Educational Requirements

for Addiction Counseling

All applicants seeking licensure as addiction counselors in Montana must include verification of 270 hours of course work or training specific to chemical dependency/addiction and counseling.

At the time of application, an official transcript and copies of certificates of completion for all hours must be submitted.  Please note that each credit hour of approved coursework is equivalent to 15 hours.

Graduates of a CACREP or equivalent master’s level counseling program will have met some of the specific training requirements. Areas of coursework required to meet LAC standards, but not necessarily required in counseling programs are being offered through the MSU LAC Certificate program. These courses are open to both post-masters and post-baccalaureate students. However, post- baccalaureate students will require additional coursework. Please see Table 2.

Table 1 - Specific Training Requirements
for LAC certification
(Minimum of 150 hours)*

LAC REQUIREMENT

Applicable Coursework
Through MSU Certificate Program

CACREP or Equivalent Coursework for Meeting Requirement

Addiction Assessment
(60 hours)

LAC 50x Assessment, Treatment Planning, & Ethics of Addiction
15 hours

Conceptualization and Diagnosis
of Mental Disorders
(CACREP or equivalent of DSM course); Meets up to 45 hours

Addiction Counseling
(90 hours)

LAC 501 Chemical Dependency
Counseling
45 hours

Counseling Practicum, Counseling Internship
(Master’s level from CACREP or equivalent program); Meets up to 45 hours

Pharmacology
(30 hours)

LAC 502 Psychopharmacology
& Addictions
45 hours

Ethics for Addiction Counselors
(15 hours)

LAC 50x Assessment, Treatment Planning, & Ethics of Addiction
15 hours

Alcohol and Drug Studies
(30 hours)

LAC 50x
Alcohol & Drug Studies

Addiction Treatment Planning & Documentation
(30 hours)

LAC 50x Assessment, Treatment Planning, & Ethics of Addiction
15 hours

Appraisal/Testing
(Master’s level from CACREP
or equivalent program);
Meets up to 15 hours

Multi-Cultural Competency
(15 hours)

Multicultural Counseling
(Master’s level from CACREP
or equivalent program)

Education Category

Hours Required

Human Behavior, Sociology, Psychology, or a similar emphasis

Six semester credits
(90 clock hours)

Psychopathology or coursework exploring patterns and courses or abnormal or deviant behavior

Three semester credits
(45 clock hours)

Counseling

Total of nine semester credits
Group Counseling –
six semester credits (90 clock hours)
Theory of Counseling –
three credit hours (45 clock hours)

Send to: MONTANA LICENSED ADDICTION COUNSELORS PROGRAM:
301 SOUTH PARK AVENUE, 4TH FLOOR PO BOX 200513 Helena MT 59620-0513 PHONE: (406) 841-2392 or 2369 FAX: (406) 841-2305
EMAIL: dlibsdlac@mt.gov WEBSITE: www.lac.mt.gov

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