Novice, seasoned and veteran counselors' views of addiction treatment manuals: the influence of counselor characteristics on manual usefulness.

A preliminary study was conducted to examine substance abuse counselors' views of empirically supported treatments (ESTs). A survey of 72 substance abuse counselors was used to explore counselor qualities and overall responses to ESTs. There were no significant differences in views of ESTs for novice, seasoned and veteran counselors, but veteran counselors reported that supervision was less likely to influence their views of manual usefulness. Counselors' recovery status and theoretical orientation influenced novice, seasoned and veteran counselors' views of ESTs and manual usefulness. Implications for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education are discussed.