This course focuses on legal issues, ethical principles and professional considerations commonly faced by addiction professionals.

Topics covered include:

• Ethical principles and legal issues in addiction counseling
• Counselor-client relationships
• Transference/countertransference
• Boundary issues
• Clinical supervision and counselor competence
• Professional readiness
• Federal Confidentiality Regulations (42 CFR Part 2)
• The HIPAA Privacy Rule
• Application of NAADAC Code Ethics in professional practice

6 Hours – $100

This course focuses on the impact of substance abuse on the transmission, progression and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Topics covered include:

• Epidemiology
• Transmission and disease progression
• Testing and diagnosis
• Risk factors and risk reduction techniques
• Medical complications
• Special populations
• Barriers to treatment
• Prevention and treatment issues

10 Hours – $115

This course focuses on the physical, psychological and pharmacological effects of alcohol on the human body and on the human condition.

Topics covered include:

• Scope and prevalence of alcohol use in the United States
• Pharmacology of alcohol
• Tolerance and withdrawal issues
• Predisposing risk factors
• Misconceptions about alcohol use
• Short- and long-term behavioral effects
• Health consequences and medical complications
• Alcohol use during pregnancy

20 Hours – $125

This course focuses on medication-assisted approaches currently utilized in the treatment of alcohol and opioid use disorders.

Topics covered include:

• Brief history of medication-assisted treatment in the United States
• Pharmacology of medications used to treat alcohol and opioid addiction
• Treatment guidelines and protocols
• Duration of treatment considerations
• Side effects and contraindications
• Use of medication-assisted treatment with special populations
• Use of medication-assisted treatment during pregnancy
• Creating a supportive counseling experience
• Expanding access to medication-assisted treatment

40 Hours – $185

This course focuses on the physical, psychological and pharmacological effects of drugs of abuse. Psychoactive substances covered include cocaine, hallucinogens and dissociative drugs, heroin, inhalants, marijuana, MDMA (ecstasy), methamphetamine, prescription medications, steroids and other APEDs, and tobacco.

Topics covered include:

• Scope and prevalence of psychoactive substance use in the United States
• The pharmacology of addiction
• Brain chemistry and neurotransmission
• Brain rewards mechanisms and systems
• Tolerance and withdrawal
• Predisposing risk factors
• Short- and long-term behavioral consequences
• Short- and long-term medical complications and consequences
• Effects of prenatal and maternal use

45 Hours – $195

This course focuses on theoretical models of addiction and various theoretical approaches to substance abuse treatment.

Topics covered include:

• Behavioral approaches
• Cognitive-behavioral approaches
• Strategic-interactional approaches
• Humanistic and existential approaches
• Psychodynamic approaches
• Family-based approaches
• Group therapy approaches
• Evaluation and outcome studies

30 Hours – $145

This course focuses on the unique issues and best practice philosophies for addressing the specific needs of adolescents in substance abuse treatment.

Topics covered include:

• Special issues and unique needs of adolescents in substance abuse treatment
• Patterns and prevalence of alcohol and substance use among adolescents
• Consequences of adolescent drug use
• Brain development and adolescent drug use
• Tailoring treatment to adolescents needs
• Addiction medication issues
• Special populations
• Legal issues and considerations

20 Hours – $125

This course focuses on the unique issues and best practice philosophies for addressing the specific needs of women in substance abuse treatment.

Topics covered include:

• Special issues and unique needs of women in substance abuse treatment
• Women’s biopsychosocial uniqueness
• Principles of gender responsive treatment
• Patterns and prevalence of alcohol/substance use among women
• Physiological effects of alcohol, drugs and tobacco on women
• Pregnancy and birth outcomes
• Screening and assessment issues
• Barriers to treatment
• Recovery management and special populations

30 Hours – $145

This course offers substance abuse counselors a four-step process for addressing suicidal thoughts and behaviors in substance abuse treatment.

