Overview of the Course
Oliver Underwood
This Course is For Anyone
- You do not have to be an ACBC Certified Counselor to complete the Education Phase online, right here.
- However, to proceed to the Examination Phase, you must have already obtained ACBC Certification.
Instructions for ACBC Certified Counselors:
- Sign up for and complete this online course.
- Start reading 1,200 pages from the approved reading list
- After the reading is complete, fill out the form within the course.
- Below the form, enter your ACBC ID. This concludes your Education Phase for ACBC Addictions Counseling Specialization.
- In order to apply for exam access, you will need to log into your ACBC account, and select the "Specialization Dashboard" tool located on the main page of your member account. ACBC’s Examination Phase will include a multiple-choice exam and written exam.
- Please note that The Addiction Connection & Grace Counseling Center DO NOT provide the examinations from ACBC.
Phase 1: Education
Online Training + Required Reading
Engage in high-quality, focused training. You have two options for completion:
- Online completion (by signing up on this page), or
- Find a Certified Training Center near you.
Also, you'll need to read 1,200 pages from the approved reading list.
Core Training Requirements
You will complete a minimum of 20 hours of instruction covering the following topics:
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Introduction to the Course
FREE PREVIEW -
Understanding Addictions Biblically
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Origin of Addiction
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A Biblical Foundation of Addiction Counseling
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Understanding the Disease Model of Addictions
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A Biblical Understanding of Twelve Steps Programs
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Understanding and Evaluating Celebrate Recovery from a Biblical Perspective
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Where to Begin with Life Dominating Sins
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How to Change Patterns of Thought and Behavior
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The Role of the Church in Helping Someone Who is Addicted
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The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Change Process
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The Practical Outworking of the Holy Spirit in Addiction Counseling
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Understanding Temptation: A Framework for Counseling All Types of Addiction
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Medical Issues and Addictions
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Counseling and Substance Abuse
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Counseling and Gambling
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Counseling and Sexual Sin
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Prevention Strategies for Addiction - Part 1
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Prevention Strategies for Addiction - Part 2: Glorifying God Through Intentional Parenting
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Counseling Families Impacted by Addiction
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Counseling an Addict's Enabler
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How to Conduct an Addiction Intervention - Part 1
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How to Conduct an Addiction Intervention - Part 2
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Reading Requirements from ACBC
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Prepare for Two ACBC Addictions Specialization Exams
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Study Guide from ACBC
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After reading 1200 pages from ACBC-approved book list, sign this form!
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Enter your ACBC ID
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About this course
- $197.00
- Over 20 hours of video
Reading Requirements
You must complete 1,200 pages of reading from the following approved books:
Mark Shaw |
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Mark Shaw |
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Mark Shaw |
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Mark Shaw |
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Mark Shaw |
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Susan Heck |
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Ed Welch |
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Rush Witt |
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Rush Witt |
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Jay Adams |
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Stuart Scott |
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Lou Priolo |
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Lou Priolo |
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Kris Lundgaard |
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Jeremy Pierre |
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Richard Ganz |
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Thomas Watson |
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Jim Berg |
Phase 2: Examination
Multiple Choice Exam + Written Exam
Be tested to verify your retention and understanding of the biblical truths presented and their applications. This is a two-part process including a multiple-choice exam and a written exam with in-depth case studies. Contact ACBC for more information.
Instructor
DMin, Biblical Counseling, ACBC since 2002, CADAC II Dr. Mark E. Shaw
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who can take advantage of this training?
Anyone can take this online course on Thinkific. You do not have to be an ACBC Certified Counselor to complete Phase 1 online, right here. However, to advance to Phase 2, you must be an ACBC Certified Counselor.
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When and where can I obtain this specialization?
Phase 1 of the training can be completed online, right here on Thinkific. All you need to do is sign up for the course below! You'll have access for 1 year. (One-time renewal fee for an additional year is $50 and must be requested by email to [email protected])
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Is this course from an ACBC Certified Training Center?
Yes! This course had been created by Grace Counseling Center (Grace Fellowship Church) in Florence, Kentucky, an ACBC Certified Training Center. This course is also supported and launched by The Addiction Connection, a ministry founded by Dr. Mark Shaw, who is the Director of Counseling at Grace Fellowship Church.
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Is there a deadline to complete ACBC's Specialization process?
ACBC Certified Counselors pursuing this specialization have one year to complete the entire process from beginning to end. This is also our suggestion for other counselors.
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What happens/what do I get when I obtain this specialization?
This specialization is further training in a specific area created for ACBC Certified Counselors. The specialization will be added to the online directory listing of every ACBC Certified Counselor who satisfactorily completes all elements of the specialization. Beginning in 2022, the Addictions Counseling Specialization will also count for Continuing Education Unit credit.
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Is there any cost associated with earning a specialization?
