NAADAC NCAC II study plan

Map every Domain 1 task statement (screening, assessment instruments, ASAM criteria application, diagnosis, treatment planning) to a one-line self-rating of confidence.

Draft a personal glossary of 25 assessment and ethics terms (e.g., biopsychosocial interview, ASAM dimensions, informed consent, duty to warn, 42 CFR Part 2, HIPAA) with a working definition you can state aloud.

Build a 10-item practice set on screening and intake documentation and score it cold to establish a baseline.

List the legal and ethical reporting obligations in your jurisdiction (mandated reporting, confidentiality exceptions) and note where you are unsure, flagging those items for later verification.

Compare the major assessment instruments and screening tools by purpose, administration format, and population fit, writing a comparison table of at least eight tools.

Walk through three de-identified or hypothetical client vignettes and assign ASAM levels of care with written justification for each dimension.

Construct a full treatment plan from one vignette, including problem statements, measurable goals, objectives, and discharge criteria.

Explain how co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions change the assessment and diagnostic picture, and document that reasoning in your own words.

Match at least six evidence-based counseling approaches (motivational interviewing, CBT, contingency management, 12-step facilitation, family systems, trauma-informed care) to appropriate client presentations.

Write sample counselor responses demonstrating OARS skills and at least three MI strategies for resolving ambivalence.

Identify the stages-of-change stage in five short client statements and justify each classification.

Draft a treatment-planning revision scenario showing how new assessment data would trigger a plan update, and note the documentation required.

Practice structuring a counseling session: opening, agenda setting, intervention, and closing, and write a session outline for two different approaches.

Describe group counseling dynamics, stages of group development, and at least four facilitation techniques for managing difficult group behavior.

Outline relapse prevention and recovery-management content, including triggers, coping plans, and family involvement.

Explain how cultural humility and trauma-informed principles change delivery of at least three counseling techniques.

Analyze at least eight ethics scenarios against a decision-making model and write the recommended course of action with the principle or standard that supports it.

Differentiate confidentiality rules under 42 CFR Part 2 versus HIPAA, and state what may be disclosed, to whom, and under what written authorization.

Explain boundary issues, dual relationships, and impairment/self-care obligations, and describe the supervisory escalation path for each.

Identify the limits of your scope of practice and the situations requiring referral or supervision, listing at least six concrete examples.

Draft a sample informed-consent document and a records-release authorization that reflect current confidentiality requirements.

Describe the elements of clinical documentation that support legal defensibility, and rewrite one weak progress note into a compliant one.

Explain the supervisor's legal and ethical responsibilities when a supervisee's conduct raises concern, including documentation and reporting steps.

Compare the roles of clinical supervision versus administrative oversight and identify which tasks belong to each.

Design a supervision contract that specifies goals, methods, evaluation criteria, and frequency of feedback.

Outline a quality-improvement cycle for a treatment program, including a measurable indicator, data source, and review interval.

Explain program accreditation and licensure considerations and how they shape recordkeeping and staff credentialing.

Describe how to evaluate counselor performance using direct observation, chart review, and outcome data, and list the feedback loop for each.

Complete two full-length timed practice exams under test conditions and score them by domain.

Review every missed item, write the correct reasoning in your own words, and tag each error to a domain task statement.

Revisit the week-1 confidence audit and re-rate every task statement, noting which gaps remain.

Build a final two-week maintenance schedule targeting your three weakest task statements.