If you hold a CCAC or ICADC credential, continuing education isn't optional — it's how your certification stays active. Every certified member of the
Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation (CACCF) carries an ongoing CEU requirement, and finding approved, worthwhile hours that fit around full-time frontline work is a yearly puzzle for counsellors across Ontario.
The good news: the puzzle has become much easier to solve. CACCF pre-approves continuing education courses — including fully online, self-paced programs — which means you can earn your hours on your own schedule and submit them directly with your re-certification application, with the approval work already done by the provider.
This guide covers how CACCF's CEU requirements work, what counts as an approved course, why pre-approved programs save you administrative work, and how a single 40-hour approved certificate can cover a full certification cycle in one program.
CACCF requires certified members to complete 20 CEU hours every year — 40 hours across each two-year certification cycle — to maintain their credential, and only one set of hours is required even if you hold more than one CACCF certification. One CEU generally equals one hour of approved training. Pre-approved courses are the simplest route: complete the course, keep your certificate of completion, and submit it with your re-certification application. York College's CACCF-approved Mental Health & Addictions Support Worker program carries 40 CEUs — a full cycle in one online, self-paced program ($695).
CACCF reviews and approves continuing education courses submitted by training providers. Approval is granted per course, holds for two years as long as the content stays the same, and comes with a formal approval letter to the provider.
For you as a counsellor, the practical distinction is between pre-approved courses and everything else:
Pre-approved courses have already been through CACCF's review. You complete the training, receive your certificate of completion, and submit it together with your re-certification application. No petitioning, no waiting on individual approval.
Non-approved training puts the burden on you — it's the submitter's responsibility to demonstrate that hours meet CACCF requirements, and hours that don't qualify simply don't count.
CACCF itself encourages members to take pre-approved CEUs for exactly this reason: the approval work is already done.
Many counsellors assemble their hours from scattered webinars and one-day workshops — a few hours here, a certificate there, and a folder of documentation to reconcile at renewal time. It works, but it has real costs: registration fees add up, single-topic sessions rarely build on each other, and every separate provider is another certificate to track.
A single approved 40-hour program takes the opposite approach: one enrolment, one coherent curriculum, one certificate of completion covering a full cycle of hours — completed on your own schedule and documented in one place.
There's a professional argument too. A structured program builds competencies in sequence — the way trauma-informed care underpins harm reduction, the way motivational interviewing feeds crisis de-escalation — rather than sampling topics in isolation. For counsellors supervising others or moving toward senior roles, that coherence shows in practice.
The Mental Health & Addictions Support Worker — Continuing Education program is CACCF-approved for 40 CEUs and built for working professionals: 100% online, self-paced, with most participants completing it in about 6 weeks around full-time work.
The curriculum strengthens the core competencies of contemporary addiction and mental health practice:
- Trauma-informed care — applying trauma-aware principles across client interactions
- Harm reduction — evidence-informed approaches to substance use support
- Crisis intervention and de-escalation — practical skills for high-acuity moments
- Motivational interviewing — client-centred engagement and change conversations
- Co-occurring needs — supporting clients navigating mental health and substance use together
- Service navigation — connecting clients across healthcare, housing, and community systems
Emphasis throughout is on real-world practice, ethical decision-making, and client-centred support — the material is written for people doing the work, not studying it abstractly.
- Certified counsellors (CCAC, ICADC) covering a full cycle of CEU hours in one approved program
- Frontline workers in shelters, housing, and community health formalizing the approaches they already practise daily
- Supervisors and team leads looking for training their whole team can complete on shift-friendly schedules
- Professionals with lived experience deepening their framework for supporting others
Are online courses eligible for CACCF CEUs?Yes. CACCF approves online continuing education courses, and approved online programs carry the same CEU value as in-person training. The York College program is fully online and self-paced.
What documentation do I submit for re-certification?For a pre-approved course, you submit your certificate of completion together with your re-certification application. On completing the York College program, you receive a secure, verifiable digital certificate you can download, share, and keep on file.
Can I complete the hours while working full-time?That's the design. The program is on-demand with 1 year of access — most participants complete the 40 hours in about 6 weeks, studying evenings and weekends.
I hold both CCAC and ICADC — do I need double the hours?No. CACCF requires only one set of CEU hours for re-certification regardless of how many certifications you hold.
I'm not CACCF-certified — is this program still useful?Absolutely. The program is also taken as professional development by community services, shelter, and healthcare workers who want current mental health and addictions training — no certification or degree required. If you're exploring the field itself, start with our guide:
How to Become a Mental Health & Addictions Support Worker in Ontario.