This online course only includes Phase 1 (open to the public) of the specialization. It costs $197. To complete Phase 2 (Multiple Choice and Written Exams) you'll need to contact ACBC and pay a separate fee of $50. Therefore, the total cost for the ACBC Specialization is about $250.00
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Are specializations with ACBC required?
At the present, this specialization is optional for ACBC Certified Counselors. In the future, it will be a part of the Continuing Education requirements for ACBC Certified Counselors.
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I still have questions. Who can I contact?
Please contact ACBC or visit their website: biblicalcounseling.com
Reviews
The Best Transformational Resource Offered
Tricia Harmon
I have spent over 30 years in ministry. My passion and emphasis has been on helping navigate those blindsided by trials, tragedies and traumas into a sustai...
Read MoreI have spent over 30 years in ministry. My passion and emphasis has been on helping navigate those blindsided by trials, tragedies and traumas into a sustainable and eternally victorious, transformed life through the finished work of Christ. This course leaves nothing uncovered. Its' Biblical philosophy, principles and precepts are uncompromising and irrefutable. It is clear, concise, and immediately applicable in every area of life regardless of our degree of "worship disorder". I'm so excited to apply its wisdom and practical application in my own life, as well as at Gateway Mission Addiction and Discipleship Program. Thank you Mark and Team for such a well thought out resource and presentation to reproduce reproducers of transformed and free followers of Jesus Christ.
Read LessExcellent Material
Nancy Vodak
This initial portion of the Addiction Counseling Specialization Course is a very helpful foundation to understanding Addiction, 12-steps, Celebrate Recovery,...
Read MoreThis initial portion of the Addiction Counseling Specialization Course is a very helpful foundation to understanding Addiction, 12-steps, Celebrate Recovery, and the root cause to addiction. Each session was filled with such great material. I liked how every topic or point Mark made he backed it up with Scripture. Mark is amazing and filled with the Holy Spirit. He willingly shares his knowledge of the Bible and his experiences in secular and biblical counseling. The course is very well organized and easy to follow. Thank you Mark!!!
Read LessGreat Course!
Bennie Bourn
This is an excellent, in-depth course to better equip someone for addiction counseling. I especially appreciated the thorough notes.
This is an excellent, in-depth course to better equip someone for addiction counseling. I especially appreciated the thorough notes.
Read LessAddictions Counseling Specialization
Maggie Boggan
All material, both video presentations and corresponding notes, was outstanding. The objectives were clearly stated for each lesson, and the presentations we...
Read MoreAll material, both video presentations and corresponding notes, was outstanding. The objectives were clearly stated for each lesson, and the presentations were laid out in a logical format with clear biblical support for all areas. The comparisons made to secular and integrated counseling and counseling and treatment programs were eye opening, and hopefully this training material will be viewed by numerous local pastors and biblical counselors. This training even provides information on supplemental training available to strengthen skills as an addictions biblical counselor by becoming a commissioned addictions biblical counselor. It additionally provides information on biblical programs to help help both addicts and their families take their "next steps" biblically to be transformed, and is done within the context local church.
Read LessExcellent Course
Anthony Law
Very thorough and informative. I highly recommend it for all ACBC members.
Very thorough and informative. I highly recommend it for all ACBC members.
Read LessExcellent training on addictions
Terri Pols
Very well organized and extensive training in addiction. Greatly appreciated Dr. Shaw in his easy to understand lectures. Study notes were very helpful.
Very well organized and extensive training in addiction. Greatly appreciated Dr. Shaw in his easy to understand lectures. Study notes were very helpful.
Read LessA Biblical Discipleship/Counselor Workshop for the Tran...
Jay Duffus
Dr. Shaw has written and presented an excellent "on-line workshop" to help further equip biblical discipleship/counselors for the rescue of mankind from li...
Read MoreDr. Shaw has written and presented an excellent "on-line workshop" to help further equip biblical discipleship/counselors for the rescue of mankind from life-dominating sins ("Addictions"). The syllabus he developed for this workshop provides discipleship/counselors with a very practical resource tool; revealing 30 plus years of Dr. Shaw's personal ministry experience along with favored biblical references he uses for counsel and from which he has developed effective ministry tools.
Read LessAddiction counseling specialization
Michael Bartlett
Excellent course. Full of insight and very useful information. I would recommend this course.
Excellent course. Full of insight and very useful information. I would recommend this course.
Read LessHelpful Course
Jeff Mesker
I took this course to further my understanding of counseling those in addiction (sin/idolatry). I am grateful for how well Mark explains everything and how i...
Read MoreI took this course to further my understanding of counseling those in addiction (sin/idolatry). I am grateful for how well Mark explains everything and how in-depth he goes. Even if you are an ACBC certified counselor it is a useful course.
