When psychology interns and postdoctoral fellows show up to work with R. Kathryn McHugh, PhD, an associate psychologist in McLean Hospital's substance use disorders division, she's often surprised by how little preparation they've received to work with the patients they'll be seeing.
"It's not unusual to see people who are done with most of their training but still haven't seen a single person with substance use disorder," says McHugh, who's also an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. "That's not OK."
For most psychologists, says McHugh, training on substance use disorders consists of a single lecture in an abnormal psychology class.
In programs where several faculty members focus on addiction, however, students typically get a good grounding in the topic as a routine part of their training. According to Katie Witkiewitz, PhD, a past president of APA's Div. 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology), schools offering top programs in this area include the University of New Mexico; the University of Missouri; Syracuse University; the University of California, San Diego; San Diego State University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Washington; Arizona State University; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the University of Florida. Other excellent training programs include those at the University of California, San Francisco, and Johns Hopkins University, adds Nancy A. Piotrowski, PhD, Div. 50's federal advocacy coordinator.
While training for the next generation of psychologists is still catching up to the realities of the opioid epidemic, continuing education (CE) is an important avenue for bringing the existing workforce up to date. Div. 50 offers several CE options for psychologists who want to know the latest evidence-based practices as well as how to screen for problems, says Jessica L. Martin, PhD, who chairs the division's Education & Training/CE committee.
To help those practitioners, Div. 50 typically offers CE courses at APA's Annual Convention, which will take place this year Aug. 8–11 in Chicago (go to https://convention.apa.org).
Div. 50 also holds its own annual meeting each spring: The Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction meeting offers CE programs on the latest clinical advances and scientific research across the addiction field (see www.addictionpsychology.org/cpaopens in new window for more information).
In addition, the division offers clinical teleconferences on cognitive-behavioral approaches to opioid use dis-orders as well as other topics (see www.addictionpsychology.org/education-training/conference-callsopens in new window).
APA offers its own CE options on opioid use and other addictions. Topics include treating opioid use disorders and preventing overdoses, identifying and managing patients with co-occurring chronic pain, and more general overviews of substance use disorders and treatment.
In addition, APA offers CE programs on non-opioid treatment of pain.
For psychologists who want to demonstrate that they already have proficiency in treating substance use disorders, NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, offers a master addiction counselor certification program. Designed to help psychologists and other practitioners position themselves as specialists and thus boost their salaries and potential career advancement, the credential recognizes expertise gained via graduate-level coursework and supervised work experience. Among other requirements, the credential requires a minimum of 6,000 hours of supervised experience in substance use counseling, 500 hours of education and training on substance use disorders and a passing score on the National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals exam or an equivalent. (See www.naadac.org/macopens in new window for details.)
