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Looking Back on 35 Years
Celebrating its 35th anniversary, NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals is one of the oldest addiction-focused professional associations in the United States. With more than 11,000 members and affiliates throughout the U.S. and the world, NAADAC is poised to continue its growth and influence.
Certainly there was a time when there were many doubts about whether NAADAC specifically and the addiction services profession in general would flourish. William White's article in this special NAADAC anniversary issue chronicles the pre-NAADAC history of the counseling profession (see page 30). We begin here in the 1970s, as the professionalization of the addiction treatment movement (fueled by insurance reimbursement and an expansion of treatment programs1) generated momentum for a new organization.
In the spring of 1971, the U.S. media began to run stories about drug use in the armed forces in Vietnam. While this was news to the American public, it was not to the Defense Department. Since 1968, military leaders had identified widespread use of marijuana among the troops. When 930 returning troops passing through the Oakland, California, Army Terminal filled out an anonymous questionnaire concerning drug use, 16 percent admitted having used heroin at least once in the past 30 days, with just under 10 percent claiming repeated use and 4.2 percent reporting daily use in the past month.2
An influential person who was motivated into action at the time was Sen. Harold Hughes of Iowa. Elected in 1968, Hughes was known for his Christian faith and his commitment to addiction issues stemming from his experience as a recovering alcoholic.3 Hughes persuaded the chairman of the Senate's Labor and Public Welfare Committee to establish a Special Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Narcotics, chaired by Hughes himself.
An organization is born
Recognizing that the legislation passed in the early 1970s would increase demand for qualified and professional addiction services personnel, addiction counselors came together to establish the National Association of Alcoholism Counselors and Trainers (NAACT) in 1972. At the founding meeting, Matt Rose, who had been involved in shaping the 1970 federal legislation, was selected to serve as the organization's executive director. Robert Dorris was elected as NAACT's first president. Shortly thereafter, many members became less comfortable with the appellation “trainers.” At the 1974 conference, members renamed the organization the National Association of Alcoholism Counselors.
Working for professional standards
One of the pressing issues facing the new organization was establishing professional standards. In the September 1977 premiere issue of the organization's publication The Quarterly, an article focused on conference delegates' desire for national certification. The primary objective of NAAC was to “establish a mechanism for the national certification of qualified alcoholism counselors” and “establish minimum national standards for the certification of qualified alcoholism counselors.” NIAAA at the time had commissioned a study on proposed national standards for alcoholism counselors.
NAAC joined with five other organizations to form the National Commission for the Credentialing of Alcoholism Counselors. This commission was set up to initiate discussions with the anticipation that NIAAA would set up a formal national committee to implement national standards for counselors. Unfortunately, the process was derailed in 1979 when new NIAAA Director John R. DeLuca canceled the national standards initiative. The repercussions of this decision can be seen today as each state sets its own standards for counselors and there are many national certifications for addiction services professionals, all with distinct requirements.
1979 marked the beginning of a transitional period for the association. That year, discussion of a name change to incorporate drug abuse was launched. The board passed a resolution that member associations “communicate, dialogue and negotiate toward the end of integrating the alcoholism counselor and the drug abuse counselor into one effective national organization fully representing the interests of both constituencies,” as reported in the November/December 1979 issue of The Counselor.
After a lengthy and at times tumultuous discussion, NAAC became NAADAC in 1982, adding “drug abuse” to its name. Tom Claunch, NAADAC's president at the time, wrote in The Counselor in October 1982: “We will in no way abandon our heritage or lessen our focus on alcoholism if we seek to better serve those whom we exist to serve. A profession must be prepared to change as its body of knowledge evolves.”
Embracing advocacy
After resolving this internal debate, NAADAC was ready to begin thinking about shaping the nation's opinions on addiction. In 1984, Harold Hughes, the man largely responsible for the encouragement of research and the formalization of the addiction profession, made his last address to a NAADAC conference. He encouraged delegates to embrace the political process.
“Don't be afraid of politics; everyone is involved in it,” the former senator said. He added that “you have a constituency—60 million Americans are affected by alcoholism and that constituency can win any election in this nation.” Hughes' comments spurred members into action. In 1986, NAADAC hosted its first legislative conference, billed as the NAADAC Education and Research Institute. Participants included First Lady Nancy Reagan and policy makers from the departments of Health and Human Services and Transportation, NIAAA, and NIDA, The Counselor reported in January/February 1986. The conference later evolved into NAADAC's nonprofit educational arm, the NAADAC Education and Research Foundation.
Participants in the Education and Research Institute developed NAADAC's first position paper, addressing treatment, prevention, education, research, credentialing, insurance, and taxation. In its final statement, the paper declared that NAADAC believes “citizens have the right to clinically sound, cost-effective prevention, intervention and treatment.”
