The Impact of Substance Use Disorder Training on the Knowledge-Base of Paraprofessional Substance Use Disorder Counselor Students.

Purpose: There is a dearth of literature examining the paraprofessional substance use disorder counselors (SUDCs) and their responsiveness to evidence-based substance use disorder (SUD) training. This study examined pre- and post-training knowledge related to three established SUD interventions - Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), Mindfulness Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

Materials and methods: Undergraduate students enrolled in a SUDC training program (N = 63) participated in brief, evidence-based workshops and completed structured pre- and posttest surveys evaluating knowledge related to workshop content. Paired sample t-tests were estimated with 1000 bootstrapped samples to examine changes in knowledge from pre- to posttest and Hedges' g and common language (CL) effect sizes were calculated.

Results: Results showed a statistically significant increase from pre- to posttest in participants' overall knowledge scores across all three evidence-based interventions. The largest effects on knowledge were noted for the DBT workshop.

Discussion: The results of this study suggest that brief workshops on evidence-based SUD interventions such as SBIRT, MORE, and DBT present a promising avenue for undergraduate students in a SUDC training program to acquire knowledge essential for practicing as paraprofessional SUDCs.

Conclusion: There is currently an insufficient number of SUDCs to meet SUD treatment needs across the United States. Substantial growth in SUDC workforce needs is also projected by 2030. Well-trained paraprofessional SUDCs can provide one approach to expanding access to SUD treatment in coming years.