Apryl

Congratulations of finding a calling that interests you. I wish you the best on your choice. What I would recommend first is to find a school in your area that offers drug and alcohol studies. Perhaps a community college or state college will be offering school for Certified Alcohol Drug Counselors or CADC and CADAC. There is also the California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources or CAARR. This schooling will get you a foundation in drug and alcohol counseling. Counseling skills are vital for those who perform interventions. I also wrote an article here on addicted which outlines Board Registration for Interventionists. It will clearly explain what the process involves. I also strongly recommend you read the book Adult Children of Alcoholics and see a therapist for a few sessions. As you mentioned you were raised by a mother with addiction issues. This will help you identify your personal relationship with addiction and an inner-personal experience for you to draw from while you are working in the addiction field. If you Google Adult Children of Alcoholics, ALANON and CO-Dependents Anonymous in your area, it will outline some self-help groups for you to start attending as well. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at the Intervention 180 hotline 888-435-7960 and I would be glad to help you find additional resources.