NCRS study guide
NCRS · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The NCRS is a NAADAC national credential for peer recovery support specialists and others who provide non-clinical recovery support. The page you are reading is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by NAADAC; always confirm current requirements on NAADAC's own site before you register or pay anything. The NCRS study guide has 5 sections and about 2,015 words.
01Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis: From Screen to Defensible Picture
This domain tests whether you can move from a positive screen to a defensible, person-centered picture of the problem: which instrument to use and why, how DSM-5-TR criteria are counted, how ASAM dimension ratings justify a level of care, and where your role ends and a licensed clinician's begins. Brief validated tools flag risk: AUDIT or AUDIT-C for alcohol, DAST-10 for other drugs, CRAFFT for adolescents, PHQ-9 and GAD-7 for mood and anxiety, C-SSRS for suicide risk.
473 words, about 2 min02Treatment Planning and Counseling: Collaborative Goals and Change Talk
This domain tests collaborative, measurable planning and stage-matched counseling: whether your plan reflects the person's own goals, matches readiness to change, and documents medical necessity clearly enough to survive review. Derive the problem list from the assessment and from what the participant says matters, not from program defaults.
394 words, about 2 min03Ethics and Professional Practice: Confidentiality, Boundaries, and Scope
This domain tests the legal and ethical scaffold around recovery work: what you may disclose and to whom, how lived experience is used without blurring roles, what informed consent must cover, and how documentation and supervision protect both participant and specialist. 42 CFR Part 2 protects substance use disorder records held by federally assisted programs and is stricter than HIPAA.
394 words, about 2 min04Prevention and Recovery Support: Continuum, Harm Reduction, and Capital
This domain tests whether you can place a person correctly on the prevention-to-recovery continuum, apply harm reduction without covertly demanding abstinence, and build recovery capital rather than counting clean days. Universal, selective, and indicated prevention target whole populations, at-risk groups, and individuals with early signs respectively; none of these is treatment.
372 words, about 2 min05Co-occurring Disorders and Specialty Populations: Integrated, Not Sequential
This domain tests integrated care for people with both mental health and substance use conditions, and the population-specific adjustments that change screening, consent, medication, and safety planning. The SAMHSA four-quadrant model crosses mental health severity with substance use severity.
382 words, about 2 min