Clinical training requirements

1. All clinical training hours must involve the clinical application of addiction counseling and be completed at a training consortium, one or more sites approved by the board, through a university placement or through an individualized training program approved by the board. Clinical training hours must be supervised by a registered clinical supervisor who is either a licensed clinical addiction counselor or a licensed master addiction counselor. Licensed addiction counselors who are registered clinical supervisors may supervise clinical training hours. 2. During clinical training a supervisee may not work independently with clients and the supervisor shall provide direct observation of all addiction-specific work performed by the supervisee with clients, until the supervisee obtains a score of three or higher in that particular clinical training area as documented by the supervisor on a supervisee progress report. After being rated three or higher in a clinical training area, a supervisor shall provide appropriate indirect supervision to the supervisee on that clinical training area. The clinical supervisor and supervisee shall sign all supervisee progress reports. 3. Clinical training areas include: a. Clinical evaluation, which means screening and American society of addiction medicine assessment; b. Treatment planning; c. Referral; d. Service coordination; e. Counseling; f. Client, family, and community education; g. Documentation; and h. Professional and ethical responsibilities. 4. The training program director or clinical supervisor shall maintain supervisee progress reports and retain them for at least twenty-four months. The board may carry out audits of supervisee progress reports as it deems appropriate. 5. The training consortium's training program director or the clinical supervisor shall submit to the board completion forms and final performance reviews for each supervisee. The final performance review must demonstrate scores of three or higher in each of the clinical training areas. 6. Clinical training requirements also include a minimum of the following: a. Licensed addiction counselor. Nine hundred sixty clinical training hours in multiple levels of therapeutic care earned at one or more training sites. Completion forms or final performance reviews must include documentation of the provision of at least: (1) Forty hours of direct, face-to-face supervision in each of the following clinical training areas: screening and American society of addiction medicine assessment; treatment planning; counseling; client, family, and community education; and referral and service coordination. (2) Thirty hours in the clinical training area of documentation, which must include the supervisor reviewing and discussing clinical notes with the supervisee. b. Licensed master addiction counselor. (1) Seven hundred clinical training hours in multiple levels of therapeutic care earned at one or more training sites. Completion forms or final performance reviews must include documentation of the provision of at least: (a) Thirty hours of direct, face-to-face supervision in each of the following clinical training areas: screening and American society of addiction medicine assessment; treatment planning; counseling; client, family, and community education; and referral and service coordination. (b) Twenty hours in the clinical training area of documentation, which must include the supervisor reviewing and discussing clinical notes with the supervisee. An individual who meets this clinical hours requirement, the academic requirements for a licensed master addiction counselor, and the examination requirements for either a licensed addiction counselor or a licensed master addiction counselor, upon submission of a completed application to the board, may be granted licensure as a licensed addiction counselor. (2) Two thousand postclinical training hours earned after the individual has been awarded an appropriate master's or doctorate degree. A minimum of fifty percent of the supervised practice hours must be supervised by a board-approved supervisor who is a licensed clinical addiction counselor, licensed master addiction counselor, or a licensed addiction counselor who is a registered clinical supervisor. No more than fifty percent of the clinical training hours may be supervised by other professionals that the supervising addiction counselor deems competent in the area of practice being supervised, and who are either registered as a clinical supervisor by the board that licenses the other professional or determined by the board to be competent to serve as the supervisor. Supervision of the clinical training hours must consist of a minimum of one hour weekly supervision and may be provided by an offsite supervisor. c. Clinical trainee and intern. (1) Clinical trainee. An individual accepted into a training consortium, one or more sites approved by the board, or through a university placement approved by the board meet the clinical training requirements for registration by the board as clinical trainees. (2) Intern. (a) The supervision of an intern may be direct or indirect. At least one hour of supervision must be direct supervision. At least fifty percent of the clinical training hours for an intern must be supervised by a board-approved supervisor who is a licensed clinical addiction counselor, a licensed master addiction counselor, or a licensed addiction counselor who is a registered clinical supervisor. No more than fifty percent of the clinical training hours for an intern may be accumulated under other professionals who are designated by the registered clinical supervisor, approved by the board, and competent in the area of practice being supervised. The other professional must be registered as a clinical supervisor by the board that licenses that other supervisor. (b) If, before being registered as an intern, an individual completed clinical training hours at any location other than a board-approved location, all clinical training hours earned after registration as an intern must be under direct supervision until the intern scores three or higher in a clinical training area as documented on the intern's monthly progress report. After being rated as a three or higher in a particular clinical training area, the intern may receive indirect supervision while performing tasks within that clinical training area. The intern's clinical supervisor shall submit the intern's completion form and the final performance review to the board. d. Licensees of other North Dakota mental health boards. (1) Individuals licensed in North Dakota as psychologists, psychiatrists, or physicians who possess a doctorate degree in their field of licensure meet the clinical training requirements for licensure as a licensed master addiction counselor by completing three hundred fifty supervised addiction-specific clinical training hours. (2) Individuals licensed in North Dakota as licensed associate marriage and family therapists, licensed associate professional counselors, licensed professional counselors, licensed master social workers, or advanced clinical practice nurses meet the clinical training requirements for licensure as a licensed addiction counselor by completing three hundred fifty supervised addiction-specific clinical training hours. (3) Individuals who hold licensure in North Dakota as licensed marriage and family therapists, professional clinical counselors, licensed clinical social workers, or advanced clinical practice nurses meet the clinical training requirements for licensure as a licensed addiction counselor or licensed master addiction counselor by completing three hundred fifty supervised addiction-specific clinical training hours. (4) The three hundred fifty hours may be supervised only by a board-approved supervisor who is a licensed clinical addiction counselor, a licensed master addiction counselor, or a licensed addiction counselor who is a registered clinical supervisor. As set forth in North Dakota Century Code section 43-45-06, this rule may not be construed as preventing an individual from doing work within the standards and ethics of that individual's profession or within the scope of a license issued in this state. History: Effective January 1, 2002; amended effective April 1, 2009; July 1, 2014; July 1, 2018; October 1, 2025. General Authority: NDCC 43-45-04 Law Implemented: NDCC 43-45-01, 43-45-04, 43-45-05.1