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Kitchener | Also available online
Changes Due to COVID-19
In-person workshops from Sep. 2020 to Apr. 2021 will be live streamed through Zoom. In-person workshops from May to July 2021 are scheduled for on campus in either Kitchener or Milton. If we are unable to hold in-person events at the time of the training, the workshop will be changed to the live stream option. Registrations will be automatically switched to the live stream workshop and our usual cancellation policy will apply. If you have any questions, please contact the Faculty of Social Work Professional Development office at fswprofessionaldevelopment@wlu.ca prior to registering.
Held in-class in Kitchener, online or through a combination of both, the Addictions certificate is designed for anyone who wants to build on their knowledge and skills in the field of addictions. Two required workshops provide a solid foundation of knowledge about substance use, abuse and addiction. A variety of electives allow you to create a program of study that fits with your career path and interests. Some of the topics covered in this program include:
Upon completion, participants will be better able to assist clients facing addiction issues.
To complete the Addictions certificate, you must take a minimum of 84 course hours, including two required courses and 60 hours of electives. You can complete this certificate in as little as one year or take up to seven years.
You do not have to be working toward the Addictions certificate to take any of these courses.
All courses in the Addictions certificate program are approved for a specified number of continuing education hours (CEUs) through the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation (CACCF). See course descriptions for the number of CEUs each course is eligible for.
For information about the CACCF or how to become a certified Addictions Counsellor, visit www.caccf.ca.
This workshop offers an overview of addiction and addiction treatment to assist you in developing a holistic understanding of the bio-psycho-social nature of this universal phenomenon. Participants will discuss key terms in the addiction field and be introduced to the theories pertinent to the field and the range of treatment options available to assist those with an addiction issue, including harm reduction and the stages of change model along with an overview of the addiction treatment continuum of care.
Upon completion of this training, participants will:
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
This workshop will provide the participant with a solid foundation on the unique attributes of the range of psychoactive drugs from alcohol and cannabis to bath salts, crystal meth and oxycontin and how each in turn affects the brain and human behaviour. The four groupings of psychoactive agents depressants, including opioids, stimulants, hallucinogens and psychotherapeutic agents will be examined including the active effects on a user along with withdrawal. The social context of drug use will also be discussed providing a frame regarding how drugs are deemed licit or illicit in Canada as will the relationship between drug use and sleep.
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
Addiction affects everyone in the family. Family system theory suggests that individuals in families cannot interact without impacting the whole. This two-day workshop will explore just how each member may be impacted by addiction. At times, loved ones may resort to using coping skills that are maladaptive and are not helpful to them or to their loved one who is struggling with addiction. Family members who have lived with addiction may learn to not feel, not trust and not talk. Working with both family members and their loved one can be a challenge. This workshop will provide tools to help facilitate this process in an interactive and practical manner.
Upon completion of this training, participants will:
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
There are certain pleasurable behaviours that are necessary parts of daily living; however, when engaged in excessively, these behaviours can have a negative impact on people’s lives. This workshop will explore the etiology of two of these behaviours; sex and shopping, including risk factors as well as signs, consequences and implications for treatment. This training will address screening and assessment tools and strategies along with the current treatment landscape for shopping and sex addiction.
After this workshop, participants will be able to:
CACCF: 6 continuing education hours.
Individuals with substance use disorders are three times more likely to experience mental health issues in their lifetime. Similarly, individuals with mental health disorders are 20-50% more likely to experience substance use disorders. As a result of these significant rates, it is imperative to gain an understanding of the unique ways mental health and substance use co-occur and explore the unique challenges that individuals with concurrent disorders face in order to provide effective treatment. This two-day workshop examines the interplay of mental health disorders and substance abuse, with a focus on assisting participants in developing an increased awareness of concurrent disorders including how they are understood and detected, as well as which therapeutic approaches are best suited to effective treatment.
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
This interactive two-day workshop explores counselling techniques for treating addiction in an individual counselling setting. We will learn about the ways in which the treatment of addiction was conceptualized over time and consider our own theoretical leanings around the nature of addiction. Participants will have an opportunity to augment their counselling skills with hands-on practice in a variety of techniques with emphasis on brief solution focused therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy. The focus of this workshop is on the application of theory to the counselling setting and there will be many opportunities for participants to practice face-to-face skill development.
