Regardless of the Provider Education status you or your organization is approved for, the training content of an Approved Education Provider course must be relevant to the work of addiction professionals. Potential providers are required to demonstrate this by the description of the course, goals and objectives, and the outline of the content how the course relates to alcohol/drug counseling and treatment.
Courses must be in one of the following areas:
- Theoretical content related to scientific knowledge and/or the application of scientific knowledge to practice in the field of addiction counseling and/or mental health; and/or
- Content related to direct and indirect patient/client care. Examples include group and individual counseling, family dynamics and counseling, mental health diagnoses, co-occurring disorders, HIV/AIDS/HepC, case management, documentation, ethics, etc.; and/or
- Content related to administration, management, education, research, working within managed care systems, developing a private practice, or other functional areas of addiction practice relating to indirect patient/client contact.
Examples of content that would NOT be acceptable include:
- Parenting or other programs that are designed for lay people.
- Liberal arts courses in music, art, philosophy, and others unrelated to the practice of addiction counseling.
- Orientation programs designed to familiarize employees with the policies and procedures of an institution.
All educational events under the Approved Education Provider program must meet the following standards:
- Training content must be current and designed to include recent developments in the subject of instruction. Independent study courses must be updated regularly. Upon renewal of your provider status, you will be required to submit documentation that offerings have been updated.
- Instructional objectives are to be stated in behavioral terms. The objectives must denote measurable attributes observable in the student completing the program. The objectives are to explain what proficiency the continuing education program participants should be able to demonstrate. Instructor’s goals are NOT behavioral objectives. For example: “To introduce the student to the community health system” is a goal of the instructor, not an instructional objective. An example of a behavioral objective is “Upon completion of this program, the counselor will be able to:
- explain the role of community education related to the effects of drug usage;
- assess the drug knowledge status of county employee groups;
- identify and evaluate the drug and alcohol education needs within the county system.
- Independent study courses must include an exam to evaluate students’ completion of the course and learning objectives.
All educational events under the Approved Education Provider program must meet the NAADAC Approved Education Provider Guidelines.