P8
May 2013
As
many Grand Canyon University employees
wrap their workdays to head home,
Kara Thomas
drives to a central Phoenix drug-
and alcohol-rehabilitation facility.
Thomas serves GCU during the day as a University
enrollment representative for the College of
Nursing and Health Care Professions. But on some
weeknights until 10 p.m., she works at Calvary
Addiction Recovery Center as part of a master’s-
level practicum toward her dual degree in addiction
counseling and professional counseling.
Thomas, 39, is among nearly 3,000 GCU students
earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in
counseling. Addiction counseling curricula at both
levels provide students with the training necessary
to treat those grappling with their inner demons, and
to serve those clients responsibly.
The faith-based Calvary Center is one of dozens of
Phoenix-area treatment centers where GCU master’s
students complete their practicum. As part of her
20-hour-a-week internship, Thomas leads intensive
group therapy sessions, helps chart treatment plans,
assists with drug-testing and earns the experience
that licensing boards require for certification.
Faculty who updated GCU’s courses last year
said changes in curriculum emphasized ethics
and addressed meeting the requirements for
professional licensure. The influx of substance abuse
and behavioral disorder counseling jobs spiked
around 2010 and is expected to grow over the next
several years by 27 percent, according to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Thomas, who volunteers with foster-care teens in her
free time, said even counselors or therapists who
might not specialize in addiction counseling need
to have a fundamental understanding of addiction
in dealing with most clients. Bad habits are linked to
trauma and repressed emotion.
“The need for an understanding of that is so great,”
Thomas said. “It’s really important for counselors
to understand that, even if they don’t work in it
(full time).”
Dr. Kirk Bowden, GCU emerge as leaders
in addiction counseling education
TAMING the INNER DEMONS
– by Michael Ferraresi
As director of GCU’s professional counseling and addiction studies program, Dr. Kirk Bowden has helped the University comply with national standards, enabling students
to secure state certifications after they graduate. Photo by Darryl Webb
