Substance Use Disorders Post-baccalaureate UCERT

This course is designed to acquaint the student with physiological, psychological, and sociological aspects of commonly abused psychoactive drugs and their effects. Topics covered for each category of psychoactive drug include: general information, incidence and prevalence, mechanism of action, specific psychological and physical effects, and treatment approaches.

Full course description for Pharmacology of Addictive Drugs

This course is designed to be an overview of the practice of Alcohol and Drug Counseling. It covers the main theories or models which explain what chemical dependency is. It also provides a survey of the practice of alcohol and drug counseling, including history, licensure requirements, 12 core functions, continuum of services, culture, evidence-based practices, laws, ethics and professionalism. An orientation to the Alcohol and Drug major will also be provided.

Full course description for Introduction to Substance Use Disorders

This course introduces students to basic counseling skills. As such, it is designed to help students develop essential helping skills needed for client engagement, follow-through, completion and overall therapeutic effectiveness. Specific skills and techniques covered include; developing rapport, building empathy and listening, encouraging trust, self-disclosure, immediacy, questioning & evoking, addressing discrepancies, etc. This course is highly experiential in its format. Students will participate in classroom exercises, real plays, and video-taping of counseling skills.

Full course description for Counseling and Interviewing Skills

This course is designed to teach students the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully perform assessment interviews and diagnosis of substance use problems. Students will learn about: the qualities of good assessment, motivational interviewing skills, the interview process, screening tools, "Rule 25", "DSM IV", placement and treatment planning. This course meets the required 30 hours of class-room training to be a "Rule 25" assessor.

Full course description for Assessment of Substance Use Disorders

This course teaches the dynamics of group counseling. Students learn the skills of group counseling in a classroom and Training group experience. Topics include: stages of group, group rules and goals, group leader skills, and types of groups. Students learn writing and charting skills necessary to document client progress. Emphasis is on interaction among group members, the counselors role in group facilitating, and techniques to help group members learn to view their own behavior for self-awareness and self-disclosure.

Full course description for Group Counseling

This course brings students an understanding of race and racism while it explores the cultural dynamics of alcohol and drug counseling for diverse groups. It examines the intersection between cultural identity and the knowledge, skills and attitude necessary for addressing unique counseling issues for different cultural groups. The class reviews the history of how racist agendas have shaped the fabric of the systems that serve our clients. Students review the concept of white privilege and how it is reflected in the disparity of treatment opportunities. It also provides students with information on the history, cultural distinctiveness, and counseling concerns for the following cultural groups: African-Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, European Americans, Lesbian Gay Bi-Sexual and Transgender, Women and Feminism, and Men.

Full course description for Racial and Cultural Considerations for Alcohol and Drug Counseling

Significant numbers of chemically-dependent individuals have one or more mental disorders. This course is designed to help the alcohol and drug counselor to become more familiar with the most common mental disorders, the interrelationship between mental disorders and substance abuse, and various counseling methods and treatment approaches for the dually disordered client. This course covers the main features of the most common mental disorders, how they interact with substance abuse, assessment and counseling approaches, medications used for treatment, and community resources used to help these clients.

Full course description for Co-Occurring Disorders: Substance Use and Mental Health

This course provides students with a beginning understanding of the essential components of successful case management for alcohol and drug counseling. That is, the activities which a counselor engages in to bring services, agencies, resources, and people together within a planned and coordinated framework of action toward achievement of established clinical goals. Specifically the course will focus on, the theory of case management for alcohol and drug counseling, related state and federal laws, the Twelve Core Functions, the Rules of Professional Conduct, and the practice of clinical writing.

Full course description for Case Management for Alcohol and Drug Counseling

This course is designed to help students evaluate their readiness, prepare for and then select a practicum site for Alcohol and Drug Counseling. Examples of course topics include: examination of personal readiness, practicum or career goals, review an array of possible practicum sites and making an appropriate selection for practicum.

Full course description for Alcohol and Drug Counseling Pre-Practicum Seminar

This course is intended to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired during their academic coursework and transfer it into clinical settings. This internship requires students to demonstrate competence in the Transdisciplinary Foundations of 8 Practice Dimensions (12 core functions) of alcohol and drug counseling, including culturally competent and professionally ethical practice.

Full course description for Alcohol and Drug Counseling Group Practicum I

The alcohol and drug counseling group internship is intended to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired during their academic coursework and transfer it into clinical settings. This Internship requires students to demonstrate competence in the Transdisciplinary Foundations and 8 Practice Dimensions (12 core functions) of alcohol and drug counseling, including culturally competent and professionally ethical practice. In the classroom portion of this course, students will review and critically analyze counseling style, diversity, ethics and the agency in which they are conducting their internship. In addition, they will continue to practice and enhance clinical skills and techniques.

Full course description for Alcohol and Drug Counseling Group Practicum II