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Abstract
Substance abuse researchers have recommended that substance abuse counselors and helping professionals use a non-confrontational counseling approach when addressing client denial. Yet little is known about substance abuse counselor beliefs about the use of confrontation. The purpose of this study was to use the Theory of Reasoned Action to qualitatively capture, quantitatively evaluate, and theoretically interpret beliefs about confrontation among 124 substance abuse counselors in residential and outpatient treatment facilities. Counselor beliefs accounted for nearly one-third of the variance in counselor intention to use a confrontational counseling approach. Counselors who engaged in professional development activities held more favorable beliefs toward a non-confrontational counseling approach than counselors who had not engaged in such activities. Based on the findings in this study, counselor beliefs hold promise as critical components in developing an empirical and theoretical understanding of the gap between research and practice in substance abuse counseling.