<p>Counselors who treat people with substance use disorders do life-changing work on a daily basis, amid difficult circumstances that include staff shortages, high turnover, low salaries, and scant program funding. Counselors come to this important work by various paths and with vastly different skills and experience. The diversity of backgrounds and types of preparation can be a strength, provided there is a common foundation from which counselors work. This publication addresses the following questions: What professional standards should guide substance abuse treatment counselors? What is an appropriate scope of practice for the field? Which competencies are associated with positive outcomes? What knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) should all substance abuse treatment professionals have in common?Workforce development is essential to the field of substance use disorder treatment. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has included workforce development in its Matrix of Priority Programs. A major focus of this workforce development strategy is improving the competencies of professionals in the field. This updated edition of Technical Assistance Publication (TAP) 21: Addiction Counseling Competencies: The Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes of Professional Practice (The Competencies) is a key component of that strategyThis guide enhances the competencies of substance use disorder treatment counselors. It discusses patient assessment and screening, treatment planning, referral, service coordination, counseling, family and community education, and cultural competency.</p>

Addiction Counseling Competencies: The Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes of Professional Practice (Technical Assistance Publication Series)

Health, Fitness & Dieting

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Mental Health

Independently published

<p>The opioid misuse and overdose crisis touches everyone in the United States. In 2016, we lost more than 115 Americans to opioid overdose deaths each day, devastating families and communities across the country. Preliminary numbers in 2017 show that this number continues to increase with more than 131 opioid overdose deaths each day. The effects of the opioid crisis are cumulative and costly for our society—an estimated $504 billion a year in 2015—placing burdens on families, workplaces, the health care system, states, and communities.Addressing the opioid crisis is a priority for this Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is leading the public health-based approach to understanding the problem and taking action to fight it. HHS is tackling this crisis through our comprehensive five-point strategy focused on improving access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services; promoting use of overdose reversing drugs; strengthening our understanding of the epidemic through better public health surveillance; providing support for cutting-edge research on pain and addiction; and advancing better practices for pain management. Our efforts are collaborative—with all federal agencies and state and local partners working together to equip health care providers, communities, policymakers, law enforcement, and others with the information and tools they need to stem this growing epidemic.</p>

Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Spotlight on Opioids

Office of the Surgeon General

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