About ADCSI
More than a school — a family-run mission built on lived experience, real credentials, and a belief that your past prepares you for your future.
Before You Read Our Story
"If you're reading this, it means you're doing your homework — you're researching the right school for you, and you're getting ready to make an amazing decision: to use your passion to help those struggling with the disease of addiction.
You're probably overwhelmed with options right now. Whether you're in recovery yourself and ready to turn your experience into a career, you've witnessed firsthand the damage addiction can do to the people you love most, or you're already working in treatment and it's time to get certified and start earning the compensation you deserve — I get it.
One thing I know for sure: you're not looking into this by accident, and you didn't just stumble onto this page because you had nothing better to do. You're here because you understand that the right decision, if chosen correctly, can change the entire trajectory of your life. You could literally be completed with your first module by this time next month. Regardless of what's driving that decision, we can help you get there.
Let me tell you a little about who we are and why this school exists."
Rick Reyes
Founder & Program Director
Rick, Adriana & Max Reyes
The Family Behind ADCSI
From Obstacles to Opportunity
Rick Reyes' story didn't start in a classroom — it started with a spinal cord injury. Born premature, Rick suffered a spinal fracture during an emergency delivery due to medical complications, leaving him permanently paralyzed. He shares this not for sympathy, but so you know: he understands obstacles. He's been experiencing them from day one.
Rick grew up in Southeast Los Angeles in a home full of love — but also full of addiction. Drug sales, substance use, and the lifestyle that comes with it were the environment he knew. By the age of 12, he was using. Not long after, he got involved in street gangs. Throughout his teens and into his twenties, his addiction continued to progress — leading to multiple incarcerations, physical challenges, and a life defined by chaos and dysfunction.
Addiction didn't just affect Rick — it ran through his entire family. In 1999, he lost his mother to the medical complications of chronic methamphetamine use. She was 45 years old. That loss shook him to his core.
Around that same time, Rick had gotten clean and sober — but relapse became part of his story. He shares that openly because the road to recovery isn't always a straight line, and he wants every student to know: it doesn't have to be part of yours, but it was part of his.
From Recovery to Education
After getting clean and sober — now in recovery, with a criminal background, a spinal cord injury, and a newlywed to his wife Adriana — Rick made a decision. He enrolled in a SUD counseling program, just like the students reading this page are considering right now. He took advantage of the opportunity in front of him.
Rick completed his training and started his career as an intern at a residential treatment center in Hawthorne, California. That internship turned into full-time employment. From there, he gained outpatient experience, worked with gender-specific programs doing gang intervention, and trained as a private interventionist.
After about five years in the field, Rick began doing private consulting and education for SUD counseling schools — including the very same school where he received his own training back in 1999. Then one day, he was given the opportunity to work full-time as a SUD counseling instructor.
That's when everything changed. Rick fell in love with education.
He realized that by teaching, he wasn't just helping one client at a time — he was multiplying the impact. Every student he trained would go on to help dozens, even hundreds of people struggling with addiction. The values he believes in — empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard — could reach further through education than he could ever reach alone.
Why ADCSI Exists
But Rick also saw a problem. Too many students who wanted to become counselors couldn't afford it. Programs were charging $19,000 — some now over $20,000 — for a certificate program. Students were getting buried in high-interest loans before they ever helped their first client. That barrier to education was keeping good people out of the field — especially those with lived experience who understood addiction from the inside.
On the other end of the spectrum, some students were settling for low-cost, low-quality courses — substandard education that checked a box but didn't actually prepare them for the realities of clinical work. Just because something is the cheapest option doesn't mean it's the right one. Your clients deserve better than that, and so do you.
After deep reflection and many conversations, Rick and Adriana made a bold decision. They started building a school that would remove those barriers — without sacrificing quality. It began as A.C.T.S. — the Addiction Counselor and Technical Studies College — and has since evolved into what you see today: ADCSI, a CCAPP and CADTP approved school that delivers the same quality of instruction you'd get in a physical classroom, with the flexibility to do it on your own schedule — all without sacrificing the quality of your education or having to take on high-interest loans.
A Family Mission
ADCSI is not just a business. It is a family mission. Adriana Reyes is not just Rick's wife and business partner. She holds a certificate in Substance Use Disorder Counseling and is a trained interventionist. She works side by side with Rick every single day, bringing her own clinical knowledge and passion to the school. And their son Max? He is the reason they keep pushing.
Because every person who walks through the doors of a treatment center deserves the best possible experience. It might be the only chance they get to save their life. It is that serious.
Today, with decades of recovery and professional clinical experience behind them, the Reyes family brings you ADCSI. Rick, Adriana, and Max Reyes along with a team of contracted SUD counselors, clinical supervisors, and experts in the field with real-world experience.
A family-owned school built on a genuine belief that your past does not define your future. It prepares you for it.
What Drives Us
"Our mission is to provide accessible, high-quality SUD counselor education that empowers individuals — especially those with lived experience — to become certified professionals who transform lives and communities."
Empathy
We teach our students to feel with their clients, not just for them. True empathy is the foundation of effective counseling and the first step toward healing.
Congruence
Authenticity in practice. We model and cultivate genuine, transparent therapeutic relationships where counselors show up as their true selves.
Unconditional Positive Regard
Every person deserves acceptance without judgment. We instill this Rogerian principle as the cornerstone of client-centered care in everything we teach.
The Timeline
The Beginning
Rick begins his personal recovery journey, laying the groundwork for a future in counseling and education.
A.C.T.S College Founded
Rick and Adriana launch the Addiction Counselor and Technical Studies College — one of the first accessible SUD counselor training programs in California.
ADCSI is Born
The school evolves into the Alcohol & Drug Counseling Studies Institute, gaining CCAPP and CADTP approval with a 635-hour comprehensive curriculum delivered 100% online.
Expanding the Mission
ADCSI launches the Exam Prep Vault, Counselor-to-CEO mentorship program, and continues to grow its impact across California and beyond.
"So if you're sitting there wondering whether you can do this — whether someone with your background, your struggles, your story can actually become a certified SUD counselor — let me tell you from personal experience: you absolutely can.
I'm living proof. And I'm here to help you get there."
Rick Reyes
Founder & Program Director, ADCSI
Ready to Join the ADCSI Family?
Book a call with Rick to learn how ADCSI can help you start your counseling career.