Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to better understand the relationship between substance abuse counselors’ personal recovery status, self-schemas, and willingness to use empirically supported treatments for substance use disorders.MethodsA phenomenological qualitative study enrolled 12 practicing substance abuse counselors.ResultsWithin this sample, recovering counselors tended to see those who suffer from addiction as qualitatively different from those who do not and hence themselves as similar to their patients, while nonrecovering counselors tended to see patients as experiencing a specific variety of the same basic human struggles everyone experiences, and hence also felt able to relate to their patients’ struggles.DiscussionSince empirically supported treatments may fit more or less neatly within one or the other of these viewpoints, this finding suggests that counselors’ recovery status and corresponding self-schemas may be related to counselor willingness to learn and practice specific treatments.
Highlights
There exists a troublesome gap between addiction science and the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment that is available to the public [1,2,3]
3. how do counselors see the role of personal experience of addiction/recovery or of being a concerned significant other (CSO; having been affected by a close friend or family member who struggled with an addictive disorder [24]) in forming beliefs about addiction?
The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Walden University and issued a Certificate of Confidentiality by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Summary
There exists a troublesome gap between addiction science and the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment that is available to the public [1,2,3]. The substance abuse treatment field has been criticized for failing to offer appealing treatment options [1] and for continuing to use unproven or even discredited practices [4]. Despite the fact that empirically supported treatments (ESTs) for SUDs exist, the majority of individuals treated for SUDs in the US receive services that are not empirically supported or have less empirical support than other options [7]. For some individuals, continuing to misuse substances is preferable to enduring SUD treatment because goals are inflexible, such as mandatory abstinence goals [8], or treatment involves coercion or confrontation [9]. Efforts to improve adoption of ESTs have looked at organizational barriers [10], program staff attitudes [11], and the professional credentialing process [12]
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