Advances in Addiction & Recovery (Winter 2014)

WINTER 2014 Vol. 2, No. 4

SPECIAL FEATURE

Spirituality and Addiction Recovery: An Interview with Ernie Kurtz, PhD

by William White

NAADAC President Discusses Key Priorities Annual Conference Recap

Call for Presentations!

Deadline: January 20, 2015.

NAADAC’s Annual Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. at the Marriott Bethesda North from October 9–13, 2015. NAADAC and its partners are calling for workshop proposals that offer unique educational experiences for addiction focused professionals. All submissions are due by close of business on January 20, 2015.

We are seeking current and relevant information within these seven tracks:

Practice Management and Technology

Psychopharmacology

• Integrated Treatment • Changes from DSM-IV to DSM-5 • Mental Health Disorders • Trauma • ICD 10

• Neurobiology of Addiction • Pharmacotherapy/ MedicationAssisted Treatment Opioids • Alcohol • Marijuana • Sedatives Stimulants • Synthetic Drugs • Tobacco/Nicotine • Designer Drugs

Advocacy • Policy/Regulatory Issues • Affordable Care Act (ACA) • How to Advocate

Clinical Skills • Evidence-based Practices • Case Studies • Relapse Prevention • Treatment Planning • Screening and Assessment • Counseling Theories • The ASAM Criteria • Promising Practices

Cultural Humility • Introduction to Cultural Humility • LGBT • Racial/Ethnic Groups • Gender • Spirituality • Low-Income/ Homeless • Veterans/Military

Process Addictions • Gambling Addiction • Sexual Addiction • Internet Addiction • Eating Disorders

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• Health Information Technology(HIT) • Electronic Health Records (EHR) • Ethical, Legal, and Liability Issues • Certification/ Licensure • Patient Retention • Billing/Insurance • Social Media • Teletherapy

Co-occurring Disorders

Selection Process: All complete applications submitted by the close of business on January 20, 2015, will be scored and ranked out of 10 points by a Conference Committee based on topic relevance and importance, quality of description, use of



evidence-based practices, and uniqueness of approach to/or delivery of the subject matter. Submissions by current NAADAC members will receive one extra point. Chosen presenters will be notified by March 1, 2015.

To apply and for more information on the submission and selection processes, conference information, timelines, and presenter resources, please visit

www.naadac.org/2015-Call-for-Presentations.

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CONTENTS WINTER 2014 Vol. 2 No. 4 Advances in Addiction & Recovery, the official publication of NAADAC, is focused on providing useful, innovative, and timely information on trends and best practices in the addiction profession that are beneficial for practitioners.

NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, represents the professional interests of more than 85,000 addiction coun­selors, educators, and other addictionfocused health care pro­fessionals in the United States, Canada, and abroad.

NAADAC’s members are addiction counselors, educators, and other addictionfocused health care professionals, who specialize in addiction prevention, treatment, recovery support, and education.

Mailing Address 1001 N Fairfax Street, Suite 201

Alexandria, VA 22314 Telephone 800.548.0497 Email naadac@naadac.org Fax 703.741.7698 Managing Editor

Jessica Gleason, JD

Graphic Designer

Elsie Smith, Design Solutions Plus

PHOTO BY NAME OF PHOTOGRAPHER

Editorial Advisory Kirk Bowden, PhD, MAC, LISAC, NCC Committee Rio Salado College

Alan K. Davis, MA, LCDC III Bowling Green State University

Carlo DiClemente, PhD, ABPP University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Rokelle Lerner, MA Cottonwood de Tucson

Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, NCAC II, CCDC III, SAP

NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals

■ FE ATURES 13

Executive Interview: NAADAC’s New President Kirk Bowden Discusses Key Priorities

By Jessica Gleason, Director of Communications

18

NAADAC 2014 Annual Conference & 40th Anniversary Celebration Recap Compiled

by Jessica Gleason, Director of Communications

22 SPECIAL FEATURE: Spirituality and Addiction Recovery: An Interview with Ernie Kurtz, PhD By William L. White Earn Continuing Education Credits

■ DEPAR TMENTS 4

Membership: NAADAC Rising: A Year in Review

By Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, NCAC II, CCDC III, SAP, NAADAC Executive Director

11 Certification: NCC AP Welcomes New National Professionals By Kathryn Benson, NCAC II, LADC, SAP, NCC AP Chair

30 NAADAC Leadership

Robert Perkinson, MD Keystone Treatment Center

Robert C. Richards, MA, NCAC II, CADC III Willamette Family Inc.

William L. White, MA Chestnut Health Systems

We are interested in accepting any interesting and topical articles that address issues of interest to addiction-focused professionals. Please submit story ideas and/or articles to Jessica Gleason at jgleason@naadac.org.

Publication Guidelines For more information on submitting articles for inclusion in Advances in Addiction & Recovery, please visit www.naadac.org/advancesinaddictionrecovery# Publication_Guidelines Disclaimer It is expressly understood that articles published in Advances in Addiction & Recovery do not necessarily represent the view of NAADAC. The views expressed and the accuracy of the information on which they are based are the responsibility of the author(s) and represent the wide diversity of thought and opinion within the addiction profession.

Advertise With Us For more information on advertising, please contact Elsie Smith, Ad Sales Manager at esmith@naadac.org.

Advances in Addiction & Recovery The Official Publication of NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals ISBN: 978-0-9885247-0-5 This publication was prepared by NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Pro­fes­ sionals. Reproduction without written permission is prohibited. For more in­ formation on obtaining additional copies of this publication, call 1.800.548.0497 or visit www.naadac.org.

Printed December 2014 STAY CONNECTED

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■ MEMBERSHIP

NAADAC Rising: A Year in Review

By Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, NCAC II, CCDC III, SAP, Executive Director of NAADAC

NA ADAC’s Executive Committee and staff have worked extremely hard to make this year the year of “NAADAC Rising”! In 2013, NAADAC experienced a rebirth, revamping many systems, databases, and procedures to improve our public engagement, customer services, and professional services, better communicate NAADAC’s mission, advocate on the behalf of the addiction profession, and enhance the professional development of its members. Through the vision and leadership of the NAADAC Executive Committee and Board of Directors, and the tremendous skills and capabilities of the NAADAC staff, our team has built upon last year’s success to develop an even more engaged, efficient, and visible NAADAC! The following are some highlights as categorized by NAADAC’s Four Pillars:

Professional Development ■ Education and training stand at the center of NAADAC’s efforts to ensure professional development for members and non-members alike. Our successful webinar series continues to be world class, offering up to 70 free CEs to our members throughout the year.

Highlights from 2014 include webinars on new ­evidence-based practices, the DSM-5, the new ASAM Placement Criteria, ethics in an online world, and business practices in the new Affordable Care Act environment. NAADAC also offered nine webinars related to its Recovery to Practice initiative, and kicked-off a new Cultural Humility webinar series.

CEs are also available through our many online independent courses, a CE article published quarterly in Advances in Addiction & Recovery, and our many train­ings and conferences around the country.

■ The National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals (NCC AP) has grown and developed new standards through certif ications and endorsements. With the health care industry evolving as a re­sult of the Affordable Care Act, it is essential to 4

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provide evidence of competence levels across the addic­ tions, mental health, and behavioral health fields. To evidence skills in such integration, the NCC AP developed both a Co-occurring Competency Test that can be used at the state level to ensure knowledge and skill levels in treating co-occurring disorders, and CoOccurring Disorders Proficiency Certificate (CDPC) Program. The NCC AP’s roster of specialized credentials and endorsements now includes Nicotine De­pen­ dence Specialist (NDS), Nationally Certified Ado­les­ cent Addiction Counselor (NCAAC), the Nationally Endorsed Student Assistance Professional (NESAP), National Clinical Supervision Endorsement (NCSE), and the National Peer Recovery Support Specialist (NCPRSS). NAADAC now also offers a Recovery to Practice (RTP) Certificate Program.

■ NAADAC educated over 700 individuals with over 80 presentations and 94 presenters and panelists at its An­nual Conference & 40th Anniversary Celebration in Seattle, WA in late September.

■ NAADAC has worked hard to improve its support of students and new professionals through mentorship and professional development programs at the state affiliate level, and liability protection offered through Van Wagner’s malpractice insurance.

■ NAADAC is working to update its Code of Ethics to include tele-counseling and other new modern challenges.

■ NAADAC, NCC AP, and IC & RC continue discussions on how best to work together to support the workforce and the addiction profession in this time of change and integration.

■ NAADAC continues to support the National Addic­ tion Studies Accreditation Commission (NASAC) in its efforts to create national professional standards and improve and expand accreditation of higher education addiction studies and counseling programs. NASAC is growing and gaining recognition in the higher education accreditation world.

Public Engagement ■ NAADAC’s new and improved website has grown tremendously, with over 100,000 views a month!

NAADAC continues to improve the website’s design, ease of experience, and content. Look out for a new revamped Advocacy section in early 2015!

■ Our affiliates continue working hard to engage members and the public alike. NAADAC and its affiliates need greater engagement by members in their affiliates, in state and national leadership, and on state and national committees. Volunteering will not only enhance your professional experience and reputation, but will contribute to NAADAC’s work and the addiction profession as a whole.

■ Through NAADAC’s Advocacy in Action Conference in March, its Annual Conference & 40th Anniversary Celebration in September, and numerous regional and affiliate conferences and trainings, NAADAC members and other addiction professionals have been able to network and share information and ideas across the nation.

■ NAADAC’s advocacy work at both federal and state levels is a key component of our public engagement initiatives. This year, NAADAC worked with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National In­stitute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National In­sti­ tute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), The Bureau of International Nar­ cotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), and other Federal agencies to ensure that your agenda items are being addressed, especially in the area of workforce.

NAADAC’s efforts included providing testimony, recommendations, and/or technical support.

■ NAADAC’s official publication, Advances in Addiction & Recovery, acquired a new Managing Editor and design in 2014. We are proud that the magazine has become well known as a great treatment and recovery resource for both NAADAC members and others serving in the addiction and other helping professions, and will continue to work tirelessly to bring readers substantive and important content, as well as educate and update members on NAADAC initiatives. The Editorial Advisory Committee looks forward to continued improvements in the new year.

■ NAADAC engages with the public through many com­munication channels, including its website and through social media. Be sure to follow NAADAC on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Professional Services ■ NAADAC is proud to announce that after years of advocating for the inclusion of addiction professionals in SAMHSA’s Minority Fellowship Program, it has been awarded a $3.2 million multi-year grant to administer a new NAADAC Minority Fellowship Pro­ gram for Addiction Counselors (NMFP-AC). The NMFP-AC will increase the number of culturallycompetent Master’s level addiction counselors available

to underserved and minority populations, and transition age youth (ages 16–25) by providing tuition stipends, training, education, and professional guidance to up to 30 Master’s students annually.

