Substance Abuse Counselor Requirements in Wyoming
While the CDC reports that Wyoming has an overdose mortality rate of 21.9 deaths per 100,000 people, one of the lowest in the country, that doesn’t mean everyone who needs treatment gets it. In a state with some of the most remote and isolated communities in America, access to treatment is always an issue.
If you want to bolster Wyoming’s small but dedicated substance use disorder (SUD) treatment workforce, you can start by getting licensed through the Wyoming Mental Health Professionals Licensing Board as either a:
- Licensed Addictions Therapist (LAT): a highly-trained professional with a master’s degree.
- Certified Addictions Practitioner (CAP): a bachelor’s-prepared counselor.
- Certified Addictions Practitioner Assistant (CAPA): a vital recovery support professional.
Each credential comes with its own requirements. Here’s what you need to know to get started.
Select a Licensed Addictions Therapist or Certified Addictions Practitioner Topic Below…
- Licensed Addictions Therapist Requirements
- LAT Credentialing Requirements for Licensed Mental Health Professionals
- Certified Additions Practitioner Requirements
- Certified Addictions Practitioner Assistant Requirements
- Application Process
- Out-of-State Addiction Counselors
- Additional Information
Licensed Addictions Therapist Requirements
To become a Licensed Addictions Therapist in Wyoming, you’ll need a graduate degree in addiction studies, chemical, or related field from an accredited college or university. On top of that, though, the Board says you need to have a specific amount of training in a few specific areas. Fortunately, classes you took during undergrad also count.
You’ll need three semester credits of classes in each of these domains:
- Counseling theory
- Counseling skills
- Professional ethics
- Chemical dependency practicum
You’ll also need ten semester credits of classes on:
- Alcoholism
- Drugs and behavior
- Addictions and special populations
- Addictive behaviors (which may include eating disorders, gambling, and cults)
- Addiction prevention and education
- Administration of addiction services
- Addiction/ chemical dependency assessment
You’ll also need six contact hours of training in communicable diseases. You can complete this through your degree program or by attending workshops.
After earning your master’s, you can apply to become a Provisional Addictions Therapist and start earning supervised experience hours. You’ll need 3,000 hours total, 1,200 of which should be earned through direct client contact. Your remaining hours can be spent attending meetings, charting client data, and other important tasks related to counseling. 100 of your hours should be spent working directly with your Designated Qualified Clinical Supervisor (DQCS).
When it comes time to take your final exam, the Board gives you a few options. You can either take the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors’ (NAADAC) Master Addiction Counselor (MAC) Exam, the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium’s (IC&RC) Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (AADC) Exam, the National Board for Certified Counselors’ (NBCC) Master Addiction Counselor (MAC) Exam, or another Board-approved exam.
LAT Credentialing Requirements for Licensed Mental Health Professionals
If you’re already another type of licensed mental health professional in Wyoming, you can become an LAT through a streamlined process. You’ll need 150 contact hours of classes on alcoholism, drugs and behavior, addictions in special populations, addictive behaviors, and addiction assessment. While assessment training is mandatory, you only need to get trained in four out of five of these areas.
As far as experience hours go, you can earn hours in one of three ways. Your first option is completing a practicum serving clients facing substance use disorders through a master’s program. The second is completing 150 hours of face-to-face counseling with clients battling substance use disorders under the supervision of an LAT. Lastly, if you’ve worked full-time with clients in recovery for at least five years, you’re good to go.
Finally, you’ll have to pass a final exam. You have the same options as professionals who aren’t licensed in another area.
Certified Addictions Practitioner Requirements
If you’re not quite ready to pursue a master’s, becoming a Certified Addictions Practitioner only requires a bachelor’s degree. While earning a bachelor’s in an area related to substance use disorder treatment qualifies, you can also meet this requirement by holding a bachelor’s degree in an area related to human behavior and having an addiction-related associate degree from a program accredited by the National Addictions Studies Accreditation Commission (NASAC).
However, there is a third option. You can also meet education requirements by earning a degree in a human behavior-related discipline from an accredited program as long as you’ve taken classes on counseling theory, counseling skills, and professional ethics and finished a chemical dependency practicum. You’ll also need to take 10 semester hours of classes on the same areas LATs need to take classes on (assessment, alcoholism, etc.) and complete six hours of training on communicable diseases.
For the final exam, you can take the NAADAC’s National Certified Addiction Counselor, Level II (NCAC II) Exam, the IC&RC’s Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Counselor (AODA) Exam, or another exam approved by the Board.
Certification By Education and Experience
If you’ve already earned a bachelor’s degree in a human services-related field but not an addiction-focused field, the Board will let you get certified through experience. You’ll need to become a Certified Addictions Practitioner Assistant and complete 2,000 direct client contact hours. These hours will need to be completed no more than five years before you submit your CAP application.
Certified Addictions Practitioner Assistant Requirements
Like other levels of certification in Wyoming, there are multiple ways to become a Certified Addictions Practitioner Assistant. You can start by either earning an associate degree in substance use disorder counseling or a related field from an accredited school or complete 270 hours of training on substance use disorders.
If you take the second route, you’ll need at least 200 hours of training related directly to substance use disorder therapy including assessment. Your remaining hours can be dedicated to training about more general mental health skills but 30 of those hours need to be dedicated to counseling ethics. You’ll also need six hours of training on communicable diseases.
According to the Board, your final exam will be the NAADAC’s NCAC Level I Exam or another exam deemed appropriate for your level of certification.
The Application Process
No matter which level of licensure you choose, you can download all forms from the Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board’s website, print them out, and send them in. Depending on which pathway you choose, you’ll be asked to submit documentation like college transcripts, supervision assessment forms, or training verification forms.
You’ll also need to submit to a background check which can take anywhere from three to five weeks. Outside of that, the Board says they process applications in two to three weeks. The Board may reach out to you by email along the way, but you can also check the status of your application by emailing them.
Fees vary by level of licensure. For CAPAs and CAPs, it’s $343. For LATs, it’s $393.
Out-of-State Addiction Counselors
If you’re already licensed in another state, the Board has its own separate process to help you get licensed in Wyoming. Generally, you can get licensed if you’ve already completed similar requirements in your own state and have passed a Board-approved exam. Otherwise, the Board might have to review your qualifications before they decide on the best course of action.
However, if you’re coming in as a Licensed Addiction Therapist with a master’s but haven’t met experience requirements, you’ll need to apply for a provisional license and make up your supervised experience hours.
Additional Information
If you want more information about the different pathways to becoming a substance abuse counselor in Wyoming, the Wyoming Mental Health Professionals Licensing Board has a database of relevant statutes on their website. Otherwise, you can reach out to them by email.
For information about advocacy events, training, and more, reach out to the Wyoming Association of Addiction Professionals (WAAP). As Wyoming’s local NAADAC affiliate, they’re a strong voice for the state’s recovery community.