INTRODUCTION  

Every day, countless lives are enriched or saved because of the work carried out by addiction counselors. In a myriad of settings, competent, well-trained counselors form the relationships and carry out the strategies that help their clients move from life-threatening addiction to life-affirming recovery. Although the field of addictions can be very broad in scope, we have chosen to focus on the work of counselors who deal with psychoactive substance use, abuse, and dependence among their clients.  

We can state with certainty that thousands of addiction counselors accomplish their missions with distinction. We also know, however, that even specialists in the addictions field have not traditionally been able to define with clarity the professional standards that should guide their work. What is the scope of practice that is appropriate for an addiction counselor? What are the competencies that are most likely to be associated with positive outcomes? What knowledge, skills, and attitudes should be shared by all members of the addiction counseling profession? The central purpose of this publication is to address those questions.
 

Transdisciplinary Foundations  

The first section, Transdisciplinary Foundations for Addiction Professionals, identifies the knowledge and attitudes that underlie competent practice not just for counselors but for addiction specialists in other disciplines as well. Functional skills may vary across disciplines, but the knowledge and attitudes highlighted here provide a basis of understanding that should be common to all addictions professionals and that serves as a prerequisite to the development of competency in each discipline. These foundations, as articulated in Addiction Counseling Competencies (Appendix C), include:  

The Professional Practice of Addiction Counseling   

The second section of the publication addresses the professional practice of addiction counseling. The National Curriculum Committee of the Addiction Technology Transfer Center program, which is supported by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, developed this section over a three-year period. Using reviews of current research, input from key experts, and feedback from experienced trainers and practitioners, the Committee sought to define the professional practice that would be appropriate for the addiction counselor of the 21st century. Eight Practice Dimensions were identified, with the Committee recognizing that the counselorís effectiveness would depend on his or her ability to develop expertise in each. These dimensions include the following:  

Several of these dimensions encompass specific Elements. Clinical evaluation, for instance, includes both screening and assessment. Service coordination includes three definable elements: implementing the treatment plan, consulting, and carrying on the process of ongoing assessment and treatment planning. Counseling, of course, includes the elements of individual, group, and family counseling.  

The Committeeís delineation of the addiction counselorís scope of practice provided it with a context for identifying the competencies that are necessary for effective functioning in the addiction counselor role. Each dimension carries its own set of Competencies. Many additional competencies may be desirable for counselors in specific settings. In addition, education and experience will affect the depth of the individual counselorís knowledge and skills. Our goal for the future, however, is that every addiction counselor possess every competency listed on these pages, regardless of setting or treatment model.  

The competencies underlying effective practice of addiction counseling were introduced in a 1995 publication (see Appendix C for a revised edition, entitled Addiction Counseling Competencies). The Committee members recognized that greater detail is needed to make this schema useful for program development, evaluation, and training. Thus, the current full document lists the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes that combine to ensure attainment of each of the competencies listed in the document presented in Appendix C.

 
Using This Document   

This document is not intended to be a curriculum that must be followed in a specific sequence. Instead, it identifies the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that could serve as outcomes toward which curricula might aim. Settings, time constraints, and levels of counselor training diverge widely. For this reason, we provide a set of outcome guidelines that may be used to meet varying needs. Educators and curriculum developers can build courses, curricula, and training packages oriented toward these outcomes. Counseling practitioners can assess their own progress toward achieving the competencies. Supervisory and administrative personnel can use the materials to identify in-service training and continuing education needs within their agencies.  

As the Committee stated in our first publication, we know that the field of addiction counseling will be characterized by significant change in the coming decades. No one can predict in great detail the specifics of each counselorís setting, clientele, and practice. Nevertheless, we can predict with certainty that addiction counselors of the future will be individuals who are comfortable with the process of lifelong learning, who are able to apply their skills in a variety of settings, and who welcome the opportunity to develop new strategies in response to the changing needs of their clients and communities.  

Inquiries may be directed to the Committee chair: David A. Deitch, Ph.D., California Addiction Technology Transfer Center, UCSD School of Medicine, 565 Pearl St., Suite 360, La Jolla, California 92037.
 

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                            Email: no@nattc.org | Revised March 1998