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Continuing Education
Coming Soon
CE Substance Abuse Addiction Counseling
The course equips counselors with current evidence‑based practices for diagnosing and treating substance use disorders, covering DSM‑5 criteria, motivational interviewing, stages of change, MAT, and twelve‑step facilitation.
Who Should Take This
Licensed substance‑abuse counselors, social workers, and mental‑health professionals who have at least one year of clinical experience and need to meet continuing‑education requirements will benefit. They seek to update their assessment skills, integrate medication‑assisted treatment, and apply ethical, evidence‑based interventions in diverse settings.
What's Included in AccelaStudy® AI
Adaptive Knowledge Graph
Practice Questions
Lesson Modules
Console Simulator Labs
Exam Tips & Strategy
20 Activity Formats
Course Outline
65 learning goals
1
DSM-5 Substance Use Disorders
2 topics
Diagnostic criteria and classification
- Recognize the eleven diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders in the DSM-5 including impaired control, social impairment, risky use, and pharmacological indicators.
- Describe the severity spectrum of substance use disorders from mild to moderate to severe based on the number of criteria endorsed.
- Explain the differences between DSM-5 substance use disorder classification and the previous DSM-IV distinction between substance abuse and substance dependence.
- Analyze client presentations to determine the appropriate DSM-5 substance use disorder diagnosis including substance class, severity level, and specifiers.
Substance-specific presentations
- Identify the intoxication and withdrawal syndromes for alcohol, opioids, stimulants, cannabis, and sedative-hypnotics.
- Describe the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction including dopamine reward pathways, neuroadaptation, tolerance, and sensitization.
- Explain the clinical features that distinguish physiological dependence from psychological dependence and their implications for treatment planning.
- Analyze the risk factors and clinical course differences between opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and stimulant use disorder.
2
Motivational Interviewing
2 topics
Spirit and core skills
- Recognize the four elements of the spirit of motivational interviewing: partnership, acceptance, compassion, and evocation.
- Describe the core skills of motivational interviewing using the OARS framework: open questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries.
- Explain the concept of change talk and sustain talk and describe techniques for evoking and reinforcing change talk in clinical conversations.
- Analyze counseling transcripts to identify instances of the MI-inconsistent righting reflex and evaluate the counselor's use of MI-consistent strategies.
MI processes and integration
- Describe the four processes of motivational interviewing: engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning and explain how they build sequentially.
- Explain how to integrate motivational interviewing with cognitive-behavioral therapy and contingency management in addiction treatment.
- Analyze the use of motivational interviewing with resistant or mandated clients and evaluate strategies for building therapeutic alliance.
- Synthesize a treatment session plan that applies motivational interviewing techniques to address ambivalence in a client with moderate alcohol use disorder.
3
Stages of Change
1 topic
Transtheoretical model
- Identify the five stages of the transtheoretical model of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
- Describe the characteristics and therapeutic tasks associated with each stage of change and explain how relapse is a normal part of the change process.
- Explain stage-matched interventions and describe which counseling strategies are most effective at each stage of the change process.
- Analyze client statements and behaviors to accurately assess their current stage of change and adjust the intervention approach accordingly.
- Describe the decisional balance exercise and explain how it helps clients in the contemplation stage weigh the pros and cons of behavior change.
4
Medication-Assisted Treatment
2 topics
Opioid use disorder medications
- Identify the three FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder: methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone and their pharmacological classifications.
- Describe the mechanism of action, dosing protocols, and clinical considerations for methadone maintenance including federal regulatory requirements.
- Explain the mechanism of action of buprenorphine including partial agonist properties, ceiling effect, and the role of naloxone in combination formulations.
- Describe naltrexone's mechanism as an opioid antagonist, its extended-release formulations, and the requirement for full opioid detoxification before initiation.
- Analyze patient characteristics and treatment history to recommend the most appropriate MAT option and justify the clinical reasoning.
Alcohol use disorder medications
- Identify FDA-approved medications for alcohol use disorder including naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram and describe their primary mechanisms.
- Describe the role of the counselor in MAT including medication adherence support, psychoeducation, and coordination with prescribing providers.
- Analyze the barriers to medication-assisted treatment adoption including stigma, regulatory challenges, and gaps in counselor education.
5
Twelve-Step Facilitation
1 topic
Principles and facilitation techniques
- Recognize the twelve steps and twelve traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous and their adaptation for other substance use disorders.
- Describe twelve-step facilitation as an evidence-based treatment approach including core components of acceptance, surrender, and active involvement.
- Explain the counselor's role in facilitating twelve-step engagement including addressing client barriers, matching to meetings, and respecting autonomy.
- Describe the alternatives to twelve-step programs including SMART Recovery, Women for Sobriety, and LifeRing and explain their theoretical foundations.
- Analyze the evidence base for twelve-step facilitation and mutual aid groups and evaluate effectiveness across different populations.
6
Co-Occurring Disorders
1 topic
Integrated dual diagnosis treatment
- Recognize the prevalence and common patterns of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar disorder.
- Describe the four-quadrant model for categorizing co-occurring disorder severity and the treatment implications for each quadrant.
- Explain integrated treatment principles for co-occurring disorders including simultaneous treatment, shared planning, and the no-wrong-door approach.