■ NAADAC continues to provide technical support and professional services, including trainings, curriculum development, capacity-building efforts, advocacy assis­ tance, certification testing, and more to its 47 state affiliates and numerous international affiliates and partners. Highlights include letters of support to improve state licensure bills, and advocacy efforts to sup­port increased funding for addiction treatment and recovery services, loan forgiveness, and improved support of the addiction profession as a specialized and integral part of the mental and behavioral health continuum.

■ NAADAC’s two ePublications, the weekly Professional eUpdate and bi-weekly Addiction & Recovery eNews, are now sent out to a subscriber list of over 33,000 addic­tion professionals.

■ NAADAC’s Approved Education Provider Program has now grown to 385 training and education entities throughout the United States and internationally and continues to expand.

■ The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) program will likely become more important as a result of the ACA. NAADAC’s SAP qualification program continues to be strong and growing.

■ NAADAC’s international presence continues to grow, with education, training, certification and technical assistance brought to Puerto Rico, Mexico, Indonesia, Egypt, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the six U.S. Affiliated Pacific Jurisdictions (American Samoa, the Republic of the Martial Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.)

Communicate the Mission ■ NAADAC was honored to be chosen by SAMHSA to host the 25th Annual Recovery Month Kickoff Lunch­ eon in early September. The event was a huge success and live-streamed on the Internet to help communicate to the public that recovery is possible and there are many pathways to recovery. The archived webcast is available to view on the NAADAC website and has been viewed over 10,000 times since the event. In ad­­ di­tion, with the help of SAMHSA’s Workforce Recov­ ery Month grant, eight state affiliates worked closely with NAADAC to develop and implement their own educational and inspirational Recovery Month events.

■ NAADAC continued its work to promote the message of recovery through its successful Recovery to Practice (RTP) initiative, webinar series, and Certificate

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Program. The Recovery to Practice (RTP) Certificate Program is de­signed to further hasten awareness, acceptance, and adoption of recovery-based practices in the delivery of addiction-related services and builds on SAMHSA’s definition and fundamental components of recovery.

■ NAADAC staff and members have been interviewed and quoted across various mediums, including in print, online, on the radio, and on TV, on such important issues such the need for loan forgiveness programs, inclusion on reimbursements, employee benefits and salary issues, tuition assistance, the need for an increased and better workforce, and the need for continued specialization of the addiction profession.

■ We were thrilled to nationally launch a new video, The History of NAADAC and the Addiction Profession, at the 25th Annual Recovery Month Luncheon. This video is available to view and use for free on NAADAC’s website and on NAADAC’s YouTube channel.

■ NAADAC continues to be involved in national discussion and to work with MCO/PPO/BHOs and CMS on issues of funding and reimbursements to addiction professions.

■ NAADAC worked with William “Bill” White, the esteemed author of 18 books and historian of the addiction profession, to publish a new book, Addiction Counseling in the United States; Promoting Per­ sonal, Family, and Community Recovery. Launched at September’s Annual Conference and gifted to over 700 attendees, this book contains the rich history of addiction counseling, the history of

NAADAC and its vital role in and dedication to the profession, and the voices of more than 90 leading addiction professionals. We are proud and excited to offer this book for sale in NAADAC’s online bookstore. Thank you Bill!

Let me close with, again, an acknowledgment of the NAADAC Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and staff, who work tirelessly and with so much ambition to serve you, our valued members, and the addiction profession as a whole. They deserve all of the “thank you’s,” compliments, and positive comments we receive from members and the public on a regular basis. Please take the time to thank each and every members of our wonderful team for their expertise, dedication, and competence.

Finally, thank you for the opportunity to serve you and our honored profession!

Sincerely,

Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, NCAC II, CCDC III, SAP NAADAC Executive Director Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, NCAC II, CCDC III, SAP, is the Executive Director of NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Profes­sionals. She previously served as the Executive Director of Danya Institute and the Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center and as Program Director for Volunteers of Amer­ica Western Wash­ing­ton. In addition, she has over 20 years of experience serving as the administrator of multi-county, publicly funded alcohol/ drug prevention/intervention/treatment centers with services ranging from prenatal care to the serving the elderly.

New Credentials/Endorsements Announcement National Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist (NCPRSS) The NCPRSS is a credential for those who desire to support those in obtaining and maintaining recovery.

Nationally Endorsed Clinical Supervisor (NECS) The NECS recognizes a national standard of competencies and effective clinical supervision in the addiction treatment process.

For more information about the NCC AP and its substance use disorder counselor certification and specialty endorsement opportunities at the national and international level, visit www.naadac.org/certification.

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The NCC AP’s newest credentials and endorsements provide national recognition of a professional’s current knowledge and competence. We encourage you to continue to learn for the sake of your clients which provides assistance to employers, health care providers, educators, government entities, labor unions, other practitioners, and the public in the identification of quality counselors who have met the

national competency standards.

For details, including requirements for credentialing, recredentialing and exam schedule and fees, go to

www.naadac.org/certification

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NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, represents the professional interests of more than 85,000 addiction counselors, educators, and other addiction-focused health care professionals, who specialize in addiction prevention, treatment, recovery support, and education in the United States, Canada, and abroad.

Why Join NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals

NAADAC Membership Tailored To You:

NAADAC Members Receive Reduced Rates:

• Professional, Associate, Retired, Student, Military, and International membership levels available.

• Save $100 on national certification and re-certification of the National Certified Addiction Counselor (Levels I and II), Master Addiction Counselor (MAC), and other credentials.

• Semi-annual payment plans available to help with your budget.

• NAADAC membership dues include membership in both NAADAC and your state affiliate.

Earn Free Online Education and CEs:

• Receive members-only pricing on all NAADAC produced publications, independent study courses, and continuing education hours (CEs).

• Receive reduced pricing on all NAADAC-sponsored conferences and public policy events.

• Over 75 online continuing education hours (CEs), including three online courses and over 40 webinars available to members for free.

• Save on regional meetings, workshops, and conferences.

• Simply watch the webinar/online course of your choice, complete the online CE quiz, and receive a free CE certificate to use towards your license/credential – all online, at your convenience.

• 20% discount on all Hazelden resources.

Join NAADAC online at www.naadac.org/join or by calling 1.800.548.0497!

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• Malpractice and comprehensive professional liability insurance for individuals and agencies.

Be a part of the NAADAC community! www.facebook.com/Naadac @NAADACorg

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Why Join NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals Gain Free Access To: • The comprehensive members-only information portal and directory.

• NAADAC’s official magazine, Advances in Addiction & Recovery, that is focused on providing useful, innovative, and timely information on trends and best practices in the profession.

• The NAADAC Calendar of Events to view events throughout the United States and online.

• Notifications about hot topics, events, opportunities, and important announcements about the addiction profession through mail, email, and social media.

• The NAADAC Career Center, where you can look through NAADAC’s national and international job listings and post openings with your organization.

• NAADAC’s eNewsletters, including the weekly Professional eUpdate, delivering the latest news from NAADAC and partner organizations, educational events, trainings, resources, and career opportunities, and the bi-weekly Addiction & Recovery eNews, providing up-to-date information to subscribers about innovations, research, and trends affecting the addiction-focused profession.

Support Your Profession: • NAADAC members are bound by a nationally-recognized Code of Ethics.

• NAADAC member contributions help maintain the profession’s identity and a professional association that helps preserve and honor the unique and specialized talents of addiction professionals.

Join NAADAC online at www.naadac.org/join or by calling 1.800.548.0497!

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• NAADAC is an influential and effective voice for addiction professionals before Congress and the federal administration, the key governmental bodies that determine how addiction treatment is funded and administered in the United States.

• Networking opportunities through national and state conferences and workshops.

Be a part of the NAADAC community! www.facebook.com/Naadac @NAADACorg

Thank You to All of Our Exhibitors, Sponsors, and Partners at the NAADAC 2014 Annual Conference & 40th Anniversary Celebration DIAMOND SPONSORS

PLATINUM SPONSOR

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SILVER SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSOR

PARTNERS

C E L E B R ATI N G

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■ CER TIFIC ATION

NCC AP Welcomes New National Professionals

By Kathyrn Benson, NCAC II, LADC, SAP, NCC AP Chair

The National Certification Commission for Addictions Professionals (NCC AP) recognized its 24th year by offering a “Test Acceptance Offer” for all persons who had ever taken and passed an NCC AP test. This applied to individuals who had never applied for a national credential after having passed the exam, as well as those who previously held a NCC AP credential and allowed it to expire. The offer was open from April 1, 2014 to September 30, 2014.

This offering achieved a wide positive response with many meeting the criteria set. The NCC AP wishes to thank all who expressed a desire to hold our national credential. A special thanks to those who met the criteria and were able to gain or re-instate their NCC AP credential.

This Test Acceptance opportunity was designed to focus on the value of a national credential in the changing landscape of health care today. It is so important to meet requisites set by both states and insurance carriers whose standards for review and acceptance of addiction professional providers have become more demanding. A national credential not only meets state standards, but often has requirements that are more stringent than many state credentials.

All of the NCC AP’s credentials are accepted by the U.S. Department of Transportation for those who meet qualifications to practice as a Sub­stance Abuse Professional (SAP) under the DOT regulations. Many recog­nize this as a value to their pro­ fessional practice and through the National Credential, have obtained the DOT/SAP Qualification.

The NCC AP’s national credentials provide major benefits to individuals and the addiction profession as a whole. National credentials: • Focus on the individual clinician and their specific expertise; • Focus on the individual clinician professional de­velop­ ment; • Provide a formal indicator of current knowledge and competence nationally; • Provide a national standard that is generally higher than state requirements;

• Encourage professionals to continue enhancing their knowledge to better serve their clients; • Afford a means to establish, measure, and monitor the requirements for knowledge in the profession; • Provide assistance to employers, healthcare providers, educators, government entities, labor unions, other practi­ tioners, and the public in the identification of quality counselors who have met the national competency; • Promote professionalism of the treatment profession for substance use disorders; • Maintain proven methods by which addiction professionals are recognized; • Offer constant actualization of skills and knowledge of addiction professionals; and • Enable client verification that persons offering treatment services are competent, skilled and knowledgeable.

In 2015, the NCC AP will strive to: • Improve quality control of test sites for its test candi dates; • Devise an easier method for renewing applicants to submit renewal applications; • Reduce the time for new applicants to attain the national credential (already improved through the implementation of monthly testing in October 2013); and • Continue to offer assistance with test preparation to our national candidates and “state test candidates” through e-mail and oral communications, and the NA ADAC website.