The commitment of this dedicated group of pioneers led to the establishment of the NAADAC Legislative Committee and the NAADAC Legislative Network. As participant Franklin D. Lisnow, who later served as NAADAC president, stated in the May/June 1986 issue of The Counselor, “This is the beginning of identifying our position as professionals in the delivery of quality health care to the vast number of individuals who suffer from the diseases of alcoholism and drug addiction and the families who are affected by this disease.”
A new decade
As NAADAC moved into the 1990s, it focused on establishing and fortifying itself as a professional organization. In June 1990, it formed the National Certification Commission to focus on the association's education and credentialing needs. The commission was founded to act independently on behalf of NAADAC on all matters related to the national credentialing of individual counselors. Specifically, the commission was to focus on:
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Establishing and maintaining current national standards of requisite knowledge in alcoholism and drug abuse counseling;
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Providing evaluation mechanisms for measuring and monitoring the level of knowledge required for national credentialing;
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Providing formal recognition to those individuals who meet the national standards; and
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Establishing appropriate policies for acquiring and maintaining the national credentials.
The 1990s also saw diversity in NAADAC's leadership, as members elected their first female president. Kay Mattingly-Langlois, MA, NCAC II, MAC, founder and president of the Center for Creative Change in Indianapolis, served as president from 1990 to 1992.
On June 11, 1992, NAADAC held its first Addiction Professionals' Day, originally called National Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Day. The day was established to commemorate the hard work addiction services professionals do on a daily basis. In 2005, NAADAC's Executive Committee made September 20 the permanent date for celebrating Addiction Professionals' Day.
The NAADAC Board of Directors also began to formulate and establish a new strategic mission and vision for the organization. In 1998, NAADAC's leadership released its new mission statement (“NAADAC's mission is to lead, unify, and empower addiction-focused professionals to achieve excellence through education, advocacy, knowledge, standards of practice, ethics, professional development, and research”) and vision statement (“NAADAC is the premier global organization of addiction-focused professionals who enhance the health and recovery of individuals, families and communities”).
In 2001, the association underwent its final name change, adopting the name NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals. The new name was intended to reflect the increasing number of tobacco, gambling, and other addiction professionals active in prevention, intervention, treatment, and education.
Strengthening the workforce
In March 2005, NAADAC hosted its first national Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. The focus of the two-day training was to build the skills of NAADAC members and current and future leaders of NAADAC affiliates in understanding current clinical issues, forming partnerships, shaping positive media coverage, and managing volunteer organizations.
Speakers at the conference discussed topics such as mentoring, implementation of evidence-based practices, strategies for entry-level professionals, career advancement opportunities, and the building of a progressive workforce development agenda to serve the profession's needs. The summit also presented the premiere of a workforce development video NAADAC produced in partnership with the Northeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center, the Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center, and the Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions. The purpose of the video, Imagine Who You Could Save, was to promote career opportunities in the profession while dispelling preconceived notions typically associated with the field.
Education is the key
NAADAC also began focusing on providing educational series for its members to keep them updated on clinical and educational trends. In 2006, NAADAC partnered with Forest Laboratories on a national education series called Strengthening the Will to Say No: Medication Management for Addiction Professionals. The series, presented in 15 cities, evolved from NAADAC's long history of providing courses led by counselors and other addiction-related health professionals who are trained and experienced in both pharmacology and clinical application of therapies.
This year, NAADAC followed up with its Life-Long Learning Series called Pharmacotherapy: Integrating New Tools Into Practice. The focus of the current series, delivered in seminars in 17 cities and online, is to bring together addiction professionals from varied backgrounds to discuss pharmacotherapy in a way that challenges ideas and perceptions, and to present unbiased information that can be used to assess the best possible treatment for patients.
Also this year, NAADAC has moved to establish a permanent home for the association. NAADAC has found a new home in a building close to the shores of the Potomac River, at the heart of where the nation's decision makers meet. This new headquarters will provide a permanent location for NAADAC's members, staff, policy makers, and other business partners to meet and discuss positive changes for the ever-widening community of professionals committed to addiction service.
As NAADAC members take stock of 35 years of leadership, they can truly be proud of the legacy they have inherited. NAADAC has moved from a small group of compatriots to an organization of national and international import. It has built on its own successes and those of its members, and will use that as its strength in building for the future.
References
- Significant events in the history of addiction treatment and recovery in America. Available at https://www.ncadd.org/history/events.html.
- Brecher EM. Licit and Illicit Drugs:The Consumers Union Report on Narcotics, Stimulants, Depressants, Inhalants, Hallucinogens, and Marijuana. Boston Little, Brown & Co.; 1972.
- Hughes HE. The Man From Ida Grove:A Senator's Personal Story. Waco Texas:Word Books; 1979.
- Hewitt BG. The creation of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism:Responding to America's alcohol problem. Alcohol Health Research World 1995; 19.
- Woods, M. Mentorship: how we can give back to the addiction profession. Addiction Professional 2006; 4(3 suppl):N1.