- Describe the challenges of differentiating substance-induced mental disorders from independent psychiatric conditions and the clinical implications.
- Analyze a client presentation with co-occurring PTSD and opioid use disorder to develop an integrated treatment plan.
- Synthesize a program-level protocol for screening, assessing, and treating co-occurring disorders including staff training and outcome monitoring.
7
ASAM Criteria and Level of Care
1 topic
Assessment dimensions and placement
- Identify the six ASAM assessment dimensions: intoxication/withdrawal, biomedical, emotional/behavioral, readiness to change, relapse potential, and recovery environment.
- Describe the ASAM levels of care from early intervention through medically managed intensive inpatient and the criteria for each.
- Explain how ASAM criteria guide continued stay decisions, transfer, and discharge planning across the continuum of care.
- Describe the role of the multidisciplinary team in ASAM-guided treatment planning including counselor, physician, nurse, and case manager contributions.
- Analyze a multidimensional client assessment to determine the appropriate ASAM level of care and justify the placement decision.
8
Screening and Assessment
1 topic
Validated instruments and SBIRT
- Identify commonly used substance use screening tools including CAGE, AUDIT, DAST, and TAPS and describe their scoring thresholds.
- Describe the SBIRT model for screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment in primary care and emergency settings.
- Explain comprehensive substance use assessment components including biopsychosocial history, functional analysis, and collateral information.
- Describe the Addiction Severity Index and its domains for assessing medical, employment, drug/alcohol use, legal, family/social, and psychiatric functioning.
- Analyze screening and assessment results to formulate a clinical case conceptualization and individualized treatment recommendation.
9
Relapse Prevention
1 topic
Cognitive-behavioral relapse model
- Recognize the cognitive-behavioral model of relapse including high-risk situations, coping responses, self-efficacy, and the abstinence violation effect.
- Describe relapse prevention techniques including trigger identification, coping skills training, lifestyle balance, and warning sign monitoring.
- Explain the difference between a lapse and a relapse and describe therapeutic responses that support continued recovery.
- Describe mindfulness-based relapse prevention and its integration of mindfulness meditation with cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention strategies.
- Synthesize an individualized relapse prevention plan incorporating triggers, coping strategies, social support activation, and emergency protocols.
10
Ethical and Legal Issues
1 topic
Confidentiality and regulatory compliance
- Recognize the federal confidentiality regulations under 42 CFR Part 2 providing heightened privacy protections for substance use disorder treatment records.
- Describe the exceptions to 42 CFR Part 2 including medical emergencies, audit and evaluation, QSOA, and court orders.
- Explain the ethical issues surrounding involuntary treatment, civil commitment for substance use, and balancing autonomy with safety.
- Describe the ethical boundaries specific to addiction counseling including personal recovery disclosure, sponsorship relationships, and social media contact.
- Analyze scenarios involving conflicts between 42 CFR Part 2, HIPAA, and state mandated reporting laws.
- Synthesize a compliance training program for addiction treatment staff covering 42 CFR Part 2, informed consent, and ethical boundaries.
11
Treatment Approaches
1 topic
Evidence-based behavioral therapies
- Identify evidence-based behavioral therapies for substance use disorders including CBT, contingency management, community reinforcement, and matrix model.
- Describe the core components of cognitive-behavioral therapy for addiction including functional analysis, skills training, and cognitive restructuring.
- Explain contingency management principles including the use of tangible reinforcers to incentivize abstinence and treatment adherence.
- Analyze client treatment needs to select and sequence appropriate evidence-based therapies within an individualized treatment plan.
Scope
Included Topics
- DSM-5 substance use disorder diagnostic criteria, severity classification, and substance-specific intoxication and withdrawal syndromes.
- Motivational interviewing spirit, OARS skills, change talk/sustain talk, four processes, and integration with other treatment modalities.
- Transtheoretical model stages of change, stage-matched interventions, decisional balance, and relapse as part of the change process.
- Medication-assisted treatment for opioid and alcohol use disorders including methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram.
- Twelve-step facilitation as evidence-based treatment, twelve steps and traditions, and alternative mutual aid programs.
- Co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, four-quadrant model, integrated treatment, and differential diagnosis challenges.
- ASAM criteria six assessment dimensions, levels of care, placement decisions, continued stay, and multidisciplinary team roles.
- Substance use screening tools (CAGE, AUDIT, DAST, TAPS, ASI), SBIRT model, and comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment.
- Relapse prevention including cognitive-behavioral model, mindfulness-based relapse prevention, triggers, and individualized planning.
- Federal confidentiality 42 CFR Part 2, HIPAA intersections, involuntary treatment ethics, and addiction counselor ethical boundaries.
- Evidence-based behavioral therapies including CBT, contingency management, community reinforcement, and the matrix model.
Not Covered
- Detailed psychopharmacology or prescribing protocols beyond counselor-level medication-assisted treatment understanding.
- Advanced neuroscience research beyond the basic neurobiological model of addiction relevant to clinical practice.
- Gambling disorder, behavioral addictions, or process addictions not classified as substance use disorders in DSM-5.
- Criminal justice system operations or forensic assessment beyond their intersection with substance use treatment.
- Third-party billing procedures or insurance authorization processes for addiction treatment services.
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