs in Alcohol Counseling
Kaplan University
Online Programs:
- MS in Psychology – Addictions
- MS in Psychology – Applied Behavioral Analysis
- MS in Psychology – General Psychology
- Advanced Start BS in Psychology
- BS in Psychology – Applied Behavioral Analysis
- BS in Psychology – Substance Abuse
Capella University
Online Programs :
- PhD – Counseling Studies
Master DegreePrograms
- MS – Addiction Counseling
- MS – Mental Health Counseling
Bachelor Degree
- BS – General Psychology
Grand Canyon University
Degree Programs:
Master
- MS in Addiction Counseling
- MS in Professional Counseling
- MS in Marriage and Family Therapy
- BS in Addiction Counseling
- BS in Psychology
Argosy University
Programs:
Doctorate
- Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology
- Doctor of Marriage & Family Therapy
Master’s Degrees
- MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
- MA in Mental Health Counseling
- MA in Clinical Psychology/Marriage & Family Therapy
- BA in Psychology – Substance Abuse
- BA in Psychology
Featured Online Programs
- BSPY - Substance Abuse - Kaplan University
- MA/Psych - Career Mgmt & Counseling - University of the Rockies
- MSPY - Addictions - Kaplan University
- PhD Psychology - Counseling Psychology - Walden University








