A host of health-care professionals provide treatment for substance-abuse disorders. They include, but are not limited to, physicians, psychologists, social workers, nurses, pastors, and addiction or drug-abuse counselors. Institutions and programs that train these professionals are accredited, and the individuals, after undergoing the training, may obtain credentials from a professional or state body. In this context, one must define the terms accreditation and credential and examine the role of each in protecting the interests of the consumer of substance-abuse treatment.

In the United States, there are two forms of educational accreditation—institutional accreditation, which began in the late 1790s in New York State, and professional accreditation, which began in the first years of the twentieth century. Accreditation is a voluntary, self-regulating process designed to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of an educational institution. Institutional accreditation and professional accreditation have a pattern in common. It involves: (1) preparation...