The upshot of these needs for change is both dismaying and exciting, both disturbing in the destruction of long-familiar patterns of dealing with human suffering, and paradoxically hopeful in raising the possibility that significant failures in our health care systems of the past — limited access to medical care and grossly inadequate public sector “non-systems”, for example — may now be addressed more successfully.

Administration and policy in mental health

Professional counselors and counselors-in-training continue to serve clients who have substance abuse issues, yet systematic training in substance abuse counseling is not available to many counselors. The authors investigated the extent to which students in programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 2001) are exposed to clients presenting with substance abuse issues and the relationship between state licensure or certification in substance abuse and the resulting perception of the need for the inclusion of substance abuse training in these programs. Three methods are presented for possibly including substance abuse training in CACREP standards.

Inclusion of Substance Abuse Training in Cacrep-Accredited Programs

Professional counselors and counseling psychologists have much to offer in treating substance use disorders (SUDs). Yet, research consistently demonstrates that students are not receiving adequate training in SUDs. This study describes the current state of training counseling and counseling psychology students in SUDs. Results are consistent with previous studies. Implications for training and practice are provided.

The State of Substance Abuse Treatment Training in Counseling and Counseling Psychology Programs: What is and is Not Happening

When mental health counselors have limited and/or inadequate training in substance use disorders (SUDs), effective clinical supervision (ECS) may advance their professional development. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether ECS is related to the job performance of SUD counselors. Data were obtained in person via paper-and-pencil surveys from 392 matched SUD counselor-clinical supervisor dyads working in 27 SUD treatment organizations across the United States. ECS was rated by counselors and measured with five multi-item scales (i.e., sponsoring counselors' careers, providing challenging assignments, role modeling, accepting/confirming counselors' competence, overall supervisor task proficiency). Clinical supervisors rated counselors' job performance, which was measured with two multi-item scales (i.e., task performance, performance within supervisory relationship). Using mixed-effects models, we found that most aspects of ECS are related to SUD counselor job performance. Thus, ECS may indeed enhance counselors' task performance and performance within the supervisory relationship, and, as a consequence, offset limited formal SUD training.

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Effective Clinical Supervision in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs and Counselor Job Performance.

This study identified the preliminary curriculum components for the preparation of graduate-level addiction counselors. A review of the related literature revealed no agreed upon standards for post baccalaureate instruction of addiction counseling. The Delphi method was used to establish curriculum items from a list of 198 previously identified work behaviors associated with graduate-level addiction counseling. A panel of 28 addiction counseling experts responded to three administrations of an evolving questionnaire and reached consensus on a final list of 89 curriculum items. Consensus of expert judgments was corroborated by a post hoc multivariate of analysis of variance (MANOVA) that revealed no significant differences in ratings of importance among panelist subgroups.

A preliminary investigation of the components of a curriculum for the preparation of master's-level addiction counselors.

The present study examined the perceived need for CACREP-accredited counselor education programs to formalize curriculum standards for substance abuse counseling courses. The participants were university professors who are CACREP liaisons for currently accredited counselor education programs. A survey was conducted using questions constructed from a review of literature and subsequent feedback from counselor educators with substance abuse counseling and CACREP expertise. Results suggested that providing educational preparation for students aspiring to be substance abuse counselors should be implemented. More than half of those surveyed (56.6%) indicated that the establishment of such curriculum standards by CACREP is “important” (23.3%), “very important” (14.4%), or “extremely important” (18.9%).

David Whittinghill

Papers

Curriculum Standards for the Education of Professional Substance Abuse Counselors.

A preliminary investigation of the components of a curriculum for the preparation of master's-level addiction counselors.