What is the role of Addiction Professionals and why are they important?

John Wilkinson is a Advanced Practitioner member of Addiction Professionals, a voluntary registration body and network for the addictions sector. They are the equivalent of the NMC for nurses and midwives and the GMC for doctors. Members come from a wide range of professional backgrounds including GPs, psychiatrists, counsellors, keyworkers, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers, nurses and mentors. 

​

They offer a range of membership options to support practitioners throughout their careers, from voluntary registration and accreditation in their role as a regulatory body, to regular continuing professional development, through news, networking and education. They aim to raise and uphold high standards and quality in the addictions workforce. The post nominal letters, AP APM, means Advanced Practitioner Addiction Professionals Member. 

​

To that aim, when choosing to work with somebody to help with problematic drug or alcohol use, it's important to carry out your due diligence to ascertain several essential criteria, including the approach taken, qualifications and training, experience, insurance cover, Disclosure and Barring Service certification, professional accountability and complaints handling procedures. 

 

Look out for the Addiction Professionals logo. This provides protection of your interests, reassurance that the person you're trusting to work with, works to a high standard, is highly experienced, trained and skilled in helping people achieve their drug or alcohol recovery goals, in a professional, safe, and ethical way. One of our current clients unfortunately had a bad experience with their AA sponsor as they made a non-religous person get on their hands and knees and pray for recovery. This is problematic for a number of reasons and this person will not return to AA for any assistance. 

 

Furthermore, please be wary of people who self proclaim themselves to be "The king of counselling" and the like, who have no formal training, relevant qualifications or experience. They come from the position that the t-shirt they've worn will fit everybody. One chap, "The King of Counselling", claims to have 25 years experience as an alcohol and drug addiction counsellor and therapist, but over 23 of these years were in active addiction. Worryingly, he states that you won't be his next client but his new pal. So when somebody states that they are "Britain's best alcohol and addiction counsellor", it really should set off alarm bells. This is why the sector needs to become a regulated profession. What do you think? Let me know john@cheshiresobrietyclinic.co.uk

​

Members of Addiction Professionals are accountable to their Standards of Conduct and Ethics and Complaints and Disciplinary Proceedures. 

​

Please note: John Wilkinson is an individual member of Addiction Professionals as an Advanced Practitioner Member. This membership does not extend to the service or to Dr Shyra Raj.