A Brief History of TAADAC

Prior to 1970 there was no alcohol and drug counselors association in Tennessee. In 1972 a group of counselors from across Tennessee met at Samaritan Recovery Center in Nashville. They began the formation of an association to link and serve alcohol and drug counselors in Tennessee and to develop a certification process to assure high quality and standards for practitioners in the field. They called themselves the Tennessee Association of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselors, or TAADAC for short.

TAADAC started an alcohol and drug counselor certification process which was not based on academic degrees, and developed the first test that was given to perspective counselors. The certification process was run by TAADAC until 1996 when the State of Tennessee Alcohol and Drug Bureau took over the process of certification. In 1996 the A&D certificate was changed to a license process with conferees holding the title of Licensed Alcohol and Other Drugs of Abuse Counselor, or LAODAC.

In 1982, Tennessee joined the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Counselors (NAADAC) which had also formed in 1972. In 1976 the Tennessee association sponsored the first drug school in Tennessee in Chattanooga to offer training to counselors statewide.

The regional chapters were formed when TAADAC affiliated with NAADAC and serve specific geographic areas of the state and include West, Middle, Southeast and East chapters. Information and activities on each of these chapters can be found by using the menu provided