TPC_Digest_Volume_2_Issue_2

new (when compared with other professions such as social work and psychology), but has made great strides in a relatively short time. With the adoption of the 2009 CACREP standards, changes in professional identity, specialty areas of practice, core curricular standards, clinical field experiences, and measures of student learning outcomes likely will have long-reaching impacts on promoting the development of the counseling profession. One significant change in the 2009 CACREP standards was the creation and inclusion of a set of specialty standards related to addiction counseling. Whereas individual standards related to the practice of addiction counseling have been around for many years (e.g., those of the National Board for Certified Counselors’ [NBCC] Master Addictions Counselor [MAC] certification), this is the first time that an accrediting body of the helping professions has taken such a broad leap forward in legitimizing and standardizing the preparation of counselor to work with people struggling with addictions. In this article, the authors, whose combined 18 years of service to the counseling profession as Chairs or Vice-Chairs of the CACREP Board, explore the history of addiction counseling, as well as the development of the credentialing and certification processes related to addiction counseling. Next, the need for educational standards related to addiction counseling is established and CACREP’s role in the development of these standards is explained. The article finishes with potential implications and directions for future research. The authors are wholly confident that the work accomplished by the standard revision process related specifically to addiction counseling will help place counseling at the pinnacle of the helping professions and are humbly grateful for being a part of that process. ... this is the first time that an accrediting body of the helping professions has taken such a broad leap forward in legitimizing and standardizing the preparation of counselor to work with people struggling with addictions. TPC Digest