Oregon Behavioral Health Pathways

There is a way in.
Let's find yours.

Peer support, addiction counseling, mental health, licensed practice — every one of them has a first rung you can actually reach. This site shows you the real requirements, the Oregon schools that teach them, and the agencies that hire, in plain language. The navigator talks it through with you like a person would.

💬 Talk to the navigator See the credential ladders

One person's ladder

Certified Recovery Mentor (CRM)40-hour training · lived experience is the qualification · working in weeks

QMHA-R → QMHA Ia bachelor's in a qualifying field, or three years of education + experience

CADC I → CADC II150 hrs of addiction education + 1,000 supervised hours + exam

LPC / LCSWmaster's + supervised clinical hours → independent practice

Where do you see yourself?

I've been through it myself

Peer support and recovery mentoring. Your lived experience is the qualification — no degree required.

CRM: 40-hour training, working in weeks →

Helping people overcome addiction

Substance use and gambling counseling — the CADC and CGAC ladders. You can register and start working under supervision before you finish the education.

CADC-R: register first, learn on the job →

Supporting people with mental illness

Skills training, case management, assessment and treatment — QMHA and QMHP. The degree's field matters, not just its level.

QMHA-R: a qualifying bachelor's, or a non-degree path →

Preventing problems before they start

Prevention is its own profession — community education, coalitions, programs that stop harm upstream.

CPS: Certified Prevention Specialist →

How this works

1. Start where you are

Tell the navigator your education, where you live, and what you're drawn to. It asks one question at a time and never sends you toward something you can't reach.

2. See the whole ladder

The fastest paid entry point and the higher ceiling, together — including the honest part: which credentials can't practice independently.

3. Real schools, real employers

Every school, program, and agency named here comes from Oregon's Single Source Registry — the same data the boards and the State use.

Why this exists

People who haven't entered the field can't read a licensing board's website. They call, get recruited toward one board's credential, or give up. This is the other door: one honest conversation, grounded in the requirements, that says "here is where you start."