This workshop will not include detailed information on Motivational Interviewing, Relapse Prevention or the Indigenous population, as these topics are covered in other workshops offered in the Addictions Certificate program.
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
Motivational interviewing (MI), developed by clinical psychologists William Miller and Stephen Rollnick, is a person-centred approach used to elicit and strengthen clients’ motivation for positive behaviour change while addressing the common problem of ambivalence about change. This approach has been established as an evidence-based practice for the treatment of individuals with addiction problems. Clinical trials have found that clients exposed to MI (vs. more directive treatment interventions) are more likely to enter and complete addiction treatment, and have substantially higher abstinence and reduction rates in their substance use. This two-day interactive workshop will introduce participants to the clinical method of MI and provide opportunities for hands-on practice with applying this approach to motivate clients to change problematic substance use and other addictive behaviours.
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
Recent research has confirmed what addiction treatment providers already knew to be true: the large majority of people who suffer from addiction issues also have a history of trauma and/or victimization. Experiences of trauma can cause lasting psychological and physiological effects including deficiencies in emotional regulation, problem solving and impulse control. This, in turn, can lead to the use of alcohol, drugs and/or addictive behaviours as a "functional fit" to cope with overwhelming emotions, physical dysregulation and other post-traumatic symptoms. This two-day workshop explores the connection between trauma and addiction with a focus on providing knowledge, tools and resources to effectively serve clients who are dealing with both trauma and addiction issues.
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
Relapse prevention (RP) is a broad term that refers to a wide range of therapeutic techniques that aid in the prevention of lapses and the relapse of addictive behaviours. The term relapse was initially used in the medical field to refer to those people who re-experience a disease stage (Marlatt and Donovan, 2005). In the addiction field, this term is commonly associated with returning to addictive behaviours/substances after a period of abstinence.
RP is essentially cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with a focus on the maintenance stage of addictive behaviour change that has three main goals:
RP aims to increase the client’s awareness of high-risk situations and increase coping skills, self-efficacy and control of internal and external triggers that may make the client more vulnerable to relapse. Relapse prevention is highly educational and a specialized skill set that is integral to addressing all types of addictions.
For additional learning, the following books are recommended by instructor:
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
This one-day workshop aims to help participants gain an understanding of the unique considerations of working with youth who are experiencing addiction issues. This workshop will explore how substance abuse can influence the developmental stages from adolescence to young adulthood. Through interactive learning modules and case studies, an overview of bio-psycho-social approaches to assessments, interventions and treatment modalities will be discussed.
Participants will be provided with information about resources and treatment options currently available.
CACCF: 6 continuing education hours.
There are currently ten Addictions workshops available online, allowing you to complete the certificate program on your own schedule and from your own location. Each online workshop takes six weeks to complete and will require approximately two hours of work per week. Instructors will use a variety of learning methods, such as discussion boards, videos, quizzes and PowerPoint presentations to provide a rich learning experience.
You don't have to log on to the course at any particular time, but the course is broken into six separate weeks so you are required to log on and complete the work each week. Each weekly lesson includes:
This online course offers an overview of addiction and addiction treatment to assist you in developing a holistic understanding of the bio-psycho-social nature of this universal phenomenon. Participants will examine what addiction entails, be introduced to distinct theories of why addiction arises, the range of treatment options available to assist those with an addiction issue including harm reduction and the stages of change model along with an overview of the addiction treatment continuum of care.
Upon completion of this training, participants will:
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
This online workshop will provide the participant with a solid foundation on the unique attributes of the range of psychoactive drugs from alcohol and cannabis to bath salts, crystal meth and oxycontin and how each in turn affects the brain and human behaviour. The four groupings of psychoactive agents depressants, including opioids, stimulants, hallucinogens and psychotherapeutic agents will be examined including the active effects on a user along with withdrawal. The social context of drug use will also be discussed providing a frame regarding how drugs are deemed licit or illicit in Canada.
