Addiction Counseling (ADC)

This course focuses on evidence-based theories, principles and therapeutic interventions for treating people of all ages with substance-related and addictive disorders including relapse prevention.

Continuation of ADC 145, Addiction Theory and Counseling I. This course focuses on evidence-based theories, principles and therapeutic interventions for treating people with substance-related and addictive disorders including HIV brief risk intervention for the chemically dependent, relapse prevention, couples and family interventions, and community education.

This course will examine methods and techniques for assessing and placing clients with substance-related/use disorders. Content will include biopsychosocial testing, diagnosis, referrals, and the American Society of Addiction Medical Placement (ASAM) or another nationally recognized equivalent with DSM-5 assessment of co-occurring and addiction disorders.

Students learn record keeping skills including treatment planning, documenting client and counselor interactions, and report writing. Legal and professional standards of record keeping applicable to the chemical dependency and other health care fields will be covered.

Covers the ethical and multicultural issues of concern for the addictions counselor. Students will be trained in the ethical guidelines for treating individuals with substance-related and addictive disorders. Students will also learn the fundamentals of cross-cultural counseling by addressing the cultural impact of race, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, and socio-economic status on the development and progression of substance-related and addictive problems.

This class is designed to increase awareness about gambling as well as teaching skills required to assess and treat clients who have gambling disorder. The course will also help students to understand the etiology of this disorder.

Course may be repeated with different topic

This alcohol and drug studies course discusses the classes of drugs along with their effects on individuals, society, and human behavior. Equal emphasis is placed on pharmacology including drug classification, effects, detoxification, and withdrawal.

Students learn how to assess and assist clients who have co-occurring disorders, within their scope of practice. The course will also address the many myths related to mental illness treatment, barriers to assessing and treating co-occurring disorders, relevant research and prevalence data, commonly encountered mental disorders, applicable screening and assessment instruments and issues surrounding medication management and coordinating with other mental health professionals.