Substance Abuse Counselor: A Case Study

The substance abuse counselor is not merely a guide for the individual seeking a path out of the darkness, but a trained professional that utilizes the combination of education and experience to help in the healing process. To ensure that proper and effective behavioral health care is provided, there is a governing body for licensing and certification. In Arizona, the organization responsible for overseeing the proper credentials of a licensed counselor is the AZ Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE). Their mission is to establish and maintain the qualifications for the licensed behavioral health professionals in the fields of counseling and to regulate these professionals for the protection of the public (AZBBHE, 2013). The standards

Each tier of licensing requires increased requirements for approval in order to establish counselor competency. Simplifying the understanding of these three particular licenses aids in the scope of practice expected by the AZBBHE. Fairburn & Cooper (2011) state that the importance of this competence is the ability to deliver the best possible psychological treatments, the need to disseminate evidence based treatment from the training the therapist receives, and through training firm conclusions can be drawn to effective treatment (Para. 3). Looking at the license requirements for LISAC as an example, requires the therapist poses a Master’s degree or higher in the field of behavioral health science from an accredited college, with a minimum of 24 hours of related course study. The LISAC is also required to have 3200 hours of supervised work experience in substance abuse in less than 24 months, including 1600 hours of direct client contact and 100 hours of clinical supervision. This allows the LISAC to practice independently without the direct supervision of another counselor possessing a higher license. The level of ability and responsibility of the license held truly is determined by the requirements of that license. Trained therapists

This is the reason for the state of Arizona to set rigorous standards and regulations toward credentials and licensing. As the IC&RC (n.d.) notes that quality care requires a competent, well trained, educated, and skilled workforce in order to provide appropriate services. These regulations provide a client seeking help, a safe environment for therapy that is guided by an ethical approach and free of discrimination, misconduct, and misrepresentation. While protecting the client these same regulations ensure that the therapist continues to retain further education and updated advancements in psychological therapy in order to maintain continued licensing. Credentialing demands accountability from government programs to align funds and regulations around advancements in the field and keep pace with newly established data. Misrepresentation of proper licensing in any particular field would yield improper treatment of the client and result in dire consequences from both a mental health aspect and legal ramifications. Such incidents would cause a domino effect that would seriously impact public funding that could help advance research and continue increased care by various service