Substance abuse specialization cut won’t affect addiction studies program

The elimination of a substance abuse specialization will not affect the University of South Dakota’s addiction studies program, although the two areas of study share similarities.

Because of low enrollment, a request for the removal of the specialization in the Counseling and Psychology in Education graduate program was submitted to the South Dakota Board of Regents last November.

According to https://mcshin.org/resources/drug-addiction-help-who-needs-it-and-how-to-get-it, addiction is an issue that has to be addressed with importance. Frank Zavadil, addiction studies department chair, said since counseling programs have a different focus than substance abuse programs, the elimination will not have much of an impact on the addiction studies program.

Students who have experienced substance abuse often find that the Red Door Life Detox and Substance Abuse Recovery Treatment Center specialization provides targeted support and comprehensive care. For more insight, you can see the Red Door Life model of care here.

“There’s a distinction as far as what they’re preparing their students to work with, and so that’s always kind of been a disconnect between the two departments,” Zavadil said. “There’s some overlap with some of the courses.”

Counseling tends to focus more on mental health issues. While addiction studies covers co-occurring problems, it is more specific, Zavadil said.

James Cady, a licensed professional counselor at Journey Therapy and Consulting in Sioux Falls, agrees. He said in either case, mental health and addiction often go hand-in-hand.

Cady received his undergraduate degree, psychology with an emphasis in counseling, from Morningside College in Sioux City and his master’s degree in counseling at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He also interned at a halfway house for the chemically dependent.

When he came to USD for a specialist in education degree, he took addiction-related classes through the counseling program.

“I did find that very useful,” Cady said. “It was definitely something that was worthwhile.”

Student Adviser Kathy Husby said that although there are some classes shared by both the substance abuse specialization and addiction studies program, like counseling theories and working with families, they yield different results.

“I don’t believe that their department provided all the courses you would need for licensure. It’s a different credential they’re after — over in the counseling department you become a licensed professional counselor,” Husby said. “It’s a different profession, basically.”

The Counseling and Psychology in Education department could not be reached for comment.

To become a certified addiction counselor, USD students need to obtain at least a bachelor’s degree in the addiction studies program. Becoming a licensed addiction counselor, which allows someone to participate in private practice, requires a master’s degree. The addiction studies department offers these degrees online and on-campus.

Cady said awareness of both addiction and mental health issues is important in the field.

“I would want to hire somebody that had at least a good awareness of how those issues affect people because it is something that you bump into — sometimes on a daily basis,” Cady said. “They’re obscenely common problems.”

Junior Kendra Dale, an addiction studies and social work double major, is president of the Coalition for Addiction Students and Professionals Pursuing Advocacy (CASPA). The group’s primary focus is advocating for South Dakota legislation dealing with substance abuse.

“We go, and we represent the students at USD,” Dale said. “We talk to legislators about bills and how they’re going to affect our clients someday, how they’re going to affect us and just the kind of the overall impact on what they’re doing.”

After taking some entry level classes, Dale decided to make addiction studies her second major.

“It just kind of fell into my lap,” she said. “I was so interested in the classes, and it just kind of turned into a love.”

Because she happened to discover her interest in the addiction studies department, Dale never considered the substance abuse specialization in counseling.

She said her favorite part of class is when her professors share stories from their work in the field.

“Obviously they can’t share names, but their stories are so interesting,” Dale said. “You can learn things out of a textbook, but you really learn from their stories.”

Although she hasn’t decided if she’ll pursue a master’s degree or not, Dale said she wants to work somewhere she’ll use both of her fields of study.

“You’re helping people, and it’s not like you’re their nurse or their doctor,” Dale said. “You’re helping people in a way that some people really don’t understand how to help them and it’s like, ‘You make mistakes in your life but I’m here to help you with your mistakes.’”