Many states utilize the NCC AP test products for their state test. If you have taken an NCC AP test through the Professional Testing Cooperation (PTC) within the past four years, we strongly encourage you to apply for the national credential as your test score is applicable for the credential at the level you tested.

Thank you for your continued interest and use of the NCC AP credentials, testing products and services. We are honored to continue to serve you and the addictions profession.

Kathryn Benson, NCAC II, LADC, QSAP, QSC, serves as Chair of the National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals (NCC AP). Contact her at lightbeing@aol.com with your thoughts or q ­ uestions. Every effort will be made to respond to your inquires in either this publication or a personal reply.

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NOW AVAILABLE TO ORDER THE HISTORY OF

ADDICTION

COUNSELING IN THE UNITED STATES Promoting Personal, Family, and Community Recovery To celebrate its 40th Anniversary, NAADAC is excited to announce the release of The History of Addiction Counseling in the United States: Promoting Personal, Family, and Community Recovery

by William L. White, documenting the history of addiction counseling and NAADAC’s role in the profession.

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To order, call 800.548.0497, email naadac@naadac.org, or visit the online bookstore at www.naadac.org

■ E XECUTIVE INTERVIE W

NAADAC’s New President Kirk Bowden Discusses Key Priorities

By Jessica Gleason, Director of Communications At the close of NAADAC’s Annual Conference & 40th Anniversary Celebration in late September, Kirk Bowden, PhD, was handed the reins of the NAADAC Presidency. Bowden brings to NAADAC a wealth of experience not only in addictions counseling, but also in the hot topics of addictions education, credentialing, and licens­ ing. Bowden is an Approved Clinical Supervisor and is certified as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Independent Substance Abuse Counselor by the state of Arizona, as a National Certified Counselor by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) and as a Master Addiction Counselor by the NBCC and NAADAC. Bowden is currently the Faculty Chair of the De­part­ ment of Addiction and Substance Use Disorder Program at Rio Salado College in Tempe, AZ, and Director of the Addiction Coun­ seling Program at Ottawa Uni­versity. He serves as a Commissioner on the National Addictions Studies Accreditation Commission (NASAC), a Board member of the International Coalition for Addiction Studies Education (INCASE), and on the Editorial Board of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA) Substance Abuse Journal, the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, and NAADAC’s Advances in Addiction & Recovery magazine. No stranger to awards, Dr. Bowden has been the recipient of the Amer­ic­an Counseling Association (ACA) Fellows Award, the ACA Counselor Educator Advocacy Award, NAADAC’s President’s Award, and Addiction Professional Advocate of the Year from the Arizona Asso­ ci­ation of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (AzAADAC). The Managing Editor was able to catch up with Bowden to learn about his thoughts and plans for NAADAC during his two-year term.

What motivated you to run for NAADAC President?

Bowden: One of the main reasons I ran for national office was a growing concern about the need to protect our field as a legitimate specialization. More and more it felt as if other behavioral health professionals were encroaching on the addictions profession and claiming addictions as their territory even though they did not have addiction-specific training or education.

RICK SARGEANT | PHOTOSPIN.COM

How did you become involved with NAADAC and decide to pursue a role in NAADAC’s leadership?

Bowden: I joined NAADAC in 1992, around the same time I became an addictions edu­cator. I got active in leadership fairly quickly, being first appointed NAADAC’s Continuing Education Auditor for the state of Arizona, and moving through positions, including President, at AzAADAC, NAADAC’s Arizona affiliate. I started thinking about national leadership while working as the President of INCASE, a professional organization of professors, teachers, professionals, and programs specializing in addictions studies. In this capacity, I ended up on a SAMHSA committee working with Cynthia Moreno Tuohy and Donald Osborn to create standardized addictions studies coursework and a career ladder for the addictions profession. At the urging of SAMHSA and this committee, INCASE and NAADAC joined forces to create NASAC, a higher education accreditation body to assess all levels of higher education academic programs in addiction studies, of which I was appointed Chair. I continued doing national work with NAADAC as the Regional Vice-President for the Southwest and then ran for President.

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What goals do you hope to achieve during your term as NAADAC President? Is there an initiative you are excited to tackle during your presidency?

Bowden: I have two major initiatives I am passionate about. First is a continue push for nationwide state-specific tiered licensure for addiction counselors. The health care environment is changing rapidly and many new issues stemming from the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) need to be dealt with. One of these issues is that moving forward, largely who receives reimbursements will be up to third-party providers, most of whom require counselors to have a master’s degree and a license in order to receive direct reimbursement. On one hand, this highlights the need for state licensure at the master’s level so people within the addictions field can be qualified to receive direct reimbursement at the independent level. On the other hand, this also shows how critical it is to have a tiered licensure system that allows for addiction counselors at other levels to move up the career ladder to that independent master’s level and still receive reasonable compensation. We need to pro­ tect all addiction professionals, ranging from those at the licensed, independent level to those coming into the field at the peer support level.

The second major initiative is a continued push for increased membership in NAADAC. NAADAC has experienced tremendous growth in the past couple of years and it is important to thank the NAADAC staff and President Bob Richards for this recent progress. However, I strongly believe membership is still critical for NAADAC and for the survival of the addiction profession. NAADAC needs members to be able to move forward with important causes for the profession and have influence on state and national legislation, and the addiction profession in general.

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How can NAADAC help push forward state-specific tiered licensing?

Bowden: Licensing is a state-specific issue that must be dealt with by state leaders in the addiction profession. As a na­tional organization, NAADAC can provide states with gui­d­ance, con­ sul­tation, and technical assistance. We can help leaders open the door to licensing discussions with their state legislators, provide tools to help bring licensing into the public discourse, and provide verbiage and model licensing rules that follow the SAMHSA’s recommendations. NAADAC can also connect leaders with people in other states working on similar issues and help keep the issue of state licensing in the national eye.

NAADAC leaders have already provided assistance, both in person and from a far, in Indiana, South Dakota, Washington State, and Cali­fornia.

For example, NAADAC spoke out against a California licensing bill that we considered exclusive and harmful to the profession and is cur­rently working with our California affiliate to develop an inclusive licens­ing bill that protects all addiction professionals in California, not just those at the top tier or credentialed by a particular credentialing body.

You have substantial experience with state licensure issues, including serving as Chair of the Arizona’s behavioral health licensing and disciplinary board, and Chair of its Substance Abuse Counselor and Professional Counselor Credentialing Committees. In 2004, you helped write the academic requirements for counselor licensure when Arizona’s behavioral licensing law was enacted, changing voluntary certification to mandatory licensure. How will this experience contribute to your efforts as NAADAC President?

Bowden: I think my experience with licensing and credentials will be a significant benefit. My more than ten years on Arizona’s licensing board and work on licensure in other states has showed me the range of issues that needs to be considered when creating both a licensure movement within a state and writing the actual licensure regulations themselves. I hope to serve as a resource for our state affiliates and work with the NAADAC staff to develop even more useful tools to help with the professionalization of addiction counseling and protection of its specialized role among behavioral health professions.

Why is NAADAC membership important for addiction professionals?

Bowden: NAADAC membership is part of being a professional in our specialized field. If you are an addictions professional, you should be a part of the only national membership organization specifically for addictions professionals. NAADAC’s members are what gives it the power and voice to advocate on the behalf of the profession. The U.S. Govern­ ment estimates that there are over 85,000 addiction professionals working in the United States today. As Bob Richards once said, “We are the few, advocating for the many.” Increased membership allows us to have a stronger and louder voice—to ensure that addiction counseling stays an independent field and isn’t absorbed into the other areas of behavioral health, to ensure that addic­tion professionals receive parity and proper compensation, and ensure that our young professionals have the resources and means to continue in this honored profession.

What is NAADAC doing to increase its membership?

Bowden: NAADAC’s revitalized Membership Committee is currently strategizing new ways to retain current members and recruit new members, including expanding our successful March to Membership Drive in the Spring to include recruitment events around the country. Specifically, I believe we need to work on student recruitment and increasing our student members’ involvement with NAADAC, in the hopes that such involvement will continue as the students move forward in their careers. The addiction profession is aging and we need new members to revitalize our workforce and ensure continuing quality care for those with substance use disorders. Our Membership Chair, Margaret Smith, and our Student Com­mit­tee Chair, Diane Sevening, are both addiction educators who hope to use their many contacts at colleges and universities with addictions programs around the country to help with these recruitment efforts. My experience in addictions education will also help tremendously with this goal and I hope to use my relationships with educators to increase student membership, chapters, and involvement in NAADAC. What role do RVPs and State Affiliates have in membership recruitment?

Bowden: Membership recruitment is a year round effort and the NAADAC staff does a tremendous job. However, RVP and State affiliate participation is vital to NAADAC’s membership effort. We need more participation by affiliates in our recruitment efforts, including calling members when it’s time for membership renewals to encourage reenrollment, promoting national efforts, like our March to Membership drive, and creating state-wide recruitment activities.

How would you describe your leadership style?

Bowden: I envision my leadership style being much like a head football coach. While a head coach oversees the team, it is the assistant coaches who actually coach the team.

Each assistant coach has specific assignments and goals and run their designated areas.

The head coach orchestrates and make sure everything fits together seamlessly. My intention is to have Regional Vice-Presidents work with their state affiliate presidents who in turn oversee their own state organizations. I think state affiliates need to be making the decisions within their own states, with RVPs assisting with and coordinating state efforts under their jurisdictions. I’m here to assist and rally the whole team. And what a team it is!

Jessica Gleason is the Director of Communications for NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals.

She is the Managing Editor for Advances in Addiction & Recovery and compiles NAADAC’s two ePublications, the bi-weekly Addiction & Recovery eNews and weekly Professional eUpdate. She is also responsible for the NAADAC website’s content, social media, and commu­ni­cations. Gleason holds a Juris Doctorate from North­ eastern University School of Law in Boston, MA and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Massa­chusetts at Amherst.

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A Celebration to Remember: Annual Conference Highlights

By Jessica Gleason, Director of Communications With over 700 participants, 70 exhibitors, 80 presentations, and 94 presenters and panelists, the NAADAC 2014 Annual Conference & 40th Anniversary Celebration in Seattle, WA from September 26–October 1, 2014 was a huge success! Held over four days, with additional pre- and post-conference sessions, the conference united counselors, educators, academians, and businesses to explore the latest trends and issues that impact all addiction-focused professionals, build their businesses and networks, celebrate NAADAC’s 40th Anniversary and play in the Emerald City.

