The Commission was originally established as the Alaska Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselor Certification Review Board, formed in response to concern among professional mental and addiction clinicians, lawmakers, citizen groups, and the public that chemical dependency clinicians possess the knowledge, skill, and character to practice competently and ethically. The Board began identifying minimum professional standards of competency and developing standards for professional conduct — seeking statewide input, pursuing national standards, and assessing means of examining clinicians for these critical qualities.

The Board was renamed the Alaska Commission for Chemical Dependency Professionals Certification. Restructuring and reorganization were accomplished to provide better representation of Alaska Native, American Indian, and other rural provider concerns and issues.

Since the beginning of counselor certification in Alaska, there have been ongoing efforts to revise and refine both the minimum knowledge and skill standards for practice, and to define the ethical standards and code of conduct for addiction counselors. Assessment of competency and knowledge of ethics is now accomplished through a combination of: verification of supervised professional experience, recommendations from those familiar with the applicant’s work, and testing. Proposed regulations mirror those now governing the Commission.

The Board was renamed the Alaska Commission for Behavioral Health Certification. The purpose of the name change was to represent the inclusion of certification in areas beyond addiction and give staff in related occupations an opportunity for further recognition of their skills.