The David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics will welcome its first class in the new Master of Arts program in addiction studies in the fall.

The program, which was announced on Feb. 25, will study substance use and addictive behavior, focusing specifically on prevention and counseling, according to an SU news release. The 36-credit program is an effort to help address the growing need for more adequately trained professionals in addiction study fields. As public policy begins to shift, so do the practices used by health care professionals, said Michele Barrett, communications director of the Falk College.

“These issues are made more urgent with the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act,” Barrett said. “This legislation moves toward more integrated primary and behavioral health care and necessitates adequately trained healthcare professionals.”

The Affordable Care Act has put into law new rules and regulations regarding how addictive behaviors are treated. The ACA lists substance use disorders as one of 10 elements of essential health benefits, according to The White House website. This inclusion will increase the number of patients seeking treatment for substance abuse throughout the country, and by extension, the number of professionals who care for them.

Over the past three years, multiple reports have been made to Congress regarding the need for a better-educated and prepared workforce in the fields of addiction, Barrett said.

Falk faculty members responsible for this program have close ties with the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services. Along with OASAS, these teachers have mapped out a program “to train providers in both prevention and counseling capacities, thus enabling seamless delivery of both forms of addiction services,” Barrett said.

Graduates of the program will meet OASAS’s training requirements, which will make them eligible to join multiple professional organizations as a result. However, to become fully certified in these organizations, supervised postgraduate work experience is required.

The program will study many different topics, including how addiction impacts families and relationships, treatment of addictions, clinical evaluation and global perspective on substance policy among others.

The program is currently open for applications and expects to welcome a class of five to seven students this fall, Barrett said. The hope is that with an increasing need for these types of individuals, the class sizes will continue to grow.

Plans for this program began in fall 2013, Barrett said, which is around the same time rollouts began for the Affordable Care Act. These rollouts increased the number of insured Americans and the need for well-trained professionals.

An added bonus of the program may be an option to study abroad during a three-week summer course, according to the SU News release. The course will take an international look at policy on substance use in places like the Netherlands and other selected European locations.

Published on March 4, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Joe: jpleonar@syr.edu