Addiction counselors and suicide: Education and experience do not improve suicide knowledge, beliefs, or confidence in treating suicidal clients

Abstract

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are strongly associated with suicide deaths. However, SUD treatment is associated with lower suicide risk. To this date, we know little about whether SUD counselors are sufficiently knowledgeable about suicide and feel prepared and comfortable with treating and assessing their suicidal clients. This study was designed to characterize SUD counselors' general knowledge and confidence in treating suicidal clients, which was measured by their self-report of general knowledge of suicide prevention and belief in common myths about suicide as well as their self-reported confidence in treating suicidal clients. We hypothesized that confidence would be greater for counselors with more years of education and experience, that degree of education would predict greater knowledge and fewer beliefs in suicide myths, and finally that those counselors with greater knowledge and fewer beliefs in myths would have more confidence when treating suicidal clients. A total of 118 SUD counselors from 15 sites in Western Washington State agreed to participate in the study and completed baseline assessments. They were consented in group setting, usually during a staff meeting, and they were administered surveys on tablet computers. On average, the SUD counselors answered more than half the knowledge questions correctly and disagreed or strongly disagreed with common suicide myths. Their confidence in treating suicidal clients scored across the entire range. Our hypotheses were not supported: Confidence was not greater for those with more education or with more years of experience; degree of education and experience did not predict fewer beliefs in suicide myths; degree of education and experience did not predict greater knowledge; and greater knowledge and fewer beliefs in myths did not predict more confidence. The surprising finding that neither general suicide knowledge nor confidence were associated with the years of their work experience as a SUD counselor nor the level of their education and neither was associated with the other suggests that SUD treatment leadership should not depend on experience, education, general suicide knowledge to assure counselors are confidently able to treat suicidal clients. New or more precise training methods should be considered and evaluated.