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Perceived Self-E#cacy of Licensed Counselors to
Provide Substance Abuse Counseling
Nichelle Chandler
Michelle Perepiczka
Walden University
Richard S. Balken
Texas A & M University - Corpus Christi
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Perceived Self-Efficacy of Licensed
Counselors to Provide Substance Abuse
Counseling
Nichelle Chandler, Richard S. Balkin, and Michelle Perepiczka
This nationwide, quantitative study documented licensed counselors' perceived
self-efficacy of adequately providing substance abuse
services.
Despite their lack
of substance abuse training, counselors were highly confident in their ability to
provide quality substance abuse services. Counselor training implications are
discussed.
Self-efficacy theory is a construct derived from Bandura's (1977) social cog-
nitive theory (SCT). Social cognitive theorists believe people set their own
goals and standards and control their learning and behavior. Counselors
who use an SCT approach do not view people as reactive organisms shaped
by environmental forces; rather, they perceive people as having the ability
to self-organize, be proactive, self-reflect, and self-regulate (Pajares, 2002).
According to the SCT perspective, human functioning is viewed as the
product of personal, behavioral, and environmental influences (Bandura,
1986;
Pajares, 2002). On the basis of this
belief,
Bandura (1986) created the
concept of reciprocal determinism. Bandura maintained that personal, be-
havioral, and environmental influences all create an interaction that causes
triadic reciprocality—the reciprocal nature of the personal, behavioral, and
environmental determinants of human functioning.
Bandura (1977) stated that self-efficacy beliefs are people's judgments of
their capabilities to organize and carry out courses of action required to at-
tain specific types of performances. In conjuncfion with Bandura's definition
of self-efficacy, Larson et
al.
(1992) defined counselor self-efficacy (CSE) as
a counselor's judgment about his or her capabilities to effecfively counsel
a client in the near future. CSE beliefs are important in understanding how
people feel, think, motivate themselves, and behave. Consequently, CSE
is positively correlated to a counselor's training level and experience
(Johnson, Baker, Kopala, Kiselica, & Thompson, 1989; Larson et al.,
1992;
Rushlau, 1998). Given the relationship between training and CSE,
the purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship of
substance abuse training to CSE. In the following section, we expand on
the concept of self-efficacy.
Nichelle Chandler and Michelle Perepiczka, School of Counseling and Social Services, Waiden Uni-
versity; Richard S. Balkin, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Texas A&M
University-Corpus Christi. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nichelle
Chandler, PO Box 398451, Dallas, TX 75339 (e-mail: nicchandler08@yahoo.com).
© 2011 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.
Journal of Addictions
&
Offender Counseling • October 2011 • Volume 32 29
Counselor Development
and
Self-Efficacy
Over the past 2 decades, counselor educators explored how self-efficacy
beliefs affect the development of counselors and counselors-in-training.
Early research on self-efficacy examined more simplistic and discrete be-
haviors rather than complex sets of skills in varying situations (Johnson
et al., 1989; Sharpley & Ridgway, 1993). More recently, researchers began
exploring a variety of variables that may affect CSE (Cashwell & Dooley,
2001;
Daniels & Larson,
2001;
Tang, Addison, LaSure-Bryant, Norman, &
Stewart-Sicking, 2004). Tang et al. (2004) used Friedlander and Snyder's
(1983) Self-Efficacy Inventory to explore factors that influence counseling
students' self-efficacy. The researchers examined how
age,
prior work experi-
ence,
number of courses taken, and number of internship hours interacted
with
CSE.
The length of internship hours and prior related work experience
were positively correlated with counseling students' self-efficacy.
Training Needs
in
Substance
Abuse
Counseling
Substance abuse continues to be one of the most prevalent public health
issues in the United States. Substance abuse does not discriminate with
respect to age, religion, income, ethnicity, geography, or profession (Ste-
vens & Smith, 2001). Annually, substance abuse costs the United States
$67 billion in crime, lost work productivity, foster care, and other social
issues (McLellan, Lewis, O'Brien, & Kleber, 2000). According to Morgan
and Toloczko (1997), trained professionals can be invaluable resources
in confronting this critical social problem. Crozier and Gressard (2005)
argued that the delivery of effective and comprehensive substance abuse
education and interventions requires comprehensively trained and effec-
tive professionals.
Researchers have documented the need for adequate substance abuse
training among mental health professionals (Carroll, 2000; Cellucci
&
Vik,
2001;
Chappel
&
Lewis,
1997;
Harwood, Kowalski,
&
Ameen, 2004; Lubin,
Brady, Woodard,
&
Thomas,
1986;
Madson, Bethea, Daniel,
&
Necaise, 2008;
McLellan, Carise, & Kleber,
2003;
Montgomery, 1993; Moos,
2003;
Moos,
Finney, Federman, & Suchinsky, 2000; Morgan & Toloczko, 1997). Celluci
and Vik's (2001) study found that 89% of 144 psychologists in Idaho had
contact with those who abuse substances, yet most of them rated their
graduate training as inadequate preparation for practice. Renner (2007)
reported that psychiatrists have not been adequately trained to care for
individuals who present with substance use disorders. Although multiple
groups of mental health professionals have noted the lack of substance
abuse training as a concern, the presented study focused on the need for
substance abuse training among licensed counselors (Carroll,
2000;
Celluci
& Vik,
2001;
Chappel & Lewis, 1997; Harwood et al., 2004; Madson et al.,
2008;
Montgomery,
1993;
Morgan
&
Toloczko,
1997;
Selin
&
Svanum, 1981).
