Myth buster #5, Part 1: There's no right way to make promotion decisions

March 21, 2017

Thomas F. Hilton, Ph.D.

Although this topic might seem to be aimed at clinic directors and their oversight boards, there is also useful information for counselors and other clinic staff members. The more you understand about leadership, the more everybody in the organization can contribute to a better workplace climate and a more therapeutically effective enterprise. 

Promoting the wrong person can have dire consequences for both staff members and clients. There is a mountain of research showing that poor leadership leads to staff turnover, lowers morale, and erodes job performance. As each staff member quits in order to escape a negative work climate, the remaining workforce is increasingly drained of experience and corporate knowledge (how we do things around here). Because remaining staff need to orient, train, and supervise new hires, they are distracted from their primary roles as therapists, receptionists, etc. The increased patient load on remaining staff can eventually lead them to burn out and leave the clinic as well. Role overload coupled with a decline in staff experience will eventually impact treatment effectiveness and recovery rates. Unless the downward spiral is reversed, the very survival of the clinic is threatened. 

Introducing The BASIS: Your Portal to Addiction Science and Resources

March 14, 2017

Heather Gray, Ph.D.
Senior Editor, The BASISAssociate Director of Academic Affairs, Division on Addiction

Do you struggle to keep up with the latest addiction research? Do you spend too much time search for trusted, evidence-based addiction resources? If so, The BASIS (Brief Addiction Science Information Source) is for you!

The BASIS is a product of the Division on Addiction at Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. Each week, Division on Addiction faculty members select a recent scientific article related to drinking, smoking, other drug use, or gambling, and summarize its key details: What was the purpose? What did the authors do, and what did they find? What are the implications for treatment and public health? Our science reviews are brief, engaging, and designed to appeal to a general audience. Subscribe to our mailing list to get each science review delivered straight to your inbox. It's a quick and easy way to keep on top of emerging scientific literature.