Alcohol and other Drug Abuse Counselors' Attitudes and Resources for Integrating Research and Practice

Abstract

The state of Wisconsin recently launched a Research-to-Practice Initiative. One aspect of the Wisconsin initiative was to survey Wisconsin-Certified Alcohol and other Drug Abuse Counselors (CADCs) to assess their attitudes, reported practices, and resources in regard to the integration of research and practice. The sample for the present study included 366 CADCs. Of the 366 respondents, 62 percent (n = 226) were female and 38 percent (n = 140) were male. The respondents were primarily Caucasian (90 percent) with the remaining respondents identifying as African American (4 percent), Native American (2 percent), Hispanic (1 percent), and Asian American (0.5 percent). The results from the survey indicated that the majority of respondents have access to computers, e-mail, and the Internet at their workplace; report being "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their education and training; and tend to approve of the efforts to integrate research and practice. Incentives, barriers and strategies to integrate research and practice are discussed.

Comparative analysis of state requirements for the training of substance abuse and mental health counselors

“…Without graduate school or similar-type courses or experiences, individuals may have greater difficulty deciphering and appreciating these research findings. Most drug and alcohol counselors have not had the necessary coursework to facilitate a deep understanding of research articles, and results from at least one study suggest that drug and alcohol counselors would agree (Campbell et al, 2003). Dissemination efforts in the addiction field may continue to fail if these differences in training are not acknowledged and addressed.…”

“…Specifically, the organizational culture within drug treatment programs may not adequately support dissemination efforts. In a recent study, only 66% of drug treatment counselors agreed or strongly agreed that administrators support the integration of research and practice (Campbell et al, 2003). Administrators of Veterans Administration substance abuse treatment programs also believe that empirically supported interventions should be implemented, but demonstrate inconsistent knowledge about evidence-based practice (i.e., reported knowledge about some efficacious treatments but not others; Willenbring et al, 2004).…”

“…In a similar study, McGovern, Fox, Xie, and Drake (2004) found that evidence-based practices were not consistently implemented in substance abuse programs; however, counselors, compared to administrators, appeared more interested in implementing these interventions. Although drug and alcohol counselors are interested in evidence-based practice, they reported time constraints as the most highly ranked barrier to integrating research into practice (Campbell et al, 2003).…”

“…Although the majority of certified drug and alcohol counselors in the state of Wisconsin endorsed favorable attitudes toward incorporating research findings into practice, 82% of them reported that they agreed (or strongly agreed) with the statement that they needed more training in integrating research and practice (Campbell, Catlin, & Melchert, 2003). Furthermore, the writing style and content of research publications were ranked second to time constraints as a significant barrier to integrating research into practice (Campbell et al, 2003). Interestingly, 72% reported that they apply research findings to develop treatment plans, but only 44% reported that their coworkers apply research findings to develop their treatment plans.…”

Securing an equal role for substance abuse counselors: A commentary on Kerwin, Walker-Smith, and Kirby

“…The field has recognized the need for greater workforce professionalism (Campbell, Catlin, & Melchert, 2003) and has made substantial advances in that direction (Mulvey, Hubbard, & Hayashi, 2003), which have been very apparent to those of us working in the field over the past 20 years. However, the study by Kerwin, Walker-Smith, and Kirby (2006) underscores the need to accelerate this process.…”