Addiction Counselling

Course details

Programme Aims:

• To contribute to the development of professional addiction counselling in Ireland
• To deliver high quality graduates with the ability to work with affected people to enhance their capacity to live without misuse of substances and to contribute to their personal and social development
• To develop individual participants to have a heightened awareness of others and self with ethical and empowering attitudes

Work Placement

The placement of students with approved treatment facilities is an integral part of the proposed Diploma in Addiction Counselling. The structure of the programme means that students will attend 2 weeks of Academic training in Clonmel (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) followed by a 6 week placement. This cycle will occur 6 times over the 12 months of the programme. This means a total of:

• 6 Academic Blocks (2 weeks each)
• 6 Placement Blocks (5 of these are 6 weeks long and 1 is 7 weeks long)
• 1 Graduation Week at the end of the programme
• This provides each student with 1400 hours of supervised clinical placement.

What is the programme about?

The aim of the programme is to provide those working in the field of substance misuse with basic skills for successfully working with affected people so that these inpiduals will be able to make decisions and take action to live more effectively without misuse of substances. This programme is an entry level course for those new to the profession and will provide a base for advanced standing in the field. For those who already have a professional qualification in the area of counselling or similar, the programme will enhance their ability to work with clients who are impacted by addiction and substance misuse.

Entry Requirement

Applicants will be required to be 23 years of age or older at the time of commencement of the programme, to successfully complete an interview and to demonstrate an appropriate level of academic experience for entry to a programme at Level 7 of the National Framework of Qualifications.

Applicants will be offered a place on the programme on the basis of a written application and successful completion of an interview.

The interview process will be used to assess the applicant‘s capacity to complete the programme and will include:

• A discussion of the applicant‘s reasons for wishing to do the programme
• A discussion of the applicant‘s background and experience

An assessment of the applicant‘s suitability for the programme will be based on:

• Interest in helping others, recognizing that all patients will not respond positively to the counselling process
• Demonstrated flexibility and willingness to work with a variety of treatment approaches
• Personal stability so as to be an effective role model for the patient.

The recruitment and interview process will be conducted in accordance with an appropriate marking scheme to determine suitability for programme participation.

Examinations

On successful completion of the programme, graduates will be awarded a Diploma in Addiction Counselling. This is a 60 credit full time programme at Level 7 of the NFQ (National Framework of Qualifications). It is approved by HETAC as a Special Purpose Award Diploma.

Course Content

• Theories of addiction and impulse control disorders.
• The brain and pharmacology of addiction and compulsive gambling
• Approaches and clinical pathways and services for treatment of addictions and compulsive gambling
• Human development, Counselling theory and skills
• Family theory and treatment
• Treatment planning and other core functions of the addiction counsellor
• Group theory and practice
• Developing the ethical counsellor
• Treatment of special populations