TPC-Journal-V2-Issue1

The Professional Counselor \Volume 2, Issue 1 63 that addiction counseling is a separate profession with separate education, training, supervision and practice. Kaplan and Gladding (2011), King (2011), and Gladding, Kaplan, Linde, Mascari, and Tarvydas (2011) have advocated along with others about the importance of a unified counseling identity with common skills, training and practice (particularly among counseling specialties). Recommendations Overall, there appears to be a need for a recalibration of the experienced-based training required for LPCs at a national level that will enhance their entrance into the field of addiction counseling. Currently, states that do not allow for multiple entries into the field have a tiered system of entry, or an approval mandate of the type or quality of the addiction training program, that may inhibit LPCs from practicing in the addiction counseling field. In states where there are significant barriers, professional counselors (fully licensed or in-training) entering the addiction counseling profession with a graduate degree may be required to complete additional training requirements that were created during a time when the addiction counseling professional possibly possessed no more than a high school diploma or GED, and such credentialing requirements (e.g., thousands of supervised hours) were imposed as a mechanism to professionalize the field. Considering the graduate counseling degree (and associated supervised counseling hours) held by a LPC or counselor-in-training accruing licensure hours, these mandates currently seem excessive and possibly even redundant. Presently, the North Carolina system may be one of the few in the United States that provides the fewest barriers for LPCs entering the addiction counseling field. In the following section, two remedies for the licensure/credentialing problems are presented. Although myriad issues complicate the process (e.g., counselors are called different titles in different states and different state requirements are present for licensure/credentialing as an addiction counselor), the following suggestions in some conceptualization may spur more tangible action. Any formal action should likely come from a national committee set up through the American Counseling Association (ACA) and in conjunction with the ACA addiction division, The International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC), as well as CACREP, and national bodies such as the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) and the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC). Committee representatives from these parties could examine the coordination of experience and training. Such a committee could develop guidelines for balancing these concerns for states to use in their individual recalibration of requirements. Possible Solution #1: Nationally Recognized Tiered System of Addiction Counselor Credentialing One of the difficulties in terms of the current state of addiction credentialing in the U.S. is the absence of uniform national curriculum training standards in the addiction field. Also, there are two main national credentialing groups: NAADAC and the IC&RC. Issues arise because affiliation with one of the two main credentialing groups and credentialing variations between these organizations can result in issues in terms of competition and the nature of the boards and exams required for credentialing. Miller, Scarborough, Clark, Leonard, and Keziah (2010) recommend the following with regard to addiction counseling: (a) portability of credentials, (b) competition reduction between credentialing groups and state boards, (c) national standards for addiction education and training, and (d) a standardized national licensure/credentialing process. Unfortunately, these recommendations have not yet been fully implemented. One possible solution is to develop a tiered system of addiction counseling credentials at a national level that takes into account professional experience as well as educational training. There needs to be a balance between the idea that anyone with a general counseling degree can do addiction counseling and the idea that only a few select counselors can do the work. Furthermore, this balance should be firmly based upon the ACA Ethical Code that indicates that counselors only practice within their area(s) of competence (2005). For example, graduates of professional counseling programs (e.g., those working towards LPC status) who have taken a nationally-approved addiction counseling curriculum and have completed practicum/internship experiences could be designated as having addiction credentials in addition to the LPC (i.e., a nationally approved addiction concentration). Therefore, graduate counseling coursework that includes addiction counseling education and practical experiences would enable new graduates to move seamlessly into the addiction counseling profession without the need for additional supervision hours or educational components (i.e., beyond the required supervised counseling hours and educational