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
Addiction affects everyone in the family. Family system theory suggests that individuals in families cannot interact without impacting the whole. This online workshop will explore how each member may be impacted by addiction. At times, loved ones may resort to using coping skills that are maladaptive and are not helpful to them or their family members struggling with addiction. Family members who have lived with addiction may learn to not feel, not trust and not talk. Working with both family members and the person struggling with addiction can be a challenge. This interactive and practical online workshop will provide various tools to assist those working with family members.
Upon completion of this training, participants will:
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
Behavioural addictions are garnering increasing attention in both clinical contexts and in addiction research. There have been two significant changes that have put a spotlight on behavioural addictions. In 2013, the DSM-5 reclassified pathological gambling from an impulse control disorder to an addiction and in 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) officially added Gaming Disorder to the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). These changes, informed by advancements in neuroscience, exemplify an evolving understanding and acknowledgement of behavioural processes as having similar features to that of substance abuse.
This course on behavioural addictions, will provide participants with an overview of problem gambling, gaming and technology overuse and will explore the similarities and differences between behavioural addictions and substance abuse. Even though there are many similarities between substance use and behavioural addictions, providing treatment for behavioural addictions requires a specialized skill set and knowledge base.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
It is estimated that 70-80% of people seeking help for substance use, and 15-20% seeking help for mental health, are experiencing concurrent disorders (CCSA, 2013). Co-occurring substance use and mental health problems present challenges for people in accessing comprehensive support and services as, historically, the treatment options have been largely compartmentalized. This course is designed to increase the number of professionals who are CD informed across diverse fields of practice. Students will gain the fundamental skills and knowledge to provide an integrated treatment approach, ensuring a more positive and effective experience for clients.
In this course, participants will:
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
This interactive workshop explores counselling techniques for treating addiction in an individual counselling setting. The way we think about addiction will impact the way we treat addiction and so we will learn about the ways addiction has been conceptualized over time and consider our own views that shape our treatment approach. Participants will have an opportunity to augment their counselling skills with practice in a variety of techniques using brief solution focused therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy. The focus of this workshop is on the application of theory to the counselling setting and there will be many opportunities for participants to practice skill development.
This workshop will not include detailed information on Motivational Interviewing, Relapse Prevention or the Indigenous population, as these topics are covered in other workshops offered in the Addictions Certificate program.
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
This online course is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of specialized populations as well as provide some practical tools to engage and support these clients across a broad range of settings. This course will be subdivided into six weekly modules that will use various methods to facilitate meaningful dialogue and learning. Upon completion of this course individuals will have the knowledge to help generate foundational skills in ensuring a client centered practice, whether leading to lasting change or "planting a seed".
Topics of the course will include:
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
This online course will take an expansive view of harm reduction, allowing participants to gain insights into why, despite the controversy that still swirls around the topic, it is fundamental practice within the addiction field. By the conclusion of the course participants should have gained the ability to explain to individuals inside and outside of the addiction field why claiming that harm reduction strategies promote drug use in the same as stating that wearing a seat belt promotes automobile collisions.
Recent research has confirmed what addiction treatment providers already knew to be true: the large majority of people who suffer from addiction issues also have a history of trauma and/or victimization. Experiences of trauma can cause lasting psychological and physiological effects including deficiencies in emotional regulation, problem solving and impulse control. This, in turn, can lead to the use of alcohol, drugs and/or addictive behaviours as a "functional fit" to cope with overwhelming emotions, physical dysregulation and other post-traumatic symptoms.
This workshop explores the connection between trauma and addiction with a focus on providing knowledge, tools and resources to effectively serve clients who are dealing with both trauma and addiction issues.
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
Note: There is quite a bit of overlap between this workshop and Foundations of Trauma, so we don’t recommend taking both Foundations of Trauma and Trauma and Addictions.
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours.
Relapse prevention (RP) is a broad term that refers to a wide range of therapeutic techniques that aid in the prevention of slips, lapses and relapses. The term relapse was initially used in the medical field to refer to those people who re-experience a disease stage (Marlatt and Donovan, 2005). In the addiction field, this term is commonly associated with returning to addictive behaviours/substances after a period of abstinence. Relapse Prevention is essentially cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and has three main goals:
Relapse Prevention aims to increase the client’s awareness of high-risk situations and increase coping skills, self-efficacy and control of internal and external triggers that may make the client more vulnerable to relapse.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
CACCF: 12 continuing education hours
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