|
|
Addictions and Community Services Worker
Reward yourself with a multi-faceted career that is committed to assisting alcohol and drