Membership International Association of Addiction and Offender Counselors

Welcome to the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counselors! As the membership chairperson, I want to officially welcome you to our website. We hope this website will help you stay in touch with news in the field and address any questions or concerns you might have regarding your membership.

You can reach me by email at joseph.cooper@marymount.edu

Thank you for your interest and membership in IAAOC!

Joseph Cooper
IAAOC Membership Chairperson

More Information About Joining IAAOC:

Who Joins IAAOC?

Graduate students and professionals with an interest in the rapidly growing field of addictions or public offender counseling join IAAOC. Members hold positions in mental health agencies, correctional facilities, university settings, and public and private offender and addiction treatment programs.

Benefits of Joining IAAOC

• Improved Professional Standing is bestowed on counselors who belong to specialized professional organizations, including national awards for outstanding IAAOC practitioners, outstanding graduate level programs, and outstanding research awards.
• The IAAOC Newsletter is distributed four times a year, addressing critical issues related to addictions and public offender counseling. The newsletter keeps members abreast of training opportunities, provides information on state chapters, provides articles on timely topics, and reviews books of current issues. The Newsletter also is electronically archived for members’ convenience.
• The Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling publishes reports of research in areas of addictions and offender counseling, as well as other articles of interest. Members receive journals bi-annually. Authors may submit articles by linking to the online JAOC webpage via www.iaaoc.org.
• IAAOC provides and maintains an up-to-date website, with direct contact information to IAAOC leadership. The website provides members with cutting edge techniques, legislative and advocacy issues and opportunities, and the IAAOC newsletter and archives. Members also have the advantage of a "Members Only Forum" that encourages and supports members’ voices through interactive communication. Members have information about special IAAOC committees including the purpose, background, relevant developments, and how to become actively involved. Resourceful links, marketing, e-mail communication, and IAAOC’s history also are provided. This represents an inkling of the website’s fluidity and the ability to successfully address the concerns of today and tomorrow’s rapidly changing society in the field of addictions and offender counseling.

Types of Membership*

• Professional : Individuals who hold a master’s degree or higher in counseling or a closely related field from a college or university accredited by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
• Regular : Individuals whose interests and activities are consistent with those of the American Counseling Association (ACA), but who are not qualified for professional membership.
• Student : Individuals who are enrolled at least half-time in a college or university program.
• New Professional : A special category for the first year after a student graduates a college or university program and continues their journey in the addictions and offender field.
• Retired : Members who are retired from the counseling profession and have been active ACA members for the past five consecutive years.

• ACA Membership Required Except Retired

Four Easy Ways to Join:

• Phone: 1-800-347-6647 x 222 (Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 7 p.m., ET)
• FAX: 1-800-473-2329 Application
• WEB: www.counseling.org
• Mail: Application and payment to:

P.O. Box 791006
Baltimore , MD 21279-1006