Catalog Year:
2023 - 2024, 2024 - 2025, 2025 - 2026

This Associate of Arts Degree program is for students preparing for or advancing their careers in the growing field of drug and alcohol treatment and education. This program is registered with the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP). 

Career Opportunities

Addiction Treatment Group Counselor, Addiction Treatment Individual Counselor, Addiction Treatment Specialist, or Addiction Treatment and Prevention Educator
Required Courses (28 Units)
Units: 28.0
ASHS 205
LIFE MANAGEMENT
3.0
ASHS 270
INTRO TO ADDICTION STUDIES: ADDICTION AND THE COMMUNITY
3.0
ASHS 271
GROUP PROCESS AND PRACTICE, LAW AND ETHICS
3.0
ASHS 278
FAMILIES AND ADDICTION
3.0
ASHS 279
TREATMENT AND CASE MANAGEMENT
3.0
ASHS 280
COUNSELING SKILLS, LAW AND ETHICS
3.0
ASHS 289
HUMAN SERVICES SEMINAR
2.0
ASHS 289A
FIELDWORK: ADDICTION STUDIES
5.0
PHS 206
PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE - ASPECTS OF DRUG USE
3.0
Total: 28.0

Program Outcomes

Outcome
Possess knowledge and skills that will enable them to competently and ethically carry out the duties and responsibilities of jobs as addiction counselors or other positions in the addiction treatment and recovery field.
Assessment
Counseling demonstrations to assess interpersonal helping skills.
Outcome
Possess interpersonal skills required to engage emphatically with clients who have substance use problems, develop safe and trusting relationships with them, assess their strengths and problems and recommend appropriate interventions and/or referrals.
Assessment
Counseling demonstrations to assess interpersonal helping skills
Outcome
Be familiar with a professional association’s code of ethics and demonstrate the ability to behave in accord with it.
Assessment
Counseling demonstrations to assess ethics and boundaries.
Outcome
Demonstrate the ability to create and maintain appropriate client documentation, including intake notes, service or treatment plans, progress notes, discharge notes and other documentation such as informed consent and release of information forms.
Assessment
Documentation from class and field work.
Outcome
Will be prepared to successfully pass a written examination leading to certification as an addiction counselor, and they will have completed at least 250 supervised work hours in the addiction treatment field in partial fulfillment of the supervised work experience requirement for certification.
Assessment
Passing coursework to prepare for the professional certification, which includes CAADE-approved curriculum