by Donovan Kuehn

Donovan Kuehn
NAADAC Director of Operations and Outreach

Recognition: it is hard-wired into the human brain. From the time we’re children, seeking approval from our parents, to adulthood and our work lives - a positive comment or reward can help keep us motivated and striving for improvement.

Abraham Maslow, a psychologist from the mid-20th century, formulated a theory on the needs of human beings. This theory, later dubbed “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,” laid out the basic components of life that people need to survive and thrive. His theory laid out five steps, with each component needing to be fulfilled before a person could move on to the next step. The progression of Maslow’s needs are as follows:

Physiological Needs

These are biological needs: oxygen, food, water and a relatively constant body temperature. These needs are the strongest needs because a person requires these things to survive.

Safety Needs

After all physiological needs are satisfied, people then seek security. Adults have little awareness of their security needs except in emergencies, however children often display signs of insecurity and need to feel safe.

Needs of Love, Affection and Belongingness

People seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation by both giving and receiving love, affection and seeking a sense of belonging. Needs for Esteem

When the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the need for esteem moves to the fore. Humans have a need for self-respect and desire respect from others. When this need is satisfied, people feel self-confident and valuable. When these needs are frustrated, people often feel inferior, weak, helpless and worthless.

Needs for Self-Actualization

When all of the other needs are satisfied, Maslow determined that the final need was for self-actualization. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person’s need to be and do what a person was “born to do.” “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write.”

So, how does this play out in the workplace for addiction professionals?

In 2001, NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, embarked on a three year program of study funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) called the Practitioner Services Network. One part of the study looked at counselors and what motivated them to select the addiction services as their career choice.

The study’s findings indicated that personal reasons rather than structural or organizational factors were the primary motivation for addiction professionals entering the profession. Factors such as helping others in their communities, having friends or family with addiction problems and the challenging nature of the work were of greater importance than salary, benefits or employment opportunities. For example, 95% of people in the study indicated that the challenging or interesting nature of the work was influential in determining their career choice and 91% indicated that their decision was due in part to their desire to work in a helping profession. In contrast, only 16% indicated that salary or benefits were of great or very great influence in their decision. Similarly, only 19% were influenced by job availability in the field.

Relating this to Maslow’s hierarchy, the counselors in the study seem to be motivated less by basic needs and more for something that creates personal fulfillment, esteem and self-actualization. People working in the addiction services profession are often motivated by things other than money, often through other rewards that people can receive.

An important way to recognize the critical work performed in the addiction services profession is through recognition programs - including the NAADAC Awards Program. Awards are a way to recognize professional excellence, a way to benchmark your performance against other outstanding players in the profession and a chance to pause and celebrate the important work that practitioners do around the nation.

We all work for paychecks, and it is this compensation that helps us survive in society. However, the opportunity to thrive and show our best side is an incredibly potent motivator. If you know of someone who deserves national recognition for their work, please nominate him or her for a NAADAC award. (see info in box on left)

More details are available at www.naadac.org > click on About NAADAC > Recognition and Awards, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 800.548.0497.