Addiction Studies: Substance Abuse Assessor Certificate of Achievement

Students enrolled in this Addiction Studies certificate program will be trained on how to properly administer the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) assessment. This assessment is crucial in developing client treatment plans.

20-30

When a client enters into a substance abuse treatment center, an assessment must be conducted. The thoroughness and accuracy of the assessment determines the type of treatment the client receives, as well as the rate of financial reimbursement from the state to the treatment center. The accuracy of the assessment is also evaluated when a treatment center is audited, with any errors in the assessment creating a decrease in funding. Therefore, a well-conducted assessment can mean improved treatment for the patient, and improved funding for the treatment center. In the last two years the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has implemented an assessment tool with a criteria for treatment. In order to receive state funding, this elaborate assessment must be completed for every client. Each assessment takes at least one hour, but most often up to three hours to complete. There have been trainings conducted throughout the county on how to complete the assessments; however based on information from our internship supervisors, many treatment center employees struggle with the accurate completion of this assessment. During advisory meetings and clinical internship site visits, supervisors have indicated the need for our students to be trained in the ASAM assessment toll, as well as a variety of assessment tools. The students training in the assessment measures would greatly assist the treatment centers in serving more clients, and in collecting state funds. The assessment measures are used in almost every treatment center in the county. Currently, when the students in the Addiction Studies Program are in their internship, they are not given individualized training on the assessment measures. Instead, they are asked to "shadow" a counselor, and through this experience are to glean the proper way to conduct an assessment. Therefore, their proficiency in assessing substance abuse varies based on their individual supervisor. When seeking employment some may feel confident to put on their resumes that they are ASAM trained, while others do not. Since almost all agencies are using this uniformed assessment tool, they would be interested in employment candidates who are proficient in the assessment measures. This would save the treatment centers time and money to hire our students who complete this proposed training project. The treatment centers would not have to train the students in assessment, and the students would be able to immediately start conducting assessments, which brings in financial reimbursement to the treatment center. The project is motivated by the increased uniformity of assessments for substance abuse disorders, the difficulty in the current ASAM forms being used and the demand that all agencies receiving state funds complete through assessments for every client. The assessments are time consuming, and as a result, many agencies are struggling to find the time to complete each assessment. By training our students to be substance abuse assessors, they would be able to secure employment immediately. Their proficiency in assessment measures would make them more marketable job candidates.

This Certificate of Achievement would involve a series of classes: Psychology 1: Introduction to Psychology (3 units) Psychology 14: Abnormal Psychology (3 units) Psychology 64: Introduction to Drugs and Alcohol (3 units) Psychology 67: Counseling Techniques for the Substance Abuser (3 units) Psychology 34: Co-occurring Disorders (3 units) Proposed Course: Assessment Course (2 units) TOTAL: 17 units.

Psychology- Addiction Studies

Alcohol & Controlled Substances programs exist at Glendale, Pierce and Mt.Sac.

25-30