MSWs with and without long-term substance abuse training: agency, community, and personal outcomes

Behavioral outcomes in agency, community, and personal arenas were examined for 81 social workers with Masters degrees (MSWs) who completed a clinical postgraduate substance abuse (SA) training program (trainees) and a matched group of 78 MSWs not enrolled in such a program (comparison subjects). Subject self-report data was collected via telephone interviews of 30-40 min. With little or limited prior SA training, trainees took this clinical training to a broader level: they were significantly more likely than comparison subjects to provide agency SA training, receive SA training and supervision outside the agency, engage in SA community service, present SA papers at conferences, and intervene with their SA-troubled significant others. With more MSW students now receiving SA training in their graduate programs, the impact of such postgraduate education is likely to be even greater.