Here are some of the conference highlights:

“ I commend NAADAC for its commitment to prevention, intervention, quality treatment and recovery support, and I am very pleased to congratulate your organization on 40 years of exemplary service. NAADAC members support individuals on a daily basis by helping them work toward a life of recovery and then continue life substance-free. Addiction and substance abuse rob our citizens and their loved ones of happy, fulfilling, and productive lives, and your efforts to combat these dire situations are truly appreciated…This forum is an excellent opportunity for professional development and networking with your peers from across the country.” – Governor Jay Inslee

Above: Award winner Claudia Black with Cynthia Moreno Tuohy. Below: Award winner Scott Kelley and outgoing President Bob Richards gives incoming President Kirk Bowden a hug. Right: Attendees salute NAADAC’s 40th Anniversary.

Photographs by Christopher Tuohy

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Dr. David Mee Lee David Mee-Lee, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM) and the Senior Vice President of The Change Companies, has led the development of the ASAM Criteria for the Treatment of Substance-Related Disorders since the late 1980s. He is Chief Editor of ASAM PPC-2R (2001) and the newest edition of The ASAM Criteria (2013).

In his pre-conference session, Dr. Mee-Lee described the ASAM Criteria—the most widely used and comprehensive set of guidelines for assessment, service planning, placement, continued stay, and discharge of people with addictive disorders—and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) for the Treatment of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association, and highlighted what is new since the last published editions. He also focused on skill-building to use the spirit and content of The ASAM Criteria and the role of diagnosis in treatment.

Dr. Darryl Inaba Darryl S. Inaba, PharmD, CADC III, the Director of Clinical and Behavioral Health Service at Addictions Recovery Center in Medford, OR and Director of Research and Education at CNS Productions, Inc., taught multiple sessions over the course of the conference.

Dr. Inaba’s full-day pre-conference session on marijuana educated participants on the various forms of cannabinoid substances being used medically and abused recreationally, and discussed the basic pharmacology and toxicology of these substances and how they can react with other therapeutic medications.

Dr. Inaba’s keynote gave an overview of treatment options of opiate/opioid use disorder in patients with chronic pain, discussing the history of the challenge, the wide range of opioid substances currently abused, and the basic neuropharmacology of opioids

and opioid addiction. He continued his teachings on opioids in a later breakout session on the hot topic of Naloxone, discussing its proper use and the potential pitfalls of using an opioid antagonist in opiate/opioid overdose management. Most interesting was a discussion about the use of oral nalmefene in Europe to treat alcohol cravings, and the use of naltrexone and nalmefene to treat other drug and behavioral addiction.

NALGAP’s 35th Anniversary NALGAP: The Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and Their Allies celebrated its 35th anniversary with an evening reception celebration and a plenary panel discussion trac­ing the history of oppression and discriminatory practices in the delivery of addiction services. Panelists Laura Fenster Rothschild, PhD, Philip McCabe, CSW, CAS, CDVC, DRCC, Craig Sloane, LCSW, CASAC, Jeff Zacharias, LCSW, CAADC, BRI-I, CSAT Candidate, and Raven James, PhD, endorsed treatment that includes a focus on the effects of stigma, homophobia, and heterosexism, and the core issues affecting LGBT clients, and advocated for the need to maintain a LGBT affirming approach to help individuals develop and maintain recovery.

Gambling Track NAADAC kicked off its successful two-day gambling track with a keynote on Problem Gambling and Process Addictions. Maureen Greely, President of the National Council on Problem Gambling, led esteemed panelists, Charles Maurer, PhD, ABPP, NCGC-II, WSCGC-II, BACC, Denise Quirk, MA, MFT, LADC, NCGC-II, CPGC-S, and Jon Grant, JD, MD, MP, through a lively discussion comparing process addictions to substance addictions and asking how process addictions treatment fits into our practices. In addition, panelists taught five breakout sessions ranging from covering the basics of screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of gambling disorder, the neurobiology of the disorder, psychosocial treatments, and problem gambling programs in tribal communities.

Native American Traditions In homage to the many Indian tribes in the Pacific Northwest and Seattle’s Native American heritage, elements of Native American traditions were incorporated throughout the conference. Conference participants were treated to the tones and energy of the Native American Stone River Drumming circle, who performed at the Opening Reception, Kick-off & 40th Anniversary Celebration, the President’s Awards Luncheon, and the Closing Ceremony. Especially moving was a special

ceremony performed during the Awards Luncheon to celebrate and honor the lives of addition professionals we have lost in the past year, including honorees Alice Kibby, Greg Lovelidge, and David Powell. NAADAC Leadership and some attendees participated in another powerful ceremony performed during the Closing Ceremony to celebrate transitions as NAADAC President Bob Richards handed over the reins to incoming President Kirk Bowden.

In addition, Michael Two Feathers, a Lakota Elder and Ceremonial Leader for over 20 years, shared his personal experiences in Native American Ways of Life and Perceptions in his plenary session The Seven Teachings to Live Life in a Good Way. Two Feathers described how his spiritual path brought him into the families of Lakota Elders and Medicine People, and how focusing on Traditional Wisdom, not only provided personal healing, but helped many people improve family relationships and overcome additions successfully.

Awards In addition to its educational program, NAADAC presented awards to three outstanding individuals for their extraordinary service and contributions to the addiction profession.

Lifetime Honorary Membership Award: This award recognizes an indi­ vidual or entity who has established outstanding service through a lifetime of consistent contributions to the advancement of NAADAC, the addiction profession, and its professionals.

This esteemed award was presented to Claudia Black, MSW, PhD, a renowned addictions and codependency expert, author and trainer internationally recognized for her pioneering and contemporary work with family systems and addictive disorders. Since the 1970s, Dr. Black’s work has encompassed the impact of addiction on young and adult children.

She has offered models of intervention and treatment related to family violence, multi-addictions, relapse, anger, depression and women’s issues, and written on and trained in the field of family service, mental health, addiction and correctional services.

Dr. Black is currently the Senior Clinical and Family Services Advisor for the Las Vegas Recovery Center. She serves on the Advisory Board for the National Association of Children of Alcoholics, and the Advisory Council of the Moyer Foundation and its development of Camp Mariposa, a camp for children impacted by addiction. Her writings and teachings have become a standard in the field of addictions. She is the recipient of a number of National awards including the Marty Mann Award, the SECAD Award, the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Addiction Educator of the Year, the 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Washington School of Social Work, and the 2010 Conway Hunter Award for excellence in the field of addiction.

The Mel Schulstad Professional of the Year Award: This award is pre­ sented to recognize an individual who has made outstanding and sustained contributions to the advancement of the addiction counseling profession.

This year’s recipient, Scott Kelley, LCDC, was nominated by the Texas Association of Addiction Professionals (TAAP), for his tireless work and dedication to his clients and to the profession. Since entering the field in 1998, Kelley has served thousands of clients through various treatment venues, including countless hours volunteering as part of the Texas Addiction Peer Assistance Network. He is the President of Summer Sky Treatment Center, a past-president of the TAAP’s Waco chapter, and has been involved in addiction and recovery advocacy at the national and state levels. Kelley hopes to “fight for access to more treatment services for those that have no voice, because their addiction leaves them out of the conversation.”

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The Lora Roe Memorial Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselor of the Year Award: This award is presented to a counselor who has made an outstand­ ing contribution to profession of addic­ tion counseling.

Leigh Kolodny-K raft, SA P, a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor in New Jersey, was nominated for this award for her high level of quality work over 15 years working with adolescents and adults struggling with the disease of addiction. She began her career working with clients being discharged from correctional facilities, women struggling with prostitution, and the indigent population. She was later instrumental in the development of an adolescent program for inner city youth involved in gang activities in urban New Jersey areas and succeeded in creating a gang training program that became a standard training for all staff in her agency. Currently working in private practice, Ms. Kolodny-Kraft continues her pursuit to help the addiction population work towards a brighter future, providing free addiction assessments and treatment for shelter clients in Morris County, and being active in the professional community at dispelling myths of addiction and de-stigmatizing addiction.

Hope to See You in Washington, D.C.!

Every five years, NAADAC combines its Advocacy Conference and Annual Conference for a special conference in Washington, D.C. The 2015 NAADAC Annual Conference will take place at Marriott Bethesda North from October 9th through October 12th, with a special Capitol Hill day on October 13th. For more information, please visit www.naadac.org/ annualconference. We look forward to seeing you next year!

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTOPHER TUOHY

Missed Seattle?

You can still learn from the best of the best on your own time! Materials and handouts from over 72 sessions are available at www.naadac.org/ 2014-annual-conference-materials.

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S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Spirituality and Addiction Recovery: An Interview with Ernie Kurtz, PhD

By William L. White, MA

Earn TWO continuing education credits for reading this article.

See quiz on page 30. To learn more, visit www.naadac.org/magazineces.

I

JOHN SCHULTZ PHOTOGRAPHY

n 1979, Dr. Ernest Kurtz published his now classic work, Not-God: A His­tory of Alcoholics Anonymous. In the years that followed, he mentored a generation of addiction recovery historians, including myself, and broadened his investigations into the growing varieties of spiritual, religious, and secular frameworks of addiction recovery and the roles shame and guilt play as obstacles to addiction recovery. During those years, countless numbers of addiction professionals deepened their understanding of the workings of A.A. through attending presentations

by Dr. Kurtz at the Rutgers Summer School of Alcohol and Drug Studies and numerous other professional venues. Dr. Kurtz’s studies of spirituality led to collaborations with Katherine Ketcham that produced two landmark books: The Spirituality of Im­per­fec­tion (1992) and the just-released Experiencing Spirit­uality. I interviewed Dr. Kurtz about some key aspects of his life’s work and its implications for addiction pro­fes­sionals.

Please join us in this engaging conversation.

The History of Alcoholics Anonymous

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Bill White: Based on your research on the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, what were the most important discoveries early A.A. members made about the role of spirituality in addiction recovery?

Dr. Ernie Kurtz: There were two main proximate sources of the early A.A. members’ understanding of spir­ it­uality: the Oxford Group, which viewed itself as a manifestation of “First Century Christianity,” and some books urged by the Oxford Groupers but especially William James’s Varieties of Religious Experience, which Ebby Thatcher gave Bill Wilson during his last detoxification in Towns Hospital in New York City. As the language of the 1930s-composed A.A. “Big Book” attests, most of the earliest members had been conventional but not very deep Christian believers and had, like Wilson himself, fallen away from membership and practice. Jimmy B., who is credited with the insertion of the words “as we 22

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The earliest A.A. members, then, discovered that some kind of spirituality— some kind of sense of the reality of some “beyond”—was essential to their sobriety…

un­derstand Him” after the word “God” in the 3rd and 11th of the 12 Steps, and the deletion of the phrase “on our knees” at the beginning of the 7th Step, was apparently the one exception.

