Associate in Science
Curriculum
Thank you for your interest in the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Counselor (DARC) Program at Gateway Community College. The DARC program provides education and training for those seeking employment, job advancement and increased marketability and/or skill in the field of substance abuse counseling. Students receive education and training in the professional techniques of counseling with a disciplined background in the biopsychosocial disease process of addiction; environmental and familial risk factors; public health issues; continuum of care; counselor code of ethics, co-occurring disorders, Recovery Model and more. Students have the opportunity to apply their learning through a one-year internship (selective admission) experience that allows students to further develop their skills and marketability.
The DARC program is an academic degree program, not a certification process. Students who complete all of the DARC courses will have met all current Connecticut Certification Board training requirements in preparation for State of Connecticut credentialing as a drug and alcohol counselor.
The DARC curriculum provides a balanced program of general education and addiction specific courses. The combination of courses will challenge students to develop into critical thinkers capable of approaching problems from a variety of view points. The addiction specific courses are designed to give students a sound foundation in the theories and the science of addiction studies. Classes are experiential as well as theoretical. Students develop counseling skills through a variety of role playing exercises, self-reflection and group process. Students entering internship are prepared with both theory and technique to begin clinical work.
We look forward to assisting you in your educational and occupational journey.
The following represents a program of study for full time students. The vast majority of DARC students attend part time. Most complete the DARC specific classes before the general education requirements in order to become marketable as an entry level addictions counselor.
| General Education Requirements | Darc Requirements | ||||
| ENG 101 | Composition | 3 | DARC 101 | Public Health Issues: Abuse and Addiction | 3 |
| COM 171 | Fundamentals of Human Communication | 3 | DARC 111 | Addiction Counseling 1 | 3 |
| MAT 123 | Elementary Statistics | 3 | DAR 112 | Group Counseling Theories and Techniques | 3 |
| PSY | General Psychology | 3 | DAR 158 | Biology of Addiction | 3 |
| BIO | Principles of Human Biology | 3 | DAR 213 | Addictcion Counseling II | 3 |
| Elective | Computer Literacy | 3 | DAR elective* | choose one | 3 |
| Elective | Humanities | 3 | DAR 251 | Counseling Internship I | 6 |
| PSY | Abnormal Psychology | 3 | DAR 252 | Counseling Internship II | 6 |
| Elective | English | 3 | *electives | ||
| Elective | Fine Arts | 3 | DARC 114 | Introduction to Family Systems | |
| DARC 117 | Substance Abuse Prevention | ||||
| Darc 119 | Additiction Counseling in a Correctional Setting | ||||
| Darc 212 | Multicultural Addiction Counseling | ||||
| Darc 220 | Co-Occuring Disorders Couseling | ||||
| Total Education Credits | 30 | Total DARC Credits | 30 | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 60 | ||||
Program Outcomes
- Perform in a cross-cultural setting, skills of a recovery counselor, as defined by the 12 Core Functions of the International Certification Reciprocity Consortium.
- Practice and apply the code of ethics.
- Successfully complete the certification process demonstrating competency in the theoretical sciences of the alcohol and drug recovery fields.
- Apply principles of literacy and information technology to enhance the functions of recovery counseling.