In 1998, in cooperation with its Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network, the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), published TAP 21. It is as a comprehensive list of 123 competencies essential to effective practice and outlines the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to become fully proficient in each competency. TAP 21 has been used to develop and evaluate addiction counseling curricula, advise students and assess counseling proficiencies.
The overarching competencies in the updated version of TAP 21 remain largely unchanged from the original. Some Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (KSAs) have been modified from those in the 1998 edition to reflect new thinking in the field, such as the national focus on recovery and recovery-oriented systems of care. In addition, the competencies and the KSAs in the clinical evaluation and treatment planning sections were rewritten to reflect current best practices. Bibliographies were updated to include publications through 2005. The layout of the publication has been improved, making the information more accessible and useful.
