Addiction Counselors in Recovery: Perceived Barriers in the Workplace

Knowledge Translation for Service Providers with Addiction or Recovery Experience: A Delphi Method

“…The panel's recommendation that service providers in recovery who were hired as paraprofessionals receive additional supports and training has been supported by the studies that compared service providers with and without recovery experience and found that service providers in recovery usually enter the field at an older age and have less formal education (Doukas & Cullen, 2011). It has been argued that a low value attributed to addiction treatment (due to moralistic attitudes in society) has presented a significant barrier in attracting and keeping highly skilled professionals working in the field.…”

“…Similar to the consensus achieved by the Delphi panel, other studies have reported that the personal loyalty of some service providers to the 12-step model of recovery, and their practicing from a frame of reference of this model, might be related to their not using other treatment approaches (e.g., motivational interviewing, and behavioral and pharmacological treatments; Abraham et al, 2011;Ball et al, 2002;D'Aunno, 2006;Knudsen et al, 2007;McGovern et al, 2004). Positive recovery experience with certain models of treatment of service providers in recovery might affect how these practitioners address treatment planning and treatment goals of their clients (Doukas & Cullen, 2011). Motivation and perceived confidence in EBPs have been found to be important predictors of their implementation and use.…”

“…Similar to Doukas and Cullen (2011), the panel suggested training that dismisses a 12-step model, to which some counselors subscribe, might not be highly regarded, as these counselors might believe that they have all the tools necessary to provide good therapy (i.e., their personal experience and the teachings of 12-step programs). Moreover, some authors suggest treatment goals like controlled drinking and substance use might challenge personal beliefs and threaten the sense of self-efficacy of addiction professionals whose recovery is based on abstinence (Brown & Lewis, 1999).…”

“…Some studies report that stigma associated with the past life experiences of addiction service providers with recovery causes them to experience "second-class citizen" status within the field, with little access to training and education (Doukas & Cullen, 2011;White, 2008). Because educational standards have been replacing personal experience of recovery as the most important credential of service providers of addiction treatment in North America (Doukas & Cullen, 2011), the issues regarding the educational opportunities for this group of service providers remain an important part of the context of KT. Moreover, service providers in recovery should be engaged in a dialogue in which underlying concepts and assumptions about the role of lived experience of addiction and recovery are discussed and clearly understood before developing any KT.…”

“…Accordingly, the employment of individuals successful in their recovery remained imperative for filling the void (White, Boyle, & Loveland, 2005). Some studies report that stigma associated with the past life experiences of addiction service providers with recovery causes them to experience "second-class citizen" status within the field, with little access to training and education (Doukas & Cullen, 2011;White, 2008). Because educational standards have been replacing personal experience of recovery as the most important credential of service providers of addiction treatment in North America (Doukas & Cullen, 2011), the issues regarding the educational opportunities for this group of service providers remain an important part of the context of KT.…”