Topics covered include:

• Link between substance abuse and suicidality
• Risk and protective factors
• Demographic correlates
• Suicide assessment
• Techniques and procedures for addressing suicidal thoughts and behaviors
• Warning signs and safety plans
• Counselor skills and competencies
• Documentation and confidentiality issues

20 Hours – $125

This course offers a conceptual framework for working with diverse cultural groups in a substance abuse treatment setting.

Topics covered include:

• General principles for delivering culturally competent treatment services
• Health and social consequences of drug use
• Help seeking behaviors
• Access to care issues and barriers to treatment
• Core competences and skills
• Adapting treatment approaches to clients from culturally diverse backgrounds
• Drug cultures and the culture of recovery
• Culturally responsive assessment and treatment planning

25 Hours – $130

This course focuses on the principles and techniques of motivational interviewing and the application of motivational enhancement approaches to substance abuse treatment.

Topics covered include:

• Transtheoretical stages of change
• Principles of motivational interviewing
• Adapting motivational strategies and interventions to client stage of change
• Building readiness and commitment to change
• Engaging and retaining clients in treatment
• Motivational enhancements with coerced clients
• Measuring components of client motivation
• Integration of motivational approaches to diverse treatment populations and settings

30 Hours – $145

This course focuses on group treatment approaches with substance abusing clients.

Topics covered include:

• Advantages of group treatment for substance abusing populations
• Group models commonly used in substance abuse treatment
• Criteria for placement in groups
• Assessing readiness for group
• Group development and phase-specific tasks
• Managing common problems in groups
• Group therapy strategies and techniques
• Group leadership competencies and skills

30 Hours – $145

This course focuses on the integration of family therapy models and family therapy practices into substance abuse treatment.

Topics covered include:

• Family systems theory
• Primary models of family therapy
• Impact of alcoholism and substance abuse on families
• Differences between family therapy and substance abuse treatment approaches
• Family assessment issues
• Integration of family therapy practices into substance abuse treatment
• Cultural considerations
• Family therapy skills and competencies

25 Hours – $130

This course focuses on the unique issues of substance abuse among older adults and best-practice philosophies for treating older alcohol and or other substance abusing clients.

Topics covered include:

• Scope of the problem
• Vulnerabilities and risk factors
• Barriers to treatment
• Use and abuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications
• Screening and assessment,
• Referral and treatment issues
• Measurement of multidimensional outcomes for older adults
• Legal and ethical considerations

30 Hours – $145

This course focuses on the unique issues of substance abuse among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and best-practice philosophies for treating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender substance abusing clients.

Topics covered include:

• Substance use in the LGBT community
• Vulnerabilities and risk factors
• Barriers to treatment
• Homophobia and heterosexism
• Family of origin and family of choice issues
• Clinical and treatment issues
• Counselor competence issues
• Working with ethnic minority LGBT groups

30 Hours – $145

This course focuses on the unique issues of substance abuse among individuals with co-occurring psychiatric disorders and best-practice philosophies for treating clients with co-occurring disorders.

Topics covered include:

• Guiding principles for treating clients with co-occurring disorders
• Assessment and diagnostic criteria
• Psychopharmacology and psychotherapeutic medications
• Treatment settings and models
• Strategies and techniques for working with co-occurring disorder populations
• Dual recovery and mutual self-help support programs
• Workforce development and staff support
• Special populations

40 Hours – $185

This course focuses on evidence-based practices for working with individuals who have been exposed to acute and chronic traumas in substance abuse treatment settings.

Topics covered include:

• Rationale for trauma-informed care
• Trauma-informed intervention and treatment principles
• Types of trauma
• Common experiences and responses to trauma
• Trauma-related symptoms and disorders
• Screening and assessment issues and instruments
• Trauma-informed prevention and treatment objectives
• Clinical issues and counselor self-care
• Treatment strategies and interventions

30 Hours – $145