Chemical Dependency Counselor Training

If you are interested in becoming a professional chemical dependency treatment counselor, the Valley Hope Association has an unique opportunity for you. Valley Hope has reinstated the Counselor Training Program which was originated in 1973. We are now seeking serious applicants for upcoming classes. The curriculum of this updated program closely follows the original Training Program but is now taught "on-line" enabling trainees to be placed in various Valley Hope centers across our seven-state network. This also allows instructors to originate their class from different locations.

Counselor trainees in the one-year program are full-time employees and receive compensation and limited benefits. Trainees need to reside in a fairly close proximity to the facility where they are employed. Trainees attend the classes and complete the required practicum at the facility to which they are assigned. Upon successful completion of the training program, the Association will offer appropriate positions, if available, within the Valley Hope organization. Trainees are obligated to remain at the facility in which they trained unless there is no position available. Trainees sign an agreement to work for Valley Hope for two years following the year of training or reimburse Valley Hope at a prorated rate for the training.

Recovering candidates must have a minimum of two years of on-going recovery before training begins. Additionally, if an individual has been a patient at a Valley Hope inpatient or outpatient facility, the individual must have completed treatment a minimum of two years prior to hiring. It is also important to note that credentialing requirements in each of the states in which Valley Hope operates vary and preference is given to individuals with degrees in the behavioral sciences. Many of the states in which Valley Hope currently operates are in the process of increasing the minimum educational requirements for substance abuse counselors to become credentialed or licensed. In Texas, trainees must already have their LCDC credential prior to being hired. The minimum education requirement in Oklahoma is a bachelor degree in the behavioral sciences or education contingent upon the degree meeting the requirements set by the Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors, State of Oklahoma. The minimum educational requirement in both Kansas and Arizona is an Associate degree in the behavioral sciences, which would include an Associate degree in addiction counseling.

The Valley Hope Counselor Training program courses are accredited by Colby Community College in Colby, Kansas. A combination of the college credits earned through the successful completion of the Valley Hope Counselor Training program and an additional 15 semester hours obtained at Colby College can result in an Associate of Applied Science Degree: Addiction Counseling. Colby College may also accept college credits earned at other accredited colleges or universities in fulfillment of the additional 15 semester hours needed for the associate degree. Counselor Training classes prepare the individual in the "Twelve Core Functions", generally accepted as tools for chemical dependency counselor certification.

For further information, please contact the
Valley Hope Association
P.O. Box 510
Norton, KS, 67654
(800) 654-0486

You can email Curt Krebsbach at curtk@valleyhope.com for more information or call 1-800-654-0486.