BTG Fall 2018

Having a clinical supervisor oversee less-experienced counselors is particular ly important when working with clients who have “several components to their treatment process,” McCreary says. “An inexperienced counselor might inadvertently practice outside of their scope of practice, motivated by their wish to help the client.” A substance-use disorder client may have mental health issues, so “the counselor might say, 'Let's come up with some coping skills for the symptoms you're having, ’ but they might not have the training and certication to do that.” In that case, the right strategy is to refer the client to a clinical supervisor who has the ability to provide assessment, screening and diagnosis, McCreary says. Like other licensed professions, the addiction counseling eld has certain continuing education requirements, which are set by the state. €e addiction treatment eld is evolving rapidly, with a gradual merging of the mental health and addiction treatment disciplines, McCreary says, noting that a high percentage of the addiction clients she sees have co-occurring mental health issues. “So it's very important that counselors continue to educate themselves and take as many trainings as possible.” It took a number of years for addiction counselors to achieve the same level of acceptance in the “helping eld” as clinical psychologists and social workers, McCreary says. Training and education that lasts an entire career has been important in achieving that, and continues to be. In that case, the right strategy is to refer the client to a clinical supervisor who has the ability to provide assessment, screening and diagnosis, McCreary says. Like other licensed professions, the addiction counseling eld has certain continuing education requirements, which are set by the state. €e addiction treatment eld is evolving rapidly, with a gradual merging of the mental health and addiction treatment disciplines, McCreary says, noting that a high percentage of the addiction clients she sees have co-occurring mental health issues. “So it's very important that counselors continue to educate themselves and take as many trainings as possible.” It took a number of years for addiction counselors to achieve the same level of acceptance in the “helping eld” as clinical psychologists and social workers, McCreary says. Training and education that lasts an entire career has been important in achieving that, and continues to be.

Counselor licensing requirements Licensing as a CSC-AD requires an associate degree or higher in a human service counseling eld from a regionally accredited college or university. Licensing as a CAC-AD requires a bachelor's degree or higher in a human service counseling eld from a regionally accredited college or university and it also requires one year and 1,000 hours of supervised experience under an alcohol and drug-approved supervisor. Licensing as an LGADC requires a master's degree or higher in a human services counseling eld. Licensing as an LCADC requires a master's degree or higher in a human services counseling eld and it also requires 2,000 hours and two years of supervised experienced after earning a master's or higher degree. According to Melody McCreary, founder and executive director of Bridging the Gap Services, training is often conducted on the job, with the specic clientele the counselor will serve. Often, more experienced counselors will serve as the primary point of contact with the client, while the counselor-in-training shadows them. As part of their training, new counselors are required to receive at least ve hours a week of direct supervision during their probationary period. Bridging the Gap and Step N2 Recovery have a six-month probationary period. Having a clinical supervisor oversee less-experienced counselors is particular ly important when working with clients who have “several components to their treatment process,” McCreary says. “An inexperienced counselor might inadvertently practice outside of their scope of practice, motivated by their wish to help the client.” A substance-use disorder client may have mental health issues, so “the counselor might say, 'Let's come up with some coping skills for the symptoms you're having, ’ but they might not have the training and certication to do that.”

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