The stories in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous confirm this, offering a picture of individuals raised in religious backgrounds who had fallen away from religious practice.

But essential to their recovery, according to their stories, was a discovery of some personal power greater than themselves. This discovery of the reality of some kind of “Higher Power,” some kind of beyond was, for most, the key to their newfound sobriety.

This is especially clear in the “We Ag­nos­ tics” chapter, which is probably the last thing it would be wise to recommend to any agnostic or atheist looking over Alcoholics Anony­ mous. That chapter supposedly described Bill Wilson’s own experience. But unlike Dr. Bob Smith, who became at least nominally a Pres­by­terian, Bill never joined any church. He did take instructions in Roman Catholicism from then-Monsignor Fulton Sheen, and the tale among at least some Catholics in A.A. was that Bill never became Catholic because he feared that such a step on his part would injure A.A. Actually, as Bill’s correspondence with the Jesuit Father Ed Dowling attests, Bill dropped out of instructions because he had an intellectual difficulty with Catholic teaching on the sacraments, which struck him as seeming “too much like magic.”

That is intriguing, given Bill’s later explorations with ouija boards and more in what came to be called the Step­ ping Stones “spook room” and what he found in his ex­ per­i­mentation with L.S.D. I raise those points because, though it is not elsewhere in general as clear as it is in Wil­son’s own life, the main characteristic of the ­spirituality of those earliest members seems to be open-mindedness.

And though I am not aware of any research on precisely this point, it seems to me that one characteristic of the active alcoholic is a stubborn close-mindedness.

The earliest A.A. members, then, discovered that some kind of spirituality—some kind of sense of the reality of some “beyond”—was essential to their sobriety but that another aspect of that same spirituality was the acceptance that they did not have all the answers, even about “the spiritual,” especially about “the spiritual.”

How has the story of A.A. spirituality changed since the publication of Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1979?

A.A. co-founder Bill Wilson died in 1971, but that date is a hinge in A.A.’s story for larger rea­ sons. A.A. is of course its members, those who come to it, and as you have documented in Slaying the Dragon, the 1970s saw the beginning of the spread to dominance of what became the alcoholism and addiction treatment industry, and so for some years progressively more people began coming into Alcoholics Anonymous by way of treat­ment. Using the concept of “chemical dependency,” some treatment people blurred the line between alcoholism and not only chemical, but also even “process” addictions. This should not have directly impacted A.A. spirituality, but in many groups, it became a distraction at first troublesome but then, most often, helpful and useful.

A.A. sobriety and spirituality grow and are spread by ident­ification, which is why story-telling is so central to those processes. At first, then, in many groups, some wondered whether the influx of those whose experience was mainly with difficulties caused by chemicals other than alcohol could themselves benefit or, more importantly, could help others in their quest for sobriety. Some who were active in A.A. at the time of my initial research commented that it seemed to them that more and more of the stories told at meetings seemed to be focusing on the externals of the stories, on what went on with other peo­ple or in scrapes with the law than “on the inside,” what the alcoholic was feeling and thinking and hoping and dreading.

“Spirituality is an inside job,” some sponsors and speakers remind their listeners. I’m not sure when this shift took place, but it seemed to me through the late eighties and nineties that speakers moved from describing the spectacular to accenting the vivid, from outside to inside. The change was also shaped, I think, by changes in the frequency of kinds of meetings. My experience may be a bit twisted because I moved several times during those years: from Massachusetts to Georgia to Chicago to two different locations in Michigan. Although I always looked for “speaker meetings,” I had a progressively more difficult time finding them. Step-discussion groups and Big Book discussion groups, large gatherings that after the opening split into smaller groupings, predominated.

Some localities offered only one large speaker meeting a week, for the whole locality.

What did all this mean for “A.A. spirituality”? We, of course, have already written on “the varieties of A.A. ex­ peri­ence,” of which there are many. Over time, many more and different people have found sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous—women, individuals from the LGBT community, African Americans, Hispanics, members of various ethnic groups, the partially employed and the newly unemployed, the surprisingly young and the ever older— and even beyond these artificial groupings, of course, each individual’s spirituality is the unique product of that person’s whole life.

…what each spirituality has and offers, in however wondrously diverse a form, is a beyond and a between: ome spark of transcendence that carries one outside of and beyond the narrow prison of self, and the realization and reality of one’s very real bondedness with others. …

“A.A. spirituality” has grown and will continue to grow not so much in volume as in richness as more different individuals bring themselves and their stories to meetings, offering their own spirituality to others, absorbing and incorporating what they hear into their own spiritual life.

But what each spirituality has and offers, in however wondrously diverse a form, is a beyond and a between: some spark of transcendence that carries one outside of and be­yond the narrow prison of self, and the realization and reality of one’s very real bondedness with others. Over time, then, “A.A. spirituality” has grown and will continue to grow not so much in volume as in richness as more different individuals bring themselves and their stor­ies to meetings, offering their own spirituality to ­others, absorbing and incorporating what they hear into their own spiritual life.

Studying Spirituality How would you describe the journey between your work on the history of Alcoholics Anony­ mous and your broader explorations of spirituality?

Well, it wasn’t much of a “journey.” In some ways, in fact, it began backwards. As a student of Ameri­ can history, I was interested in how people located values over time—in how Americans found meaning in a culture whose trajectory was one of generally secularizing. It was in that context that I came across Alcoholics Anonymous, largely accidentally. A.A., I was told, had Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and “none-of-the-above” members, some of whom were even clergy of one or another of those groups, and they all not only “got along” but even agreed in claiming that the A.A. program and fellowship had saved them from more than mere drunkenness, had brought new meaning into their lives and opened them to a very real spirituality. That, I had to explore.

I discovered that Alcoholics Anonymous had begun in the very religious but carefully non-denominational Oxford Group, since re-christened Moral Re-Armament.

That whetted my intellectual appetite—I was a teaching fellow at Harvard Divinity School at the time, and so I enjoyed the challenge of tackling the off-base topic. And so I began to research A.A.’s history—its story—and discovered in the stories told by its Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and “none of the above” members that they view­ ed spirituality as essential to their recovery. But what was that “spirituality”? That, in a sense, is what I have been exploring ever since.

President Dwight David Eisenhower has sometimes been mocked for his 1952 post-election, pre-inauguration observation, “… our form of government [makes] no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith, and I don’t care what it is.” Well, change that to “our fellowship” and “a genuinely lived spirituality,” and you have Alcoholics Anonymous. And it is not to be mocked. For despite all the justified derision heaped on various New Age, pseudo-Eastern, and other quasi-spiritual fads, including such aberrations as “adult children” and their ilk, Alcoholics Anonymous is simply not one of them. A.A. comes by its spirituality genuinely, by plugging into the long history that I detailed in Part Two of Not-God and whose rich story Kathy Ketcham and I explored in The Spirit­uality of Imperfection. Our new book, Experiencing

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DESIGN PICS | PHOTOSPIN.COM

Spirituality, carries that exploration forward by way of an admittedly jagged path that nevertheless retains the centrality of story.

Most recently, as you know, I’ve been pulled in the direction of investigating the possibility of spirituality in the lives and practice of recovering people who even more than “none of the above” are explicitly atheists or agnostics. Some in Alcoholics Anonymous would deny their right to be members, forgetting A.A.’s Third Tradition, “The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.” Others raise the question, “If spirituality is essential to recovery, and A.A. is as virtually all members claim ‘a spiritual program,’ how can non-believers belong?”

Well, externally, recent books by Marya Horn­bacher, Robert C. Solomon, Andre Comte-Sponville, and Sam Harris clarify and illustrate the very real possibility of an “atheist spirituality.” And intrinsically, that is the cutting-edge that I am currently exploring in the ongoing, fascinating story of Alcoholics Anonymous. It is, in fact, one road that has led to my formulation of and fascination with those two very richly loaded prepositions, beyond and be­t ween—of which we will see more later in this interview.

Describe the major themes around which the stories and dis­ cussions in The Spirituality of Imperfection and Experiencing Spirituality are organized and how you came to settle on these themes?

Well, the text is of course richer, but the very Table of Contents of The Spirituality of Imperfection offers a decent outline. All spirituality begins with the ac­cep­tance of finitude, of limitation, the recognition “I am not God.” For the alcoholic, it is the admission, “I am an alcoholic—I cannot safely do something that my culture regards as normal and that most other people can happily and safely do, drink alcohol.” There follows on that the realization that some other kind of spirits/spirituality is essential to recovery, and that that spirituality is different from what most think—that it involvesnot magic but miracle, and that it is both open-ended nd pervasive of one’s being. And then the unfolding discovery that spirituality is lived in six experiences: the sense of being freed/released, a real gratitude, a genuine humility that opens to a generous tolerance, a pervasive forgiveness, and a deep discovery/ sense of “being-at-home,” of having found a communion that is more than mere community.

How did I discover these? Very simply: by listening very carefully to all the A.A. stories I could manage to hear. And let me emphasize that at least for me, it had to be “hear” rather than “read.” I have no problem with reading, and God knows I spend most of my waking hours doing it, but, for me, hearing—and hearing live, in person, rather than on any kind of recording—was and remains absolutely essential. And I mean hearing at meetings, not in interviews, as generous as many have been in allowing me to interview them. All stories requires a con­text, and for the kind of stories told in A.A.—spiritual stories, however weird that claim may sound to some—there is something about an A.A. story that makes sense, that can be truly heard, only within a community of ­listeners, of fellow hearers who are making an effort to iden­tify with the story-teller, to absorb her or his story into their own.

In Experiencing Spirituality, we pick up and develop other themes, more themes, but again based on and rooted in what we hear talked about and discussed at meet­ings. These themes, our segment titles, are basic but not as structurally related as in the earlier book. And so such topics as wonder, and memory, and grief, and virtue stand a bit more independently. These themes are less topics than motifs—figures that recur like 24

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Not all reality can be quantified: “the spiritual,” whatever it is, is real. Its effects can be readily recognized, but only with great difficulty and only indirectly measured. The question always remains how and how accurately what one measures actually bespeaks spirituality. … Spirituality is a reality that is not material, which when you try to touch it van­ishes: it can be recog­ nized and viewed but not grasped or measured.

melodic lines. That stage is set by the book’s beginning: the first two segments—“Beyond ‘Spirituality’” and “Experience”—explain and develop the book’s title, so that readers under­stand what is going on as they move through the stories that develop the themes of the following segments.

