IC&RC AADC study plan
IC&RC AADC · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Clinical Evaluation
Define the components of a biopsychosocial assessment and list the information each component must capture
Differentiate screening from comprehensive assessment and identify at least four standardized screening instruments (e.g., AUDIT, DAST-10, CAGE, PHQ-9) with their purpose and scoring cutoffs
Outline the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria structure for substance use disorders and distinguish mild, moderate, and severe specifiers
Describe a structured suicide and violence risk assessment sequence, including protective factors and when to escalate to emergency evaluation
Identify signs of co-occurring mental health and medical conditions that require referral or deferred diagnosis
Your checkpoint
Build a one-page clinical evaluation flowchart (intake → screening → comprehensive assessment → diagnosis → level-of-care recommendation) and score 80% or higher on a 25-question self-quiz covering assessment tools and DSM-5 criteria.
Clinical Evaluation & Treatment Planning
Map the six ASAM dimensions to a level-of-care recommendation using two written case vignettes
Convert assessment findings into a prioritized problem list with client-stated needs ranked alongside clinical urgency
Write measurable treatment goals and objectives that meet SMART criteria and link each objective back to a specific assessment finding
Sequence the treatment planning process: collaboration with the client, multidisciplinary input, signatures, timelines for review and update
Your checkpoint
Produce a complete sample treatment plan for a fictional client containing three problems, three goals, six measurable objectives, proposed interventions, target dates, and a review schedule.
Treatment Planning & Counseling
Compare at least four counseling frameworks (CBT, motivational interviewing, solution-focused, 12-step facilitation) and match each to appropriate client presentations
Apply the stages-of-change model to select stage-matched interventions and identify at least three strategies for resolving ambivalence
Distinguish the purpose, structure, and counselor skills of individual, group, and family counseling formats
Outline relapse prevention planning, including triggers, warning signs, coping strategies, and a written continuing-care plan
Describe crisis intervention steps and de-escalation techniques for a client in acute distress
Your checkpoint
Draft a two-page comparison matrix of counseling theories with stage-of-change interventions, then write stage-matched counselor responses to five client statements.
Counseling
Demonstrate motivational interviewing micro-skills (open questions, affirmations, reflections, summaries) by scripting a 10-minute dialogue
Practice cognitive restructuring by identifying and challenging at least three cognitive distortions in written client statements
Design a 60-minute group counseling session with a stated purpose, ground rules, activities, and a closing process
Evaluate client progress using behavioral indicators and adjust the counseling approach accordingly
Your checkpoint
Write responses to three case vignettes (ambivalence, relapse, crisis) using counseling techniques and self-score against a rubric with a target of 80% or higher.
Professional and Ethical Responsibilities & Service Coordination
Apply confidentiality rules under 42 CFR Part 2 and HIPAA to determine what may be disclosed, to whom, and under which written consent requirements
Identify mandated reporting obligations, duty-to-warn considerations, and the boundaries of privileged communication
Distinguish appropriate from inappropriate dual relationships and describe a defensible decision-making process for ethical dilemmas
Map the service coordination tasks for a client case: referral sources, interagency agreements, multidisciplinary team roles, and documentation of follow-up
Explain how to advocate for a client across systems (criminal justice, child welfare, medical) while maintaining role boundaries
Your checkpoint
Complete an ethics decision-making worksheet applied to five scenarios (confidentiality breach, dual relationship, impaired colleague, informed consent, mandated reporting), each with a regulation cited and a justified course of action.
Service Coordination & Client, Family and Community Education
Trace a client through the continuum of care, specifying referral criteria, warm handoff steps, and follow-up tracking at each transition
Design an education session for clients or family members that applies adult learning principles and includes cultural adaptations
Adapt educational messaging for differing literacy levels, languages, and cultural backgrounds
Describe community-level prevention strategies and how to connect clients to mutual-help and community resources
Differentiate education, consultation, and counseling roles when working with family members and community groups
Your checkpoint
Create a 45-minute client/family education session outline on relapse warning signs, including three learning objectives, one culturally adapted handout outline, and an evaluation method.
Documentation & Treatment Planning
Write progress notes in SOAP and DAP formats that document client statements, counselor interventions, client response, and plan
Identify documentation errors (late entries, opinion without behavioral evidence, missing signatures, improper corrections) and describe compliant correction methods
Assess how documentation supports treatment plan review, level-of-care justification, and billing integrity
Conduct a simulated treatment plan review using progress notes as evidence for progress or revision
Your checkpoint
Write five progress notes from vignettes and grade them against a documentation checklist (timeliness, objectivity, linkage to treatment plan, signature) with a target of 100% of required elements.
Clinical Evaluation & Treatment Planning & Counseling & Service Coordination & Client, Family and Community Education & Documentation & Professional and Ethical Responsibilities
Complete two timed full-length practice exams under exam conditions and log every missed item by domain
Re-teach the three weakest domains using the error log, focusing only on missed concepts
Rehearse recall of key regulatory and clinical facts (42 CFR Part 2, HIPAA, mandated reporting, ASAM dimensions, DSM-5 specifiers) without notes
Build a final-week review sheet limited to the 20 concepts most frequently missed across practice attempts
Your checkpoint
A completed error log with 40 or more items categorized by domain and a one-page final review sheet; achieve 80% or higher on both practice exams.
Milestones
Week 2: Can explain the six ASAM dimensions and produce a defensible level-of-care recommendation for an unseen vignette without notes.
Week 4: Score 80% or higher on a 40-question cumulative quiz covering Domains 1-3, and complete the three-vignette counseling response set.
Week 5: Correctly resolve 5 of 5 ethics scenarios with the applicable regulation cited, including at least one 42 CFR Part 2 disclosure question.
Week 7: Every progress note submitted meets 100% of checklist elements, and the treatment plan review simulation is completed with documented justification.
Week 8: Two full-length practice exams completed with 80% or higher and a domain-by-domain error log showing no domain below 70%.