Upcoming Classes

This class introduces aid the counselor in working with culturally diverse individuals, explores barriers to treatment and recovery, and presents recommended treatment approaches for diverse populations. The importance of cultural diversity as a factor in substance use disorder treatment will be discussed, and cultural competency will be defined.

Note: Due to a limited class size for small group skills practice – registration tuition must be paid in full and is non-transferable and non-refundable. Early registration is strongly encouraged.

Addiction Counseling Skills is considered part of the “Core Curriculum” and basic to the foundational training of an addiction counselor. The purpose of this class is to provide a framework and counseling model for working with clients with substance misuse and addiction. The focus of this course is to teach the counseling skills needed to help clients process their information and move toward the change process. The models utilized are client centered, counselor-directed therapy along with motivational spirit of counseling. Recording and feedback will assist the participants in developing a standard level of counseling skills proficiency.

The training is designed to assist the counselor to develop and practice skills to assist clients to identify and strengthen intrinsic motivation for positive change. This is an advanced course in Motivational Interviewing so it is expected that the participant will be able to demonstrate the foundational MI skills by conducting a client interview using the OARSI and responding to no-change talk (resistance). The format will be interactive and experiential in nature. Participants will be afforded an opportunity to obtain focused practice and will receive individualized feedback regarding their MI skills with student and trainer ratings.

This training will focus on professional and ethical issues specific to the practice of addiction counseling and the treatment of co-occurring disorders. This training will build and strengthen the trainee’s knowledge of NAADAC’s Code of Ethics, and federal and state rules and regulations that are essential for safe practice. In this training, trainees will be exposed to the Colorado Mental Health Practice Act including the prohibited activities,42 CFR Part 2, and HIPAA that regulate the practice of psychotherapy including addiction counseling. Trainees will learn about the important roles and activities of BHA (Behavioral Health Administration) and DORA (Department of Regulatory Agencies). In this training, trainees will learn the process of certification and credentialing to legally practice in Colorado. There will be an emphasis on developing critical thinkingand ethical decision-making skills. Trainees will learn about the differences between privacy and confidentiality, and exceptions to confidentiality.

This class presents an overview of a psychologically integrated model of domestic violence intervention, including a review of the MCMI-III data and batterer typologies. Both risk assessment and
treatment planning will be discussed and applied to case studies.

This class will help the aspiring addiction counselor to understand the use of group therapy in the addiction treatment field and be able to demonstrate the skills necessary to facilitate a therapy group. The class will focus on the group process and will discuss diversity within groups as well as the many challenges a group leader may face. The class will also present models of effective group practice.

(Pre-requisite is Addiction Counseling Skills)

In this training, the focus will be on the complex relationship between the client’s drugs of choice, lifestyle choices, and physiological health. Discussions will include immune system health, liver function, harm reduction and specific diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. Strategies will be presented for screening to determine level of risk, referral, and education about disease prevention and treatment.

Training in pharmacology is a cornerstone of addiction counseling and a major part of what differentiates the professional field of addiction counseling from other mental health disciplines. This class will provide a solid base of knowledge about the drugs of abuse including what is happening in human physiology and behaviors

This training is designed to help a counselor learn the models of supervision and tools necessary to use as a standard of supervision practice. In this course the counselor will be exposed to supervision that is tailored to the supervisee’s developmental level of experience. Ethical supervisory practices, including supervision contracts and work verification practices, will be discussed. Videotaping and feedback will assist the counselors in developing a standard level of supervisory skills proficiency.

This class will introduce the counselor to the concept of trauma-informed care, an approach that is being adopted more frequently within the human services fields based upon an increased awareness of the ways in which trauma impacts functioning. It will describe and define what trauma informed care is and ways in which a traditional treatment setting can be modified to increase the sense of safety experienced by consumers. Students will learn how to incorporate trauma-informed practices into treatment with diverse populations, such as military veterans, women, people with cooccurring disorders and other groups

Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based practice with widespread use in addiction counseling and is considered to be crucial to the development of counseling skills for this population. The class will focus on learning the motivational interviewing model. In this training, participants will learn the model of stages of change, the tools for creating an environment where positive change can occur, and practice of the skills. Videotaping and feedback will assist the participants in developing a standard level of counseling skills proficiency in MI.

(Pre-requisite is Addiction Counseling Skills) 

This training presents the history and theories of addiction, the competencies required of an addiction counselor and scope of practice, and the NIDA principles of effective treatment. There will be an exploration of current evidence-based practices, addiction counselor certification and licensure in Colorado and levels of care offered for addiction treatment as well as certification requirements and professional readiness for addiction counselors.

For the purposes of this class, co-occurring disorders refers to co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders. The class will focus on the interrelationship of these disorders and the differing needs of this population group. The class is structured to meet the needs of addiction counselors to aid in coordinating integrated treatment services to more effectively treat the whole person. It will discuss three types of substance abuse programs: addiction only services, dual diagnosis capable, and dual diagnosis enhanced. Evidence-based treatment approaches with co-occurring disorders will be presented along with elements of treatment planning, importance of diagnosis and the use of medications to enhance treatment. The primary resource is SAMHSA TIP 42 “Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with Co-occurring Disorders.”