CASAC study guide
CASAC · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) is a state-level credential for professionals who provide direct counseling, assessment, and case management to people with substance use disorders. It is typically pursued by counselors working in outpatient clinics, inpatient rehabilitation, methadone maintenance programs, and community-based agencies. The CASAC study guide has 9 sections and about 3,492 words.
01Assessment and Diagnosis
Assessment and Diagnosis tests whether you can gather enough valid information to support a defensible diagnosis and a level-of-care decision. CASAC candidates are expected to distinguish screening from comprehensive assessment, apply DSM-5-TR criteria to substance use disorders, use the ASAM Criteria dimensions, and recognize medical and psychiatric risk that changes the plan.
379 words, about 2 min02Treatment Planning
Treatment Planning tests whether you can convert assessment findings into an individualized, measurable, reviewable plan tied to the ASAM level of care. The exam favors plans that are person-centered, safety-conscious, culturally responsive, and built for continuity rather than a list of canned services.
379 words, about 2 min03Referral and Service Coordination
Referral and Service Coordination tests whether you can connect clients to appropriate services without losing continuity, confidentiality, or accountability. Expect questions on consent, release of information, warm handoffs, follow-up, community resources, and documentation of what actually happened after a referral.
411 words, about 2 min04Counseling and Therapeutic Communication
Counseling and Therapeutic Communication tests whether you can build an alliance, elicit change talk, respond to ambivalence, and use structured counseling skills without slipping into advice-giving or confrontation. The exam emphasizes motivational interviewing, reflective listening, stages of change, cognitive behavioral skills, group process, and professional boundaries.
382 words, about 2 min05Client, Family, and Community Education
Client, Family, and Community Education tests whether you can provide accurate, understandable information that supports informed choices and safer behavior. Questions often involve family responses to addiction, enabling versus support, overdose prevention, harm reduction, confidentiality, and community resources.
399 words, about 2 min06Documentation and Record Keeping
Documentation and Record Keeping tests whether your records are timely, objective, defensible, and confidential. Expect questions on progress-note format, behavioral language, corrections, release of information, subpoenas, retention, and the special protections for substance use disorder records.
392 words, about 2 min07Professional and Ethical Responsibilities
Professional and Ethical Responsibilities tests whether you can apply ethical codes, legal duties, and professional boundaries in realistic situations. Expect informed consent, confidentiality limits, mandated reporting, duty to warn, competence, dual relationships, gifts, self-disclosure, supervision, and cultural humility.
370 words, about 2 min08Pharmacology and Co-occurring Disorders
Pharmacology and Co-occurring Disorders tests whether you understand medication-assisted treatment, psychiatric medications, withdrawal, drug interactions, overdose risk, and integrated care. You are not prescribing, but you must recognize indications, common effects, safety concerns, and myths that affect adherence.
381 words, about 2 min09Crisis Intervention and Safety
Crisis Intervention and Safety tests whether you can recognize imminent risk, respond proportionately, and document the decisions that protect the client and others. Expect suicide risk assessment, safety planning, lethal-means counseling, overdose and withdrawal emergencies, de-escalation, duty to warn, and emergency referral.
399 words, about 2 min