National Standard Set by True North Director Kansas Cafferty

ENCINITAS, Calif. - Oct. 30, 2014 - PRLog -- Traditionally, when a parent discovers their teen has a substance use disorder, they are at a loss as to where to start when seeking professional help.  There has never before been a national standard for adolescent drug and alcohol counselors who specialized in working with adolescents.

In the treatment of addictions, it is well known within the industry that adolescents are a special population.  Many counselors will clearly sate that they do not have the expertise or the experience to work with this notoriously difficult population.  Adolescents, who have not completed all of their brain development, may find many traditional therapies difficult to use and may even further find that the professionals emplying the therapies really do not understand them or their problems.  When any of us, at any age, visit a professional we have the expectation of expertise and teens are not different.  They can quickly surmise that the person they are speaking to is either "hip" or not when it comes to their issues.

This dynamic has of course created dilemmas for parents.  Parents can do their best to find qualified professionals but there has been no way for them to know if the person has any requisite education or experience to work with their teen.  Drug and alcohol counselors have been licensed and/or certified for many years but no distinction has ever been made for those who can really get into the trenches of the skate park.

This consumer and patient protection issue has finally been addressed on a national level.  NAADAC, the leader in national certification for addiction counselors put together a task team to address this vital issue (http://naadac.org).  In 2007, Kansas Cafferty, LMFT, CATC, MCA, NCAAC joined this committee and worked tirelessly toward creating this national standard which finally culminated in a true national standard, the Nationally Certified Adolescent Addiction Counselor.

Kansas Cafferty, is the founder and executive director of True North Recovery Services in Encinitas, CA (http://www.tnrs-ca.com).  He is also the Director of Clinical Services for Orange County Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine in Newport Beach, CA (http://www.ocpam.com).


True North Recovery Services is proud to be the only program in the state of California at this time to have a Nationally Certified Adolescent Addiction Counselor on it's staff and hopes to continue to be part of trending the field of addiction treatment toward better outcomes through proper vetting of its clinicians.  True North Recovery Services has both adolescent and adult intensive outpatient treatment programs available in Encinitas, CA.  For further comment, feel free to call True North at 760-517-6544