One of the most critical skills to have as an addictions counsellor is the ability to engage clients so that they want to enter into recovery and communicate clearly to them what they'll need to do in order to recover. All the biological, psychological and pharmacological knowledge in the world is useless unless they can firmly commit themselves to the path to recovery and understand what needs to be done. The most crucial time in engaging with addicted clients is the first meeting. Indeed, unless this goes well and clients can relate to the counsellor and their knowledge of addiction, the client will, more than likely, never return. So it is imperative that the counsellor connect strongly with their clients right from the onset. Clients with addiction issues are among the most reluctant to engage and are often looking for a reason to dismiss the benefits of counselling.
Consequently the rate of success of addiction counselling and treatment is very low. It is true that one of the reasons for this is that addiction is such a difficult challenge to overcome. However, one of the reasons for the lack of success is that most programs don't have an easily relatable model to explain what addiction is, how it affects a person and why recovery is so much more than just simply quitting a substance or a process. Also, most people who enter counseling for addiction believe they'll be cured if they just quit using. Current treatment programs do not do enough to dispel this myth about recovery. In fact the word "treatment" implies that the program can cure addiction which is never the case with addiction.
Our Program
Our approach includes a very simple, yet powerful model your clients can easily relate to that explains the true nature of addiction and what real recovery is. Armed with an in-depth understanding of addiction and an easy way to explain it to your clients, you will be much better equipped to help them overcome one of the most challenging and devastating issues anyone can face. While other training programs primarily focus on things like neurobiology and pharmacology, our program focuses on developing your skills to engage your clients and your capacity to help them understand what they need to do to recover from addiction. If you are looking for training that will help you get more clients and keep them engaged in their healing process, this program is perfect for you.
Based firmly in CBT principles our training program, which is approved for Continuing Education Credits (CECs), clarifies why addiction (indeed any behavior) is always controlled by thoughts and feelings. Consequently, when somebody simply quits the behavior of using and does nothing to undo how their thoughts and feelings control their behavior, it is often just a question of time before they relapse. In other words, it is crucial to dismantle the cognitive and emotional structures that have kept their addiction going. Without this crucial step, a person can never truly overcome an addiction. Our addiction training program for counselors will take you through everything you need to know to be effective at helping clients through their addiction issues using a model that is simple and easy for clients to relate to.
Continuing Education Credits
Our courses are approved for continuing education credits with the following organizations
To search for one of our courses approved with the CCPA, select "Activities approved for CEC's" and type in the exact name of the course you are interested in
ACCT members received a 10% discount on all our courses. Simply enter the coupon code provided to you by the Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists of Canada.
We are currently in the process of having our courses approved with the following organizations. We will update the status as the process unfolds.
Note:pMany other professional associations grant continuing education credits for our courses. Simply check with the association you are registered with to confirm how many credits they will grant you for each course you are interested in.
The courses below can be taken individually or register for the whole program. Students will receive a certificate of completion for each course completed.
All courses are delivered online and are asynchronous so students can complete them at their leisure.
Click on any course to learn more about it.
