A person who has obtained a co-occurring disorder specialist enhancement may provide substance use disorder counseling services equal in scope with those provided by a substance use disorder professional with the following limitations:
- A Co-Occurring Disorder Specialist may only provide substance use disorder counseling if they are employed by and working in:
- An agency that provides counseling services;
- A federally qualified health center; or
- A hospital.
- Following intake and assessment, they may only provide substance use disorder treatment to clients diagnosed with a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder; and
- Prior to providing substance use disorder treatment to a client assessed to be in need of 2.1 or higher level care according to American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria. The co-occurring disorder specialist must make a reasonable effort to refer and connect the client to the appropriate care setting as indicated by their assessed ASAM level of care.
- If a reasonable effort is made and the enhancement holder is unable to refer a client to the appropriate level of care based on ASAM criteria, the co-occurring disorder specialist may continue to provide treatment to the client. The enhancement holder must substantiate the level of care or type of service chosen in the clinical record.