Science and Spirituality

I am fascinated by the diverse ways in which honestly striving people find and live recovery. As I suggested above, spirit­uality is an immensely rich and varied reality, and I have found spir­ituality in some form in every recov­ering/recovered person I have ever met.

If there is a central mantra within the addictions field in recent years, it has been the call to move toward evidence-based practices? Do you feel the field is at risk of losing important dimensions within its roots amidst this adulation of science?

Well, what does one accept as “evidence”? There is much valid protest today against “scientism”—the assumption that becomes expectation and demand that all valid truth can only be discovered and promulgated by the physical, or the physical and the social, sciences. A sub-set of that demand requires that that truth be “useful,” productive of positive measurable results that issue in some kind of control. But that expectation and demand, which is really a form of faith, is not the whole story. “Evidence,” after all comes from evident, which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as “distinctly visible, obvious to the sight,” further defining obvious as “plain and evident to the mind; perfectly clear or manifest; plainly distinguishable; clearly visible.” In other words, “Keep it simple!”

The need, then, is to look first—in depth and in breadth—at actually recovering/recovered individuals, to examine and study how and why they got that way and stay that way. Now both some of the physical sciences, such as biology and chemistry, and some of the social sciences, such as sociology and psychology, can tell us a great deal in this area. But not if their tools distort in the very act of trying/claiming to “measure.”

Not all reality can be quantified: “the spiritual,” whatever it is, is real. Its effects can be readily recognized but only with great difficulty and only indirectly measured. The question always remains how and how accurately what one measures actually bespeaks spirituality. Science deals with the material and therefore quantifies. Spirituality is a reality that is not material, which when you try to touch it vanishes: it can be recognized and viewed but not grasped or measured.

And so using the term “evidence-based” is fine; only what do we accept as “evidence”? There is an old, two-panel A.A. Grapevine cartoon, the first panel showing a devilish looking man in an obvious rage, his wife weeping and their children cowering; then, in the second panel, there is a halo over the man’s head, and his wife and children are looking at him adoringly as he heads out the door saying, “I’ve got to get to my meeting, but I just don’t understand ‘the spiritual’.”

The researcher’s paradox is, “If you can measure it,it is not spiritual.”

But in this old and necessarily flawed image, spirituality is like the wind: you cannot see it, but you can readily see its effects. And so meeting the challenge of the demand for “evidence,” skilled researchers such as Keith Humphreys, Lee Ann Kaskutas, and John Kelly, to name but three examples that come readily to mind, do attempt that and do come up with evidence that seems at times to have something to do with spirituality.

But when someone demands “evidence-based ­practice,” they must be asked, “What do you accept as ‘evidence’?”

Are scientific studies of the role of spirituality in addiction recovery breaking any new ground of importance to addiction professionals?

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“Scientific”? Insofar as that term implies materialist assumptions, such efforts necessarily fall short of touching spirituality. But as noted in replying to the previous question, the various sciences can examine phenomena that flow from, and are a result of, spirituality. And sometimes, when applied by researchers respectful of the limitations of their instruments, studies can illuminate, shedd ing new light on even t he ver y familiar.

The April-September 2014 issue of the Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly (v. 35:2–3) features fourteen contri­butions that taken together address just about every possible angle of the question of spirituality in recovery, from anthropology to psychology, physiology to psychometric research, from “The Ontological Generality” thru “The Paradox of Powerlessness” to “The Neurocircuitry of Attachment and Recovery.” And while none break dramatically new ground in their own limited areas, most offer significant information and especially helpful new perspectives to the non-specialist.

The articles shed the new light of explicit mea­surement on the circumstances and se­q uel­lae of “Spiritual Awakening in Alcoholics Anonymous,” for example. And a bibliographically exhaustive (and exhausting) article on “Psychological Mechanisms by which Spir­it­uality Aids Recovery in Alcoholics Anony­mous” reviews theory and research to suggest specific follow-up studies. The issue, then, is rich, and any addiction professional should carefully study it, but the contributions more explore and illuminate, and plow an already furrowed field, than turn up any surprisingly new information.

Such studies are more than merely “useful.” Several resemble classic literature in that they merit re-reading and pondering, being kept at hand as a resource to which one will return as ongoing experience presents new situations or raises different questions. Especially for “addiction professionals,” I think such reminders and new perspectives will almost certainly enrich practice.

On the other hand, any expectation of or search for some astoundingly new bit of information is doomed to failure. Alcoholism is an ancient problem. “New” solutions for it have always been scarce. At best, at least so far, one can learn how to live with the condition. Even those who reject and denigrate Alcoholics Anonymous only most exceptionally claim to “cure” alcoholism in the sense of enabling alcoholics to again drink alcohol safely. And so far at least, none of those claimed “cures” has cured anything beyond their perpetrator’s bank account. A blind preference for the new, the worship of novelty, ill fit those who have been touched by spirituality. Knowledge may expand, but wisdom deepens. We need both, but as fulfilling each other rather than fighting each other.

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Multiple Pathways of Addiction Recovery

A blind preference for the new, the worship of novelty, ill fit those who have been touched by spirituality.

Knowledge may expand, but wisdom deepens.

We need both, but as fulfilling each other rather than fighting each other.

You have been a strong advocate of the legitimacy of multiple pathways of long-term addiction recovery. How have your studies of spirituality informed your understanding of these growing varieties of recovery experience?

Spirituality, by its very concept, definition, and na­ture, cannot be contained within any boundaries. “The Spirit blows where it wills,” according to one classic formulation. Well, if someone finds, from experience and examination, that some kind of spiritual­ ity—some transcendence of “self” and embrace of others, to put the beyond and between most succinctly—seem not only to be present but indeed to characterize all the recovering/recovered people he has met or studied, that discovery necessarily informs further study.

And yet—or rather, and so, given my ornery nature as well as the canons of research—in approaching any p ­ athway to recovery that is new to me, I look and attempt first to disprove that discovery. I would love to find a way of healing alcoholism/addiction that lacked any beyond and between; but, so far at least, none have done so. And however the term spirituality may be avoided or weakened, that reality of a beyond—some kind of self-transcendence—and the experience of a between— some kind of bond with others—are always present when ­spirituality is operative.

What has been especially intriguing is that my ongoing research has reversed your question: the more varieties of recovery experience that I find and investigate, the richer becomes my understanding of spirituality. And that is very good, for, frankly, alcoholism and addiction—and even their sometimes claimed “overcoming”—bore me.

They are, let’s face it, literally “sick” phenomena. But “recovery”—Ah! A very different kettle not of fish but of ever more fascinating varieties of spirituality. William James famously wrote of the Varieties of Religious Experience; the study of recovery, in all the rich variations in which it pre­sents itself, is an immersive exercise in “the varieties of spiritual experience.”

For even more than religion, spirituality is experienced.

The practice of religion, sadly, can be rote. But spirituality can­not be faked or routinized. Oh, some might attempt that; but I know of no stories of their success at it. For as we explore a bit under “Experience” in Experiencing Spir­ it­uality, spirituality is a matter of the heart—the heart symbolizing the whole person—rather than of the head.

As John Henry Newman, mottoed, Cor ad cor loqitur: depth recognizes depth. So we need to listen, with that proverbial “third ear,” if you will, to any who present themselves as recovering/recovered. Admittedly, that can

be more difficult to study in modalities that do not privilege or at least sneak in some variety of story-telling, but just about anyone in recovery will speak of that experience to the honest listener.

Despite the fact that my explicit studies have for various reasons focused so much on Alcoholics Anonymous—indeed, largely because of that fact—I am fascinated by the diverse ways in which honestly striving people find and live recovery. As I suggested above, spirituality is an immensely rich and varied reality, and I have found spirituality in some form in every recovering/recovered person I have ever met.

You helped lead a recent study examining spir­ i­tual, religious, and secular pathways of recovery. What shared and distinguishing characteristics stood out for you in this study?

What still strikes me most about that study is the rich combination of similarity/sameness and variety/difference that characterized our subjects. Each, in her or his own way, struck a very definite “bottom,” but the diversity of those bottoms—those experiences/moments of emptying out/being emptied out, of kenosis, of confronting the reality of discovering “something wrong with me”—the memory of that variety lingers. From the woman whose children were taken away from her through to the man virtually pronounced dead in the Emergency Room, that pivotal moment in each so-different story testified to the basic oneness of the crisis point in a history of alcoholism/addiction.

And then the starkness of each one’s discovery of the bond­ed­ness, the fellowship, the between-ity that marked the beginning of their recovery: the African American ad­dict who accidentally rambled first into a 12-Step meeting composed mainly of white homosexuals; the pro­ fessional who, quietly confronted by his physician, began to discover new layers of richness in and with the people with whom he worked; the so-alone woman from two of perhaps the most dysfunctional families who was able to bring so much healing to so many very different women.

Finally, here are the ways in which—though we labeled the pathways “spiritual,” “religious,” and “secular”— very diverse but real spiritualties peeped through each story. It got me thinking again about my bugbear topic: Is there such a thing as “generic spirituality”? For we set out in de­sign­ing the study, you will recall, to find as diverse a pop­u ­lation as we could. Our purpose was to find difference, and I think we met that goal as well as it could be met.

What impressed me in working on that study and one reason I wished to participate in it proved no different from what has struck me over many years now: how in the meetings I attend and the articles that I read, the reality of the spiritual is always almost tangible yet never exactly

the same. Insofar as the diversity of people is virtually infinite, so too are the varieties of spirituality manifest in their however different lives and experiences.

I noted this most recently in what may be to some a surprising source: the book Don’t Tell: Stories and Essays

by Agnostics and Atheists in AA. An examination of ­“atheist spirituality” must await another publication. Still, I would borrow and bring forward this much here, for it does speak to what, however diversely, appeared in the story of each of our subjects. First, the reality in recovery spirituality of a beyond, of some kind of transcendence, not a mere “getting out of the prison of self,” though that is an essential facet of it, but a true reaching for something that until now, even if perceived, had precluded even attempts to grasp. And second, the discovery and implementation of a very real between, some kind of bond with other suffering human beings. No one, it seems, gets sober by herself or himself: not idly does Alcoholics Anony­mous style itself a “fellowship.”

Beyond and between: both themes appeared in each of the stories of those we studied.

…however the term spirituality may be avoided or weakened, that reality of a beyond—some kind of selftranscendence— and the Spirituality and the Addictions experience of a Professional What lessons drawn from your study of spiritubetween—some ality do you feel are most important to frontline addiction professionals? kind of bond with “Frontline addiction professionals”: “counselors others—are in the trenches”—but trench warfare went out with World War I! Except, perhaps these days, less with always present alcohol than with prescription opiates and heroin, the when spirituality front­lines seems to be getting bloodier and bloodier.