Read LessHow to Change Patterns of Thought and Behavior
Eli Kerek
Thoughts are the product of the heart and behavior is the end result of what the heart has manufactured. Knowledge of God's word informs and gives the heart ...
Read MoreThoughts are the product of the heart and behavior is the end result of what the heart has manufactured. Knowledge of God's word informs and gives the heart a new thought, which translates into a new behavior. According to the note, Romans 6:12 reminds us to be aware of how contagious sin can be to our body (thoughts), which will make us to be controlled by its desires. (Shaw, p.1).
Read LessIn Summary...
Addictions Counseling Specialization Requirements (For ACBC Certified Counselors)
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Sign Up Below
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Complete all lessons in the course
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Read 1,200 pages from the approved reading list
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Contact ACBC to request access to the examinations
Sign Up
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$197.00
Created in Collaboration with...
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Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC)
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The Addiction Connection (TAC)
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Grace Counseling Center, a certified ACBC Training Center
Let's Stay "Connected"
(see what we did there?)
The Addiction Connection is a network of ministries who offer hope and healing for those struggling with addiction of any kind. Our network of biblical programs and ministries that stretch across America and the world exists to point people to Jesus Christ for answers. Members of our team are available for direction and wisdom for any of your addiction-related questions and needs.
Ready to get started?
ACBC-Approved CEUs
Short on time? Sign up for one of these:
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$33.00
A Biblical Analysis of Steps-Based Recovery (3 Hours)
Dr. Shaw critiques the disease model of addictions, twelve-steps programs, and Celebrate Recovery from a biblical perspective and offers a biblical alternative. -
$33.00
Addiction Counseling: Where to Begin (3 Hours)
Dr. Shaw gives the biblical counselor a foundational framework for all of biblical counseling and especially addiction counseling and applies it to different addiction issues. -
$33.00
Helping Families Address Addiction Issues (3 Hours)
Dr. Shaw describes the destruction of relationships typical in the addict’s family. This course will help you counsel and equip family members with resources to help them interact biblically with their addicted loved ones. It concludes with how to conduct an intervention for God’s glory. -
$22.00
Heart Motives and "Addictive" Properties of Sexual Sin (2 Hours)
Dr. Shaw gives an overview of the enslaving power of sexual sin using 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, communicates how the desires of the heart connect to this temptation, and offers counseling strategies for those in bondage to sexual sin. -
$22.00
Medical Issues in Addictions (2 Hours)
Dr. Shaw explains the purpose of medicine from Proverbs and the phenomenology of addiction. Withdrawal symptoms are described along with how the counselor can work with medical personnel. -
$33.00
Role of the Holy Spirit & the Local Church in Addiction Counseling (3 Hours)
Dr. Shaw brings clarity to addiction biblical counseling in the local church by teaching some essential truths that we believe about the Holy Spirit and the powerful Word of God which are the same truths that we need to minister to those struggling with addictions of all kinds. Practical resources to use in working with people caught in addictive lifestyles are given. -
$22.00
Prevention Strategies for Addiction Relapse (2 Hours)
Dr. Shaw introduces the five basic mentalities of “addictive thinking” and compares those to the five marks of a transforming Christian. Using these mentalities, counselors and parents can discern when a counselee is on the road toward relapse. How to glorify God through intentional parenting is emphasized and will help counselors both with parents and counselees. -
$33.00
Theological Foundation of Addictions (3 Hours)
Dr. Shaw lays a biblical foundation for addiction counseling in the local church, explaining the origin of addiction, habitual sin that becomes enslavement, addiction as idolatry and spiritual adultery, and passages from Genesis, Ezekiel 14, and Isaiah 44. -
$22.00
Counseling a Gambler (2 Hours)
Dr. Shaw describes the effects of gambling, communicates how desires of the heart connect to temptation, and provides counseling strategies with specific applications for those in bondage to gambling.
Addiction CEUs
More Biblical Resources
from The Addiction Connection
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Next Steps: BeTRANSFORMED
Course • 103 lessonsJoin Dr. Mark E. Shaw as he teaches biblical principles for the addicted to take the Next Steps from sobriety to transformation. Using the acronym, Be TRANSFORMED, Dr. Shaw practically shares the hope of the Gospel for the heart of addiction.
$365 first payment, $120.00 / year onwards
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Family Help for Addiction: A Care Group Study
Course • 41 lessons5.0 average rating (4 reviews)Host a 12-week group study! Family members of addicts will find biblical hope and help in this teaching-and-small-group format that includes weekly lessons, discussion questions, and homework so that everyone involved draws closer to Christ.
$10 / month with 1 day free trial
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Fundamentals of Addiction Biblical Counseling
Course • 48 lessons5.0 average rating (29 reviews)Fulfilling the prerequisite for TAC Commissioning, this course will give the learner a strong foundation for biblically counseling addicts of all kinds.
$97