I took some classes for an drug and alcohol type counselor certification thing a while back, really just cause I was curious what that education was like and because I had a lot of free time and love to learn. God, what a fucking joke. If you're serious about helping people and working in this field, as traditional four year degree in a related field followed by graduate work is the way to go. Generally speaking, even when you have the best counselor working for you, they simply don't have the resources to give their clients what they really need.
There are a LOT of reforms that need to happen as far as requirements as to should be able to get licenses to work in such a position. Either that, or their responsibilities need to be drastically curtailed to the more or less shittier aspect of the job (sorry, but generally speaking counselors, with the exception of those with extensive training at the graduate level, counselors simply don't have the resources or tools to fulfill their duties to patients (such as organizing aftercare - which is almost routinely totally a failure on the part of treatment personal) the same way that those with more appropriate medical training do.
The counseling business is a product of the 12 step system/groups, and while it is a valuable resource, it's almost always use for inappropriate positions/responsibilities. Almost without exception, my experience drug and alcohol counselors has been either a disgrace or joke. Actually, without exception...
Anyways, when I realized I'd never be able to do for my clients what I wanted to be able to do for them with just a drug and alcohol certification (and I also have a BA, so it's not like I just have the certification - and a lot if not most people with the certification don't also have a bachelor's degree let alone a graduate level degree), and after experiencing all the myths and misinformation promoted commonly by 12 step based/abstinence only groups when it comes to addiction treatment, modern medicine and science, I basically realized I'd be beyond miserable with that job.
Now I'm working towards and MDiv and MFT, and from the interning with that I've already begun I know I'm going to love being able to do the more meaningful work than I'd ever be able to do working for a treatment center. Treatment centers, by and large, are a horrible place to work BTW in terms of the environment and culture, at least for folks less inclined to the dogma of the abstinence only model which remains so popular in the US's recovery industry.