Drug Counselor Competencies
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Addiction counseling is a profession with a low level of cohesion due to very significant state-to-state differences in certification and licensure requirements, the variety of levels of qualifications among practicing counselors, and the emergence of new demands--in terms of knowledge and coverage--for addiction counselors at a time when fiscal support and insurance reimbursements for drug intervention programs are shrinking and demand is increasing. As the profession struggles to organize itself by adding to its arsenal of competencies, however, the National Curriculum Committee (NCC) of the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) seeks to define the broadest range of knowledge, skills, and attitudes for all addiction professionals while also producing a defining list of attributes that all addiction counselors share. As the field expands and contracts on various fronts new opportunities arise as counselors add to the knowledge and skills they use in practice. But the basic attitudes and other personal characteristics of counselors remain constant and this allows for the creation of a profile of the addiction counselor in terms of attributes that facilitate the connection with clients, negotiate the difficult problems of empathy and distance, and are productive of the kind of sustained attention and efficiency of execution without which no addiction counselor can serve her/his clients adequately. The addiction counselor must, in short, become a combination
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t may be caused by the relatively low professional status of counselors vis-a-vis other clinicians and medical professionals.
At present, the principal problem with cohesion in the field is not, however, the growth of new demands, professional limitations, or the possibility of alternative forms of addiction counseling. It is the inconsistency of credentialing requirements throughout the nation. As a recent article noted, "to gain certification, addiction counselors can enter one of 50 paths, for the 50 states" (Credential, 1996, p. 1). Requirements vary greatly as, for example, a certified substance abuse counselor in Arkansas must have completed 6,000 hours of work and 270 hours of course work while, "next door in Texas," counselors are certified with only 4,000 hours of work experience and 270 hours of classwork but licensure is mandatory (Credential p. 1). State licensure often does not extend requirements beyond those of certification, unless a special master's degree level license is offered, but licensure generally entitles the counselor to practice "individually or under supervision," although rules for practice vary considerably from state to state (Credential, p. 1). Reimbursement by insurers, however, is almost a
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4059
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page)
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