Kathryn Benson, LADC, NCAC II, QSAP, QSC, has worked in the counseling profession since 1972, with an initial emphasis on domestic violence, intervention and re-parenting of abusive parents. She has specialized in addiction issues since 1978. She maintains a clinical consulting practice in Nashville, Tenn., where she provides therapeutic services, clinical and program development and supervision services.

Currently she provides clinical consultation services to:

- Long-term Halfway House Programs - Adults
- Drug Courts
- Mental Health Dual Diagnosis Community Outpatient Program
- Veterans Homeless Community Assistance Program
- African American Outreach Program for HIV At-Risk Population
- Tennessee Prison for Women
- Residential Treatment Program - Adults and Adolescents
- Recovery Community Housing Program
- Outpatient Treatment Programs – Adult and Adolescents
- Domestic Violence Program

She currently serves as a Commissioner on the National Certification Commission (NCC) - the NAADAC Certification Board - where she holds the position of Chair of both the NCC Ethics and Intervention Committees.

She is the former Secretary for the NAADAC Board of Directors, is the past President of the Tennessee Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (TAADAC), the former President of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of (TAADAC) and past Chairperson of the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Ethics Committee.

She has spent many years providing creative, high-energy national trainings for counseling professionals in areas including, but not limited to:

- Professional Ethics (Treatment and Prevention)
- Clinical Supervision
- Family Systems
- Domestic Violence and Addictive Disorders
- Drug-Free Workplace
- DOT Drug Testing Rules and Regulations
- Licensure Preparation
- Counselor Competencies and Primary Function Training
- Clinical Intervention with the Impaired Healthcare Professional

She has served as a faculty member for the Journey Together Conference, Tennessee Together Again Conference, NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals' Conference as well as numerous local and national training events.

She has received numerous professional awards including Counselor of the Year, TAADAC Professional of the Year, TAADAC Lifetime Achievement Award and NAADAC - the Association for Addiction Professionals' Southeastern Professional of the Year.

Her personal motto - that your heart can never have what it longs for as long as it is filled with what you have settled for - is clearly demonstrated with her challenging of herself and her students/colleagues to step out of the comfort zone and take risks to discover who they can be. Benson regularly participates in volunteer work to both, give back to the community, and to keep her connected with other non-addiction areas of life's challenge and joy. In addition, her off-work time is spent with her husband of 31 years enjoying their telescope, astronomy and their two greyhounds.