Better Help for Women in Treatment

On February 21, 2005 the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory on "Alcohol Use in Pregnancy" which states, "women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant should abstain from alcohol consumption in order to eliminate the chance of giving birth to a baby with any of the harmful effects of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)." Also, among pregnant women in the 15-44 age group, 4.3%, 18% and 9.8% used illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol, respectively. Maternal pregnancy complications following substance use include increases in sexually transmitted disorders, placental abruption, and HIV-positive status. This represents the many issues that face woman that enter drug and alcohol treatment. The drug and alcohol treatment professional has responded to these issues by educating counselors and finding ways to address these women and their specific issues.

Now California Alcohol And Drug Abuse Counselors (CAADAC) has responded by offering a specialty endorsement. So certified alcohol and drug counselors, other addiction professionals, and preventionists can have a way to identify the type of specialty work they do when marketing their credentials because they have worked very hard to become certified counselors. This endorsement provides the ability for counselors to be recognized for their specialized education, knowledge, and experience that they have achieved. This optional "Specialty Endorsements" is only available as an add-on to specific certifications as follows Alcohol/Drug Certified Counselors (Level I/II) or equivalent, Certified Clinical Supervisor, Certified Criminal Justice Addiction Professionals, and Certified Prevention Specialists. Counselors with these certifications may apply for the specialty endorsement as long as their certification is current (and in good standing), follow the application process, and they have one year of experience working with women in a substance abuse treatment setting with the required 36 hours of education from a CAADAC approved educational provider.

One such provider is Willingness To Change (WTC). They have created six workshops that meet the requirements for the 36-hour women specialty endorsement. These workshops are six hours long. Each workshop has been designed to be fun and informative. They have a collaborative instructor approach with experts that not only have a substance abuse background, but have medical expertise and an educational background as well. Some of the topics include Women's Health, Gender Specific Risk Factors: Domestic Violence & Sexual Abuse, Trauma Specific Treatment, Systems Coordination, and Parenting Issues. Willingness To Change assists in helping make the professional more marketable in this very competitive profession by providing addiction professionals with the education necessary to become a better professional and to get the women's endorsement added to their certification. WTC also provides this training to professionals working with women in treatment that are not looking to add the women's treatment endorsement, but just want to become better professionals. Some of the other topics of workshops that Willingness To Change provides are: clinical supervision, integrating the family into treatment, grief and loss, improving counseling skills, interventions, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, criminal justice and treatment, leadership, trauma informed treatment, co-occurring disorders, counselor wellness, behavior problems in treatment, prevention, and many more.

If you want more information on these workshops or to get a list of other workshops that Willingness To Change provides call toll-free at 1-877-644-5411 or e-mail at info@willingnesstochange.org.