Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Substance abuse--Treatment--Iowa; Counselors--Iowa; Counselors; Substance abuse--Treatment; Iowa;

Abstract

This study was designed to describe selected characteristics of certified substance abuse counselors in the state of lowa. Specifically, the following characteristics were considered: education, age, gender, length of time in profession, salary range, and if the counselor considers himself/herself recovering or not. Also, substance abuse treatment approaches, knowledge, and experiences of the substance abuse counselors were compiled. A questionnaire was designed and sent to 224 substance abuse counselors in Iowa. Sixty useable questionnaires were returned yielding a 26. 78% return rate. The results of this study indicated a majority (95.0%) of the respondents were over the age of 30 years old and hold at least an Associates' degree or higher. A majority (58.3%) of the respondents were female. Sixty-eight percent reported working in the field between 6-15 years and a vast majority (73.4%) make between $20,000 and $40,000. Sixty percent of the respondents reported being recovering from an addictive substance. A majority (94.9) of respondents were between the ages of31-60. The majority of the respondents believed a combination of modalities were most effective. When asked to identify what the subjects believed was the most important factor in their ability to deliver substance abuse treatment, a vast majority indicated experience as the most important factor. The researcher expected the recovering respondents to select their recovering status as the key factor in delivering substance abuse treatment, however, the data did not support this expectation. In response to the research questions regarding what is most helpful in their job position, select education courses such as diversity, dual diagnosis or children, were chosen as the most common response Recommendations for further study is to investigate the characteristics commonly sought after in the hiring practices of substance abuse counselors. Another recommendation is to repeat the study pursing a higher return rate accurately portraying the substance abuse counselors in the state of lowa.

Year of Submission

2001

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services

First Advisor

Susan Hudson

Second Advisor

Larry Hensley

Third Advisor

Joe Gryzwacz

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

2001

Object Description

1 PDF file (68 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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