30 journal of Addictions
&
Offender Counseling • October 2011 • Volume 32
Carroll (2000) examined counseling students' choice of initial clinical in-
terventions with a described substance-dependent client and conceptions
of
substance dependence among students. Results of the study revealed that
counseling students who had 3 semester hours of instruction in substance
abuse counseling were more likely to treat or refer the client for substance
abuse or dependence rather than assessing for another problem. Although
students with little or no instruction in substance abuse counseling were
more likely to treat or refer a client for substance abuse or dependence,
many did not recognize the need for immediate attention or dismissed
the problem as not urgent. The results of this study reinforce the need for
training counselors in the delivery of substance abuse services (Crozier &
Gressard, 2005). The present study focused on the substance abuse train-
ing needs of counselors, more specifically, those who hold licensure as
professional counselors.
Continuing Education and Substance Abuse
The extant literature lacks studies that explored the direct relationship
between substance abuse CSE and continuing education. However, Gré-
goire (1994) examined the effects of continuing education on child welfare
workers' beliefs about alcohol and drug addictions. Public child welfare
workers were recruited to attend a 7-hour training program on the impact
of addiction on child welfare practice. The participants were administered
a written survey at the start of training to assess for changes in attitudes
after training. At the conclusion of the training and at follow-up, partici-
pants exhibited positive attitude change and felt more comfortable and
confident in their ability to adequately work with clients who present
with issues of substance abuse. According to Bandura (1977), a person's
attitude is positively correlated with self-efficacy beliefs. Therefore, a case
can be made that continuing education can be useful in enhancing coun-
selors'
sense of comfort and self-efficacy as they carry out substance abuse
counseling services.
Purpose of Study
There have been few studies that examined the impact of CSE at later
stages of training or after graduate school (Lent, Hill, & Hoffman,
2003).
Researchers in the past primarily focused on counseling students'
self-efficacy as it relates to providing counseling (Cashwell & Dooley,
2001;
Johnson et al., 1989; Larson et al., 1992; Rushlau, 1998; Sharpley
& Ridgway, 1993; Tang et al., 2004). The present study is significant be-
cause it is one of the first to explore the self-efficacy beliefs of licensed
counselors as it relates to providing substance abuse services. In an
effort to fill these literature gaps, four research questions provide the
basis for this study:
Journal of Addictions
&
Offender Counseling • October 2011 • Volume 32 31
1.
What
is the
extent
of the
relationship,
if
any, between
the
number
of substance abuse courses taken
in
graduate school
by
licensed
counselors
and
their perceived self-efficacy
in
providing substance
abuse services?
2.
What
is the
extent
of the
relationship,
if
any, between
the
number
of combined practicum
and
internship clock hours completed
in
graduate school
by
licensed counselors
and
their perceived
self-
efficacy
in
relation
to
providing substance abuse services?
3.
What
is the
extent
of the
relationship,
if
any, between
the
percent-
ages
of
clients with substance abuse
as a
primary diagnosis treated
by licensed counselors
and
their perceived self-efficacy
in
relation
to providing substance abuse services?
4.
What
is the
extent
of the
relationship,
if
any, between
the
numbers
of continuing education clock hours completed
in the
area
of
substance abuse
by
licensed counselors
and
their perceived
self-
efficacy
in
relation
to
providing substance abuse services?
Method
Participants
A demographic questionnaire
and the
Substance Abuse Treatment
Self-
Efficacy Scale (SATSES) were e-mailed
to
999 professional members
of the
American Counseling Association (ACA)
for
completion. The participants
for the study were randomly selected by the ACA office from the four ACA
regions (North, East, South, and West)
of
the United States. All participants
had the following characteristics in
common:
(a) counseling licensure within
the United States,
(b) the
absence
of
licensures
or
certifications
in the
area
of substance abuse, (c)
a
graduate degree from
a
counseling program,
and
(d) professional member
of
AGA.
The participants'
age
ranged from 24
to
70 years. Sixty-nine participants
were female
and 33
were male. Seventy-four
of the
participants reported
being Caucasian,
19
African American,
5
Hispanic,
2
Native American, and 2
Asian. Participants reported completing an average
of
0.83
substance abuse
courses in their graduate program (see Table
1).
They completed an average
of 40.05 continuing education clock hours
in the
area
of
substance abuse
post master's program. An average 713.38 practicum
and
internship hours
were completed by the sample. Participants reported treating
an
average of
37.02%
of
their current clients
for
substance abuse
as a
primary diagnosis.
Sampling methods
and
instrumentation present limitations
to
this study
(Call, Gall,
&
Borg,
2007).
Recruiting the sample depended on valid
e-mail
addresses
of
potential participants; however, approximately
200 of the e-
mail addresses purchased were
no
longer valid. This lowered
the
number
of participants recruited, therefore possibly lowering
the
sample size.
The sample
had an
overrepresentation
of
particular groups (e.g., private
32 journal of Addictions
&
Offender Counseling
•
October 2011
•
Volume
32