Especially given the apparent abandonment of heroin is operative. re­laps­ers by conventional medical practitioners, addiction

pro­fessionals who deal with this population need all the help they can possibly find. And what the study of the place of spirituality in the reality of recovery has to offer is the simple truth that it is necessary…just about absolutely necessary.

But how to implement this? For “spirituality” is a load­ed term, most often confused and confusing. Al­ though trained in theology as well as the history of religions, I find the current cutting edge of the study of spir­ituality to be its place in the lives of those who are athe­ists or agnostics. For there is, as a virtual explosionof literature in the past five years attests, a very real atheist spirituality, a spirituality for atheists. And that literature, varied though it be, and presented as it is by writers far from familiar with 12-Step programs, captures and offers a spirituality so congruent with the understandings of Alco­holics Anonymous that the reader may wonder about its authors.

André Comte-Sponville’s The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality, for example, develops familiar themes, such as the reality that communion-community is a reality that can be shared without being divided. And the necessity W I N T E R 2 014 | A d va n ce s i n A d d i c t i o n & R e c o v e r y 27

I find the current cutting edge of the study of spirituality to be its place in the lives of those who are atheists or agnostics. For there is, as a virtual explosion of literature in the past five years attests, a very real atheist spirituality, a spirituality for atheists.

of conviction, action, and love . . . or, in another formulation, of attachment, commitment, gratitude, and love… and of fidelity: truthfulness to oneself and one’s story.

Sam Harris’s new book on “atheist spirituality,” Waking Up, offers this: “Spirituality must be distinguished from religion—because people of every faith, and of none, have had the same sorts of spiritual experiences.

While these states of mind are usually interpreted through the lens of one or another religious doctrine, we know that this is a mistake. Nothing that a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu can experience—self-transcending love, ecstasy, bliss, inner light—constitutes evidence in support of their tra­ditional beliefs, because their beliefs are logically incompatible with one another. A deeper principle must be at work.”

The ultimate Oxford Group, early A.A., summary ran: “Trust God, Clean house, Help others.”

AAAgnostica suggests, “Let go, Clean house, Help others.”

In another setting I have suggested that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous can be summarized in four words, two of which state the problem, and two of which propose the solution. “Selfishness, self-centeredness,” is presented as the root of the alcoholic’s trouble. And the solution for that? “Help others,” especially by “carrying this message” to alcoholics who still suffer.

Most recently, active alcoholics and addicts whom the counselor meets may have had some religious upbringing but currently engage in very little religious practice. For some of these, the “We Agnostics” chapter of the A.A. “Big Book” may be of help, though it is probably the very last thing one would want to give an actual agnostic or atheist to read.

I would like to think that for most people—especially those in the broad middle ground between pious religiosity and militant atheist—the books that Kathy Ketcham and I have written might be of help. Both The Spirituality of Imperfection and Experiencing Spirituality set forth and develop and explore themes with which a wide variety of people might identify. Yes, the frontline trenches are a tough place to have to work, but there are certain themes, certain ideas, certain words that might help to bridge to the experience of the sufferer who is finding it difficult to find the words to describe what she is going through.

That, at least, is one goal that we had in mind in writing those books. Check out the Tables of Contents.

What do you think are the most important unanswered questions about the role of spiritual experience in addiction recovery?

I’m not sure that it is an “unanswered question,” though the answers may diverge. The first “asked question,” of course, is whether spirituality—some kind of spiritual experience—is important, even essential, to

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recovery. This is not the place to argue with those who deny that: few who actually work with recovering/recovered alcoholics and addicts do deny it, though understandings of spirituality of course vary. The active, relevant question is how to convey this, get it across in an effective way, to the individual on the cusp of recovery.

My suggestion, as noted, is to think in and employ the two simple prepositions, beyond and between. And, I think, to supplement or convey their reality with the simple six-word formula that summarizes the power of the Twelve Steps: “Trust God; Clean house; Help others.”

For the atheistically or agnostically inclined, it will be useful to substitute “Let go” or “Show up” in place of “Trust God.” Some may suggest an even simpler, fourword, formulation of how A.A. works: it tells us what’s wrong—“selfishness, self-centeredness”—and how to fix it, “Help others.”

“Spiritual experience”: I am not sure about the utility of that term, or the phrase “spiritual awakening” that the earliest A.A. members substituted for it in the Twelfth Step. Especially to the newly sober/clean, I think, it may sound so heavy as to be frightening. Its placement in Step Twelve may also be taken as suggesting that it occurs only at the climax, as sort of a high point, in the program/ process of recovery. Than which nothing could be falser: genuine recovery begins at bottom, with the sneaking suspicion that “there has to be something other than this.” And that is the first glimpse of the possibility of the “beyond” that is the beginning of spirituality.

To the less unanswered than too frequently ­confusingly answered question, “How do I get across to this suffering alcoholic/addict for whom ‘bottom’ is probably having to sit here and listen to me tell his/her that the central truth that recovery is founded in spirituality?” I offer the simple suggestion of the two prepositions, beyond and between. The next layer—the graduate course, so to speak—can be the four words of diagnosis and remedy, followed in especially dire cases by post-graduate immersion in the six-word summary appropriate to this individual. “[U]nanswered questions about the role of spiritual experience in addiction recovery?” I think that more significant may be the unasked questions. Because they are there. The implicit but always present question that too many self-styled scientists harbor is: “How do people really recover?” Those who do not accept the reality of spir­ituality come up with some pretty fanciful as well as fancy explanations/understandings. The main theory seems to be positing some kind of mental/emotional weak­ness in those who recover: if they were really smart and strong, they’d see through the rigamarole of A.A. Most are too polite (or something) to say that out loud in so many words, but watch the commentators that The Fix seems to relish publishing.

I have argued elsewhere that the surest evidence that Alcoholics Anonymous is, as its members claim, “a

spiritual program,” is the viciousness with which it is sometimes attacked. That, I think, is worth thinking on.

In this area as elsewhere, an observation generally attributed to Gilbert Keith Chesterton too often holds true: “Those who cease believing in God do not believe in nothing; they believe in anything.”

Experiencing Spirituality What do you hope addiction professionals will draw from your latest collaboration with Katherine Ketcham?

As we set down and developed in our first collab­ oration, The Spirituality of Imperfection, spirituality is one of those realities like beauty and love and all the names in the segment-headings of the book: it cannot be conveyed directly, and certainly not by talking about it, in words that in one way or another try or claim to capture it. Spirituality is not only conveyed but even only really in any way “talked about” only by and in story. Not so much “the best way” but the only way of approaching spirituality is by somehow experiencing its reality, and that can be done only through story. And so what we hope and tried to do is to empower the reader to some richer appreciation and use of stories.

Experiencing Spirituality even more than The Spir­it­ u­ality of Imperfection not only relies on but even consists mainly in stories. A few readers have complained about that, saying they wished for more expository text. So, in a way, did we. But it seemed to us that we did say in exposition all that could be transmitted in that form. We also realize that in casting a very wide net for a variety of stories, some that we offer will seem to some readers inappro­ priate. Just about every reader will ask, at one text or another, “What is this story doing here?” Three responses: (1) work on it; (2) different strokes for different folks; (3) maybe we goofed. Please accept that we have done our best to convey our points as appropriately as possible.

Those familiar with 12-Step meetings may be in the best position to understand that. I attended an A.A. meeting once in which a speaker, on temporary “therapeutic leave” from a well-respected treatment program, told of all the things he had learned about alcoholism—its likely genetic basis, the stages of alcohol metabolism, the physio­ logical bases of loss of control, and so forth. The attendees sat quietly and even applauded gently as he finished. The next speaker told, mercifully, what he used to be like, what had happened, and what things were like for him now.

In how many is it possible to say that one does not get sober by knowing about alcoholism? In how many ways is it possible to transmit experience? Not all stories, of course, take the format of “what we used to be like, what hap­pened, what we are like now,” except: in every story we tell, there is an implicit message of “once upon a time I did not really understand this, and then I came across this story, and so this is sort of how I understand it now.”

Not everyone will “get” every story. And so we multiply

stories, telling different stories from diverse angles, trying to capture or at least to approach some plot, some detail, some whatever that will resonate with each of our listeners or readers.

What do we hope addiction professionals might gain from reading Experiencing Spirituality? Mainly, some confidence in their own storytelling power. Some stories will always “grab” us; others will sometimes drop like lead balloons. We discover “what works” only by trying. We also discover that what works on one day may not work on another. We never know, and so we try. A comedian who had been gravely ill was once asked, “Is it easier to die in real life or on stage?” Without a moment’s hesitation he replied, “In real life.” And so we say to our counselor friends, “Risk it!” The life you save may be that of the poor bastard cringing in that chair opposite you next session. Even if she laughs at you rather than with you, at least she is laughing.

Secondly, I think, Kathy and I hope that many readers will argue with our choice of topics, of themes, of segments. Some—forgiveness, for example—are carried over from The Spirituality of Imperfection. Others were suggested by things that happened to us in the twenty-two years that separated the two books. But we hope that readers will be stimulated by our efforts to a sensitivity to the spiritual themes that emerge in their own lives. We are, in part, spiritual beings, and to be alert and attuned to our experience as experience can open doors to a more real and deeper spirituality.

We each are living our own story. To be aware of its progress can be a rich blessing.

William L. White is a Senior Research Consultant at Chestnut Health Systems/Lighthouse In­s ti­t ute and past-chair of the board of Recovery Com­m u­n i­t ies United. Bill has a Master’s degree in Addiction Stud­ies and has worked full time in the addictions field since 1969 as a street-worker, counselor, clinical di­rec­tor, researcher and well-traveled trainer and con­sultant. He has authored or co-authored more than 400 articles, monographs, research reports and book chapters and 16 books. His book, Slaying the Dragon – The His­tory of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America, received the McGovern Family Foundation Award for the best book on addiction re­cov­ery. His collected papers are posted at www.williamwhitepapers.com.

I have argued elsewhere that the surest evidence that Alcoholics Anonymous is, as its members claim, “a spiritual program,” is the viciousness with which it is sometimes attacked. That, I think, is worth thinking on.

REFERENCES Kurtz, E. (1979). Not-God: A history of Alcoholics Anonymous. Center City, MN: Hazelden (2nd printing, 1980; 3rd, 1981; paperback, 1982; revised and expanded edition, 1991).

Kurtz, E. (1981). Shame and guilt: Characteristics of the dependency cycle.

Center City, MN: Hazelden.

Kurtz, E., & Ketcham, K. (1992). The spirituality of imperfection. New York: Bantam Books.

Kurtz, E. (1999). The collected Ernie Kurtz. Wheeling, WV: Bishop of Books.

Kurtz, E., & Ketcham, K. (2014). Experiencing spirituality. New York: Tarcher Penguin.

Kurtz, E. (2009). Ernie Kurtz on the history of A.A., spirituality, shame, and storytelling [DVD of filmed interview]. Chicago, IL: Great Lakes Addiction Technology Transfer Center.

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Earn 2 CEs by Taking an Online Multiple-Choice Quiz Earn two continuing education credits by taking a multiple-choice quiz on this article now at www.naadac.org/magazineces. $25 for NAADAC members and non-members.

4. Which President of the United States said “… our 7. _______ , by its very concept and definite and form of government [makes] no sense unless it nature, cannot be contained within any is founded in a deeply felt religious faith, and I boundaries. don’t care what it is.”? a. Spirituality a. Dwight D. Eisenhower b. Science 1. What year did Bill Wilson, co-founder of b. George W. Bush c. Math Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), die? c. Abraham Lincoln d. History a. 1963 d. Franklin D. Roosevelt b. 1968 8. According to Ernie Kurtz, “…even more than c. 1971 5. “The only requirement for membership is a religion, spirituality is _______ .” d. 1975 desire to stop drinking” is the _______ Tradi­ a. Measured tion of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.). b. Scientific 2. The _______ saw the beginning of the spread a. Second c. Routinized to dominance of what became the alcoholism b. Third d. Experienced and addiction treatment industry. c. Fourth a. 1960s 9. The phrases that some use to describe how d. Fifth b. 1970s A.A. works is “selfishness, self-centeredness,” c. 1980s 6. According to this article, “spirituality is lived in which tells us what is wrong, and “help others,” d. 1990s six experiences.” Which of the following is not which tells us how to fix it. one of those experiences? a. True 3. Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) began in the very a. The sense of being freed/released b. False religious but carefully non-denominated b. A real gratitude _______ .

10. Ernie Kurtz hopes that addiction professionals c. A genuine humility that opens to a generous a. Harvard Club might gain from reading Experiencing Spirit­ua­ tolerance b. Keely Foundation lity some confidence in their own storytelling d. An inability to forgive c. Mitcheline Boys power. d. Oxford Group a. True b. False

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Updated 12/1/14

President Kirk Bowden, PhD, MAC, LISAC, NCC, LPC President Elect Gerry Schmidt, MA, LPC, MAC

REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENTS Mid-Atlantic (Represents Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia)

Susan Coyer, MAC

Secretary Thurston S. Smith, CCS, NCAC I, ICADC

Mid-Central

Treasurer John Lisy, LICDC, OCPS II, LISW-S, LPCC-S Immediate Past President Robert C. Richards, MA, NCAC II, CADC III National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals (NCC AP) Chair Kathryn B. Benson, LADC, NCAC II, QSAP, QSC Executive Director Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, NCAC II, CCDC III, SAP

(Represents Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin)

Kevin Large, MA, LCSW, MAC Mid-South

(Represents Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas)

Sherri Layton, MBA, LCDC, CCS North Central

(Represents Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota)

Diane Sevening, EdD, CDC III Northeast

(Represents Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont)

Catherine Iacuzzi, PsyD, MLADC, LCS Northwest (Represents Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming)

Greg Bennett, MA, LAT Southeast

Organizational Representative Philip L. Herschman, PhD

Ethics Committee Chair Anne Hatcher, EdD, CAC III, NCAC II

PAST PRESIDENTS

Finance Committee Chair John Lisy, LICDC, OCPS II, LISW-S, LPCC-S

1974-1977 Robert Dorris 1977-1979 Col. Mel Schulstad, CCDC, NCAC II (ret’d) 1979-1981 Jack Hamlin 1981-1982 John Brumbaugh, MA, LSW, CADAC IV, NCAC II 1982-1986 Tom Claunch, CAC 1986-1988 Franklin D. Lisnow, MEd, CAC, MAC 1988-1990 Paul Lubben, NCAC II 1990-1992 Kay Mattingly-Langlois, MA, NCAC II, MAC 1992-1994 Larry Osmonson, CAP, CTRT, NCAC II 1994-1996 Cynthia Moreno NCAC I, CCDC II 1996-1998 Roxanne Kibben, MA, NCAC II 1998-2000 T. Mark Gallagher, NCAC II 2000-2002 Bill B. Burnett, LPC, MAC 2002-2004 Roger A. Curtiss, LAC, NCAC II 2004-2006 Mary Ryan Woods, RNC, LADC, MSHS 2006-2007 Sharon Morgillo Freeman, PhD, APRN-CS, MAC 2007-2010 Patricia M. Greer, BA, LCDC, AAC 2010-2012 Donald P. Osborn, PhD (c), LCAC 2012-2014 Robert C. Richards, MA, NCAC II, CADC III STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS

(Represents Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee)

Southwest

Personnel Committee Chair Kirk Bowden, PhD, MAC, LISAC, NCC, LPC

Kirk Bowden, PhD, MAC (ex-officio) Arizona

Public Policy Committee Co-Chairs Gerry Schmidt, MA, LPC, MAC Nancy Deming, MSW, LCSW, CCAC-S Michael Kemp, ICS, CSAC, CSW

James “Kansas” Cafferty, NCAAC California Steven Durkee, NCAAC Secretary Kentucky

AD HOC COMMITTEE CHAIRS Awards Committee Chair Tricia Sapp, BSW, CCJP, CPS

Carmen Getty, MAC, SAP Virginia

Adolescent Specialty Committee Chair Christopher Bowers, MDiv, CSAC, ASE

Tay Bian How, NCAC II Sri Lanka Thaddeus Labhart, MAC, LPC Treasurer Oregon

International Committee Chair Paul Le, BA Leadership Committee Chair Robert C. Richards, MA, NCAC II, CADC III

Rose Maire, MAC New Jersey

Membership Committee Chair Margaret Smith, EdD, LADC

Sandra Street, MAC West Virginia

Product Review Committee Chair Philip L. Herschman, PhD

Loretta Tillery, Public Member Maryland Ricki Townsend, NCAC I California

Student Committee Chair Diane Sevening, EdD, CDC III

Clinical Issues Committee Frances Patterson, PhD, MAC

(Represents Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah)

Kathryn B. Benson, NCAC II, LADC, SAP, QSC NCC AP Chair Tennessee

Nominations and Elections Chair Robert C. Richards, MA, NCAC II, CADC III

Professional Practices and Standards Committee Chair Donald P. Osborn, PhD, LCAC

Bylaws Committee Chair Ronald A. Chupp, LCSW, LCAC, NCAC-II, ICAC-II

Frances Patterson, PhD, MAC

NATIONAL CERTIFICATION COMMISSION FOR ADDICTION PROFESSIONALS (NCC AP)

Tobacco Committee Chair Diane Sevening, EdD, CDC III

Mita Johnson, EdD, LPC, LAC, MAC, SAP

NAADAC REGIONAL BOARD REPRESENTATIVES

NORTHEAST AK

NORTH CENTRAL

MID-CENTRAL

Gloria Nepote, LAC, NCAC II, CCDP, BRI II, Kansas-Missouri Ted Tessier, MA, LAMFT, LADC, Minnesota Jack Buehler, LADC, Nebraska John Wieglenda, LAC, North Dakota Linda Pratt, LAC, South Dakota

Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC, Illinois Angela Hayes, MS, LMHC, LCAC, Indiana Michael Townsend, MSSW, Kentucky Terrance Lee Newton, BAS, CADC, Michigan Jim Joyner, LICDCCS, ICCS, Ohio Gisela Berger, PhD, Wisconsin

Susan Campion, LADC, LMFT, Connecticut Ruth A. Johnson, LADC, SAP, CCS, Maine Gary Blanchard, MA, LADC, Massachusetts Peter DalPra, LADC, New Hampshire Christopher Taylor, CASAC, LMHC, MAC, DOT SAP, New York William Keithcart, MA, LADC, Vermont

WA MT

Northwest

OR

VT

MN

NORTHWEST

SD

ID

Linda L. Rogers, NCC, MS, LAC, Montana Arturo Zamudio, Oregon Greg Bauer, CDP, NCAC I, Washington SueAnne Tavener, MS, LPC, LAT, Wyoming

ME

ND

North Central

WY

IL

CO

Southwest

KS

CT

PA

UT CA

NY

MI

IA

NE

NV

North-NH east MARI

WI

Mid-Central OH IN

MO

KY

NJ MD WV

MidAtlantic

DE

VA

NC TN

SOUTHWEST

HI

AZ

Carolyn Nessinger, MS, NCC, BHT, Arizona Thomas Gorham, MA, CADC II, California Thea Wessel, LPC, LAC, MAC, Colorado Kimberly Landero, MA, Nevada Art Romero, MA, LPC, New Mexico Michael Odom, LSAC, Utah

OK

NM

Mid-South TX

AR

AL LA

SC

Southeast GA

MS

FL

SOUTHEAST MID-SOUTH Paula Heller Garland, MS, LCDC, Texas

MID-ATLANTIC Jevon Hicks Sr., BS, ICADC, Delaware Johnny Allem, MA, District of Columbia Moe Briggs, NCC, LCPC, MAC, SAP, Maryland David J. Semanco, MS, MAC, CADC, CSAC, Virginia Wanda Wyatt, MS, ADC, SAP, West Virginia

Eddie Albright, MS, Alabama Bobbie Hayes, LMHC, CAP, Florida David A. Burris, CAC II, NCAC II, CCS, Georgia Angela Maxwell, MS, CSAPC, North Carolina Marion E. Kirkland Jr., MS, LPC, CAC II, South Carolina Charlie Hiatt, LPC/MHSP, MAC, SAP, Tennessee

W I N T E R 2 014 | A d va n ce s i n A d d i c t i o n & R e c o v e r y 31

Save the Dates!

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Interested in presenting, attending, sponsoring or exhibiting at NAADAC’s 2015 Annual Conference? Get more information at

www.naadac.org/annualconference.

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MATHISWORKS | PHOTOSPIN.COM

NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals is pleased to announce its 2015 Annual Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. at the Marriott Bethesda North from October 9–13, 2015.

This year’s conference will feature an opportunity to interact with your legislators on Capitol Hill.

Fall is also a beautiful time of year to sightsee the national monuments, museums, and take in cultural events.

Start planning your Washington, D.C. adventure while you earn your education continuing education hours from the profession’s thought leaders.