interview addiction counselor
You are asked to interview someone who works with or specializes in substance use disorders. The interview can be in-person, phone, or via email. Solicit an interview with a substance use disorders treatment or prevention professional regarding (as relevant and appropriate) their personal and professional experiences with substance use, abuse, and dependence. Solicit their beliefs, values, and attitudes toward working with individuals with substance use disorders and/or family members. What have they learned along the way? How has their knowledge, understanding, and attitudes changed since they began working in the field? How many years have they been focusing on working with substance use disorders? Ideally, this interview will inform the final substance abuse paper you will be writing in this course.
Write your 6-8 paragraph summary of your interview with the professional. In addition, please summarize your reactions to this interview in light of your learning in this class as well as your own knowledge and experiences. Please refer to the course materials and readings to support your response. For this paper, include 2-3 course materials plus sources from the texts as references in APA format. Your paper should be in the 5-7 page range.
Your assignment will be graded according to the Interview Assignment Rubric
Interviewee is Robert Gillespie, he works at the Transformation Ranch in Pontotoc, MS, as an Addiction Outreach Counselor. He has held this position for 8 years. He is also a recovery addict himself.
Readings:
- Textbook: Wormer, K. & Davis, D. (2018). Addiction treatment: a strengths perspective. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. ISBN-13:978-1305943308
- Textbook: Sheff, D. (2013). Clean: overcoming addiction and ending America’s greatest tragedy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN: 978-0547848655
- Koehn, C., O’Neill, L. & Sherry, J. (2012). Hope-focused interventions in substance abuse counseling. International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction, 1(3), 441-452.
- Cooper, S.E. (2018). A primer on college student substance use disorders: screening, assessment, and treatment planning. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 32(1), 73-89.
- Mowbray, O. & Quinn, A. (2016). A scoping review of treatments for older adults with substance use problems. Research on Social Work Practice, 26(1), 74-87.
- Crits-Christoph, P., Connolly-Gibbons, M.B., Johnson, J.E., & Gallop, R. (2013). Process predictors of the outcome of group drug counseling. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 81(1), 23-34.
- Donovan, D. M., Ingalsbe, M. H., Benbow, J., & Daley, D. C. (2013). 12-step interventions and mutual support programs for substance use disorders: An overview. Social Work in Public Health, 28(0), 313–332. http://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2013.774663.
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: What is Drug Addiction Treatment?
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Substance Abuse Counseling Techniques
- Treatment Solutions: Substance Abuse Treatment Therapy Models
- Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration: Treatments for Substance Use Disorders
- Optional Textbook: Vaughn, M. & Perron, B. (2013). Social work practice in the addictions. New York, NY: Springer. ISBN: 9781461453567
http://www.springer.com/us/book/9781461453567
Watch:
- Practice Demonstration – Substance Abuse Counseling Video (Time 23:04 mins)
- Substance Abuse Treatment and Group Therapy Video: TIP41 Group Therapy for Counseling Training and CEUs for LPC and Addiction Counselors (Time 1 hr, 26 mins) – Transcript
- Harm Reduction Therapy for Addictions Video (Time 4:32 mins) – Transcript with time stamps
- Optional: Alan Marlatt on Harm Reduction Therapy for Substance Abuse Video: (Time 1 hr, 11 mins).