What Is A CDAAC?

The Short Answer: What a CDAAC Is

A CDAAC is a Christian Drug, Alcohol & Addictions Counselor. The term describes a counselor who has completed the faith-integrated preparation pathway associated with the Association of Christian Alcohol and Drug Counselors (ACADC) and who has passed the CDAAC examination that pathway requires. The credential pairs conventional addiction-counseling subject matter, such as pharmacology, intervention, group skills and ethics, with Scripture-based counseling content throughout.

If you landed here after searching for the acronym, note that several unrelated credentials share the same letters. This article covers only the Christian Drug, Alcohol & Addictions Counselor pathway. For other angles on the basics, see our companion explainers on what CDAAC is, what CDAAC stands for and what CDAAC certification involves.

Who Stands Behind the Credential

The source for the CDAAC preparation curriculum is the ACADC core curriculum page (Rev. 06/16). That page presents the issuer's currently linked modules as the educational pathway toward the credential. Two features of that source shape how you should think about it:

• It is a curriculum list, not an exam blueprint. The 52 domain lines are preparation topics. They are not weighted, and no official item count, timer, scoring rule or domain allocation was established from the supplied material.
• It is a dated revision. The page carries a revision marker of Rev. 06/16, and the curriculum includes historical clinical references. Treat it as the issuer's educational framework as published, and confirm current requirements directly with ACADC before committing time or money.

For a deeper look at how the credential is structured and who qualifies, read our guides to CDAAC certification and CDAAC requirements and eligibility.

What Makes It Faith-Integrated

What distinguishes the CDAAC from a secular addiction-counseling credential is that nearly every module is anchored to Christian sources. The recurring backbone is the Life Principles Bible in the New King James Version, edited by Dr. Charles Stanley. Individual modules cite specific Life Principles alongside clinical texts. Examples:

• Domain 1 pairs Life Principle 1 with the chapter "The Good Counselor" from Robert R. Perkinson's Chemical Dependency Counseling.
• Domain 4 (Addiction Intervention) pairs Life Principle 15 with Perkinson's intervention pages.
• Domain 22 draws on Dick B.'s The Good Book and The Big Book: AA's Roots in the Bible for 12 Step and "8 Beattitude" therapy.
• Domain 23 covers discerning spiritual conditions and spiritual intervention through prayer, using resources such as Neil T. Anderson's The Bondage Breaker.

A Map of the 52 Curriculum Modules

The easiest way to understand what a CDAAC is expected to know is to group the 52 modules by purpose. The grouping below is our own organizational aid, not an official weighting. For a module-by-module walkthrough, see the complete guide to all 52 CDAAC content areas.

Notice that a meaningful share of the curriculum is not multiple-choice clinical content at all. Several modules involve an inventory, an interview with a recovery professional, written theme papers or an essay. Plan for coursework and writing, not just memorization.

The Clinical Core: Pharmacology, Intervention and Co-Occurring Disorders

The modules most likely to feel familiar to anyone with addiction-counseling training sit in the clinical core. These are the ones where secular and Christian programs overlap the most.

Domain 43 (12 Core Functions, TAP 21 and DSM-IV) deserves a flag. It references the Addiction Severity Index administration, TAP 21 competencies and CSAC core-function material as curriculum content. Those references are study topics inside this curriculum. They do not mean the separate CSAC entrance-inventory rules govern the CDAAC examination pathway, and you should not apply them here.

Family, Relationship and Life-Issue Modules

A large portion of the CDAAC curriculum reaches beyond substance use itself into the relational and emotional life of the person in recovery. June Hunt's Counseling Through Your Bible Handbook is the most frequently cited text, supplying chapters on topics such as shame and guilt, anger, rejection, self-worth, domestic violence, divorce, parenting and suicide prevention.

The breadth here is the point. A CDAAC is trained to see the person in the context of marriage, parenting, finances (Domain 30), self-worth (Domain 33), anger (Domain 8) and more, not only the substance.

Law, Ethics and Regulations

Four modules deal directly with the rules of practice, and they reward careful reading because they are the most document-specific.

• Domain 17, Law, Ethics, and Morality: centers on the ACADC Code of Conduct, Life Principle 14, Gary Collins's chapter on counseling ethics and Perkinson's ethics material.
• Domain 26, Operating Recovery Programs: references the California Code of Regulations, Title 9, Division 4, Chapter 8, as cited through Breining, plus Life Principle 4.
• Domain 40, Regulations governing the practice of Substance Abuse Counseling: again points to the California counselor certification regulations via Breining, together with HIPAA health information protection regulations.
• Domain 13, God & Government: covers church and state through Charles Colson, David Barton and ACLJ resources on current court decisions.

What the Public Sources Do Not Tell You

Honest preparation starts with knowing which questions the published material does not answer. Based on the ACADC curriculum source, the following were not established:

• The number of questions on the CDAAC examination
• Time allowed
• The passing score or scoring rule
• Percentage weighting by module
• Fee amounts

There is also a documented discrepancy on education hours: one part of the public information lists 315 hours in the requirements, while the tuition information states 155 hours. We do not assert a reconciliation. Contact ACADC directly to confirm which figure applies to your enrollment.

Because of these gaps, we deliberately avoid quoting a pass rate, a passing score or a price in this article. If you want to see how we handle those topics as information becomes available, our pages on the CDAAC passing score, CDAAC certification cost, the CDAAC pass rate and exam dates and scheduling explain what is and is not publicly confirmed.

Where a CDAAC Fits in the Workforce

The curriculum's own content hints at the settings a Christian addiction counselor is prepared for. Modules on prisoners and parolees (Domain 15), seniors (Domain 11), domestic violence (Domain 12), premarital and marriage counseling (Domains 28 and 35) and operating recovery programs (Domain 26) point toward faith-based recovery ministries, church-affiliated counseling, residential and outpatient recovery programs, prison ministry and family-focused counseling practices.

We are not going to cite salary figures or hiring statistics, because none were established in the source material, and a credential's earning power depends heavily on employer type, location and whether a role requires a state license in addition to a faith-based certificate. If you are weighing career impact, start with our overviews of CDAAC jobs, the CDAAC salary guide and whether the certification is worth it, and then confirm with the specific employers you hope to work for whether they recognize the credential.

Sequencing Your Preparation

Since the curriculum is a list of 52 unweighted topics, a reasonable approach is to sequence by dependency rather than by length. The outline below is one possible order tied to this specific curriculum, not an official schedule.

For a fuller plan, see the CDAAC study guide, the one-page CDAAC cheat sheet and our look at how hard the exam is. When you are ready to test recall, you can try our CDAAC practice questions and use the results to see which clusters need more reading. If you are still deciding whether to enroll, our page on CDAAC training is a good next stop, and our main practice test site keeps all the preparation tools in one place.

Frequently Asked Questions