Basic Addictions Counselling: The Fundamentals: Covers the basic concepts that addiction counsellors need to understand: Defines addiction, different types of addiction, different categories of drugs, current issues on the drug scene today and the changes that occur in a person's brain as a result of getting caught up in addiction. Also covered are the Addiction Spectrum of Care and the various interventions on it, how denial plays a complex and pervasive role in addiction, the various challenges counsellor face when working in this field. Participants will also learn the Transtheoretical Model of Change from Prochaska & Di Clemente which is one of the most useful and important model for addictions counsellors to be familiar with. 11 & 24 minute video. Quizzes. 4 hours. Includes booklet; $80
The Process of Change: What you need to know to become an expert at it: Describes 3 different models highlighting different aspects of the change process. 56 minute video. 2 hours. Includes booklet. $40
The Stages of Addiction: Understanding how addiction progresses and other Important considerations: Explains how addiction progresses using a stage model. 50 minute video. Includes booklet. 2 hours. $40
The True Nature of Addiction and Recovery: Understanding how addiction impacts someone psychologically and what they need to do to recover from it. 2 videos (15 & 45 minutes). Includes booklet. 2 hours. $40
Feelings and Addiction: Reveals how addicts have a dysfunctional relationship to their feelings and why it is crucial that this be restructured if they are to succeed in recovery. 2 videos (8 & 14 minutes). Includes booklet. 1.5 hours. $30
How to work with relapses: Teaches counsellors how they can work with their clients when they relapse. 13 minute video. 15 page booklet included. 1 hour. $20
Codependency: How being in relationship with an addict can make you sick: Examines how people in relationship with addicts have the same characteristics as people who have the addiction. In other words, they also have a problem that needs to be dealt with. 17 minute video. Includes booklet. 1 hour. $20
Grieving in Recovery: Looks at grief in recovery and teaches students about the Kubler-Ross 5 stages of grief that is the most widely used model on grieving. 12 minute video. Includes booklet. 1 hour. $20
Gratitude in Recovery: Shows how an addict's dysfunctional relationship to gratitude has fueled their addiction and demonstrates how regaining a healthy sense of gratitude will lead them back to health. 8 minute video. Includes booklet. 1 hour. $20
Spirituality and Recovery: The role of spirituality in Recovery: Uses a non-religious perspective on spirituality to explore how the loss of a spiritual connection to the world has fueled addiction, and shows why it is essential for the addict to regain that in order to get healthy again. 22 minute video. Includes booklet. 1 hour. $20
Building a strong recovery program: Explains what a strong recovery program is and why it is essential to build one if a person wants to succeed at long-term recovery. 47 minute video. Includes booklet. 1.5 hrs. $30
Grieving from an Indigenous perspective: This course discusses the unique characteristics of grieving for people of Indigenous descent. This is an excellent course for anyone who is counselling Indigenous people and wishes to learn about the unique and difficult challenges Indigenous communities go through on a regular basis. 1.0 hours. $20
Course Format
For your convenience and ease of access, all courses are offered online using downloadable PDF's and online videos. All courses include printed material, videos and quizzes. Participants must answer the quizzes correctly to complete the course and be awarded their "Certificate of Completion"
Course Schedule
All our programs and courses are self-paced and always available so you can start whenever you wish and complete them at your leisure. Individual course length varies from 1 to 4 hours. Once you've started an individual course you have 30 days to complete it before your access is revoked.
Prerequisites
Anyone can take our courses so there are no prerequisites. Most people taking our courses do so for professional development but some do it for personal reasons. However, counsellors wishing to earn continuing education credits must meet the education requirements set by their respective accreditation bodies.
Once you complete an individual course, you will be able to download a Certificate Of Completion for your records or for you to display.
I have been in this field for over 25 years and in personal recovery from addiction for 35 years. I have worked on the front lines of addiction with homeless people, in some of the most respected residential treatment centers in the country, and have been a college instructor teaching various counselling and addictions counselling courses. I am a published author and was a keynote speaker at 6th World Congress of Addiction in Prague in 2017. I have travelled across the country giving workshops and training staff in addiction and mental health. Over the years, I developed a way to explain addiction that would help my clients not only understand how addiction has affected them but also make them want to enter into true recovery and not just quit using which is what most people call recovery. In these courses you will learn, in just a few hours, what it took me decades to figure out. You will then be able to take my model and use it with your clients and help more of them go further into recovery than you have previously. Because I grew up in an alcoholic home, addiction has been a constant in my life since the day I was born, and it has been my mission for the past 25 years to help people overcome addiction. These courses contain the sum of my knowledge about addiction and recovery. I'm confident they will help you in your quest to improve the lives of your clients.
Additional Resources
Most of the material for this course has been taken from our Next Step program. The Next Step program is a comprehensive addiction treatment and aftercare program that counsellors can offer their clients. If you are looking for a more effective program to help your clients overcome their addiction, click on the link below to learn more about how you can offer this program in your clinic.
All the videos in our courses are available for purchase. Each video is available either in DVD or USB format and/or online for streaming. Choose the format that is best for you and build up your library of resources so that you can better assist your clients through their healing process. These videos make an excellent addition to your library of resources so that you can refresh yourself about a subject when needed or share the video with your clients.
