Analyzes the minimum professional training requirements of 32 state certifying bodies for substance abuse counselors. Only 14 of the certifying boards included any of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs core knowledge areas in their training components. The lack of specific drug and alcohol training brings…

Reviews state regulations responsible for determining the minimum qualifications for counselors, clinical supervisors, or client assessors in the substance abuse treatment field. Few of the 34 states surveyed required treatment outcome studies or referenced licensed professional counselors. Discusses implications new counselors may face when their…

Examines the impact of substance abuse counselor (SAC) recovery status and education level on SAC's sensitivity to ethical dilemmas and extent to which training might help resolve dilemmas. Results revealed a significant difference between SACs with a graduate degree and SACs with an associate's degree/high school diploma regarding sensitivity to…

Assesses the state of addiction-related training taken from a telephone survey of accredited counselor education programs (N=86). Results reveal that 30% required courses in substance abuse/dependency issues. Reviews syllabi, numbers and types of courses, course requirements, and course texts. Most respondents (97%) indicated that addiction…

The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) and the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counselors (IAAOC) developed a master's level certification for addictions counselors. While NBCC and IAAOC's position is that skills necessary for general counseling are sufficient for an addictions counselor, specific knowledge about…