This year Canada’s Recovery Capital Assessment Toolkit and Recovery Planner will be available,
Be an innovator in your field.
By attending the Recovery Capital Virtual Webinar you will receive the education you need to qualify you for the NEW Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation (CACCF) Recovery Capital Associate (RCA) certification.
Be a change agent and leader in your field.
Work with your clients with a strength-based approach.
Individuals who obtain RCA will also be able to further their credentials by obtaining the Recovery Capital Professional certificate. Details below.
Recovery Capital Associate
- Membership with CACCF in good standing
- Canadian Certified Addiction Counsellor (CCAC) in good standing or the equivalent of 270 education hours of Substance Use/ Addiction specific
- Formal Education 4000 hours of Clinical Work Experience and 300 hours of Supervised Clinical Training.
- Supervisor’s Evaluation Form. The supervisor must be/have been in an acting capacity for 6 months or more
- Read & Sign Consent to Release Information
- Read & Sign Canon of Ethics Principles
- Application Processing Fee
Work Experience
Work experience is for the purpose of acquiring and refining skills needed to be a competent substance use/addictions counsellor. This must be direct experience in counselling based on the “Twelve Core Functions”. Such experience is defined as supervised work, paid, working directly with clients with a primary diagnosis of substance use. In order to be eligible for certification, candidates must document that they have obtained qualified clinical work experience in the field.
The candidate must have the equivalent of two (2) years full-time work experience (4000 hours) within the past five (5) years providing direct and regularly supervised counselling services to persons with the primary diagnosis of substance abuse.
- Experience or practise in substance use disorders in each of the 12 core functions areas, can be made up of the following:
- Paid work experience
- The experience acquired by means of a supervised practicum/ internship, undertaken as part of a program of study.
- Proven experience as a volunteer in a Wellness/ Addiction Organization or recovery-oriented system of care
Education
Education includes University or College. Education must be related to the base of knowledge and skills, associated with the “Twelve Core Functions” of the addiction counsellor. To be eligible, all education must be documented by means of a transcript, and course outlines if not a preapproved program.
The applicant must have a minimum of 270 hours of education, including a minimum of 1.5 hours specific to recovery capital, in the knowledge and skill areas.
Twelve core functions
All clinical training hours must be documented as to where and with whom they took place, and what material was covered. This documentation must indicate a minimum of ten (10) hours of supervision in each of the “Twelve
- Core Functions”
- Client Screening
- Client Intake
- Client Orientation
- Treatment Planning
- Client Assessment
- Counselling
- Case Management
- Crisis Intervention
- Client Education
- Referral
- Reports and Record Keeping
- Consultations with Other Professionals
Supervised Clinical Training
The minimal accepted standard is 300 hours. It is expected that this supervision will be a continuous, on-going part of the counsellor’s experience.
A “supervisor” shall be interpreted to mean the person who has responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the performance of alcohol and drug counsellors and students. This individual must be a person with comprehensive knowledge of the treatment of alcoholism and drug dependency and have reached a supervisory position in a treatment setting. Others, who might be in positions of authority, but with little knowledge of addiction, would not be acceptable.
Supervised clinical training is supervision designed to improve and evaluate a counsellor’s knowledge and skill in the “Twelve Core Functions”. This training must be part of the eligible clinical work experience and may be completed under more than one supervisor or agency.
Recovery Capital Competencies
- Ability to assess strengths and competencies of clients when completing recovery capital assessments, providing strength-based interventions and facilitating ongoing recovery plans.
- Demonstrated ability to utilize the twelve core functions when employing counselling methods that are respectful of the values and needs of the person approaching recovery or currently recovering and tailor treatment planning to increase the recovery capital they possess.
Recovery Capital Professional
- Application Checklist
- Membership with CACCF in good standing
- International Certified Alcohol & Drug Counsellor (ICADC) in good standing or the equivalent of 300 education hours of Substance Use/ Addiction specific
- Formal Education 6000 hours of Clinical Work Experience and 300 hours of Supervised Clinical Training.
- Supervisor’s Evaluation Form. The supervisor must be/have been in an acting capacity for 6 months or more
- Read & Sign Consent to Release Information
- Read & Sign Canon of Ethics Principles
- Case presentation form describing your practice of the Recovery Capital Competencies
- Application Processing Fee
Work Experience
Experience or practice in substance use disorders in each of the 12 core functions areas, can be made up of the following:
- Paid work experience
- Experience acquired by means of a supervised practicum/ internship, undertaken as part of a program of study.
- Proven experience as a volunteer in a Wellness/ Addiction Organization or recovery-oriented system of care
Education
Education includes university or college. Education must be related to the base of knowledge and skills, associated with the “Twelve Core Functions” of the addiction counsellor. To be eligible, all education must be documented by means of a transcript, and course outlines if not a pre-approved program.
The applicant must have a minimum of 300 hours of education, including a minimum of 3 hours specific to recovery capital, in the knowledge and skill areas.
The applicant should have documented hours of education at the post secondary or training level in the following:
Addiction Recovery specific topics
- Introduction to Addictions
- Dynamics of Addictions
- Pharmacology
- Human Development
- Addiction Interventions
- Self, Health and Wellness
- Ethics / Cultural Values
- Addiction – related topics
- HIV/AIDS
- Mental Health
- Group Therapy
- Philosophies and theories of recovery-oriented systems of care
- Recovery Capital Assessment and tools
- Relapse prevention
- Suicide
- Drugs / Substances
- Self – care
- Concurrent Disorders
Twelve Core Functions
- Screening
- Intake
- Assessment and Evaluation
- Treatment Planning
- Counselling: Individual, Group and Significant Other
- Case Management
- Client Education
- Referral
- Reports and Record Keeping
- Crisis Intervention
- Orientation Case Management
- Consultation with Other Professionals
General Skills and Knowledge
- Communications
- Group Facilitation
- Interviewing Techniques
- Conflict Resolution / Management
Supervised Clinical Training
Applicant requires supervised training during their experience hours. Practicum is optional, but the hours can be counted as hours of work experience
Recovery Capital Competencies
- Ability to respect, implement and incorporate culturally competent recovery-oriented competencies when providing counselling – such as strength-based approaches utilizing recovery capital tools and assessments.
- Ability to assess strengths and competencies of clients when completing recovery capital assessments, providing strength-based interventions and facilitating ongoing recovery plans.
- Utilize a strength-based recovery-oriented framework that fosters physical, psychological and emotional safety (i.e.: trauma-informed practices, cultural humility/competency) and identifies opportunities for the person to maintain or re-establish a sense of autonomy and empowerment.
- Demonstrated ability to utilize the twelve core functions when employing counselling methods that are respectful of the values and needs of the person approaching recovery or currently recovering and tailor treatment planning to increase the recovery capital they possess