| There are many psychological
illnesses such as mood and anxiety disorders as well as
psychological traumas such as physical and sexual abuse
that often predispose a person to addiction. Optimal treatment
for these persons includes psychiatric treatment and/or
psychotherapy. Other people may only choose to work
on relapse prevention issues with a drug or alcohol counselor. |
ADDICTION COUNSELORS
National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) (naadac.org/documents)
NAADAC is the professional membership organization and the nation's largest network of alcoholism and drug abuse treatment professionals. Click on Certification in the left hand menu, and scroll down the page to Testing Information. Click on State Certification Boards. This will provide a state-by-state listing of Certification Boards for alcoholism and drug abuse counselors. These Certification Boards will be able to make referrals to certified mental health practitioners in the U.S.
PASTORAL COUNSELING
Some people may prefer to seek help for their addiction problems from their pastor, rabbi, priest or other spiritual leader, rather than from a mental health practitioner or addiction counselor. Pastoral counselors work within traditional faith communities using counseling, prayer and spirituality to help in the addiction recovery process.
In addition, the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC) accredits Pastoral Counseling Centers throughout the U.S. that provide counseling and psychotherapy services. To Find a Certified Pastoral Counselor, visit the AAPC web site at www.aapc.org/centers.cfm and select either Search online: the AAPC Clinical Registry or Locate a counselor with the AAPC Online Membership Directory.
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PSYCHIATRISTS
AMA Physician
Select (ama-assn.org/aps/amahg.htm)
To locate a psychiatrist in your area that specializes in
addiction or to check practice and biographical details on
a psychiatrist to whom you have been referred, please be patient
and follow these instructions.
From the home page click on "Search for a Physician".
Click on "Accept", and you can then search by either "Physician Name" or "Medical Specialty".
If you select "Medical Specialty", Look down the page and click on "search from an expanded list
of medical practice specialties, select "Addiction Medicine" from the list, and then fill in state,
city and/or zip code and click on the "Search" button at the bottom of the page. This should provide
a list of addiction psychiatrists in your selected area.
PSYCHOLOGISTS
National
Registers Online Searchable Database (nationalregister.com)
This online guide provides a searchable directory of psychologists
with various specialties and specialty board certifications
by geographic area. The database covers psychologists who
are certified in substance addiction by The College of Professional
Psychology of the American Psychological Association Practice
Organization. While the database requires a paid subscription
for professionals, they offer a limited number of queries
free to the general public.
After registering by selecting a username and password, you
can select to search either by geographic area or by practitioner
name. For a geographic search, under Area of Expertise select
Substance-Related Disorder, under Specialty Board Certification
select CPP, then choose your geographic area by city, state
or zip code.
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