Dr. Kevin Doyle, associate professor of counselor education in the College of Education and Human Services at Longwood, was one of five featured speakers on Capitol Hill in April discussing the ongoing opioid crisis that kills nearly 100 Americans each day.
“There are a lot of misconceptions that need to be cleared up about opioid addiction,” said Doyle, whose testimony focused on the pervasiveness of opioid abuse in all levels of society. “There are people from all walks of life who become addicted to these drugs.”
Doyle, a licensed professional counselor whose longtime private practice in Charlottesville focuses on addiction and who has published extensively on ethical issues of addiction counseling, joined four members of the American Counseling Association and a physician from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to educate Congress on treatment options for opioid-addicted patients and to advocate for increased funding for counseling.
“We have a larger societal responsibility to act as advocates for issues that affect the people in our communities,” said Doyle. “Opioid addiction is not someone else’s or some other state’s problem—Virginia is significantly impacted by the epidemic.”
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