Education and Experience Requirements - CoOccurring Disorder Specialist

Education Requirements

To obtain the co-occurring specialist applicants must complete a 60-hour training course specifically relating to substance use treatment and approved by the department. Other training courses and college courses do not count toward the requirements. It is the completion of a specific individual course. Not an aggregate of courses. 

The training course consists of 30 hours in understanding the disease pattern of addiction and the pharmacology of alcohol and other drugs; and 30 hours in understanding addiction placement, continuing care, and discharge criteria including the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria; treatment planning specific to substance abuse; relapse prevention; and confidentiality issues specific to substance use disorder treatment.

Supervised Experience Requirement

The experience requirement for a Co-Occurring Disorder Specialist enhancement consists of:

  • Eighty hours of supervised experience for an applicant with fewer than five years of experience under their primary license; or
  • Forty hours of supervised experience for an applicant with more than five years of experience under their primary license.

Approved Supervisor

To meet the educational component of the co-occurring specialist, the applicant must obtain experience hours under a licensed Substance Use Disorder Professional or someone who meets the requirements to become an SUDP and would be eligible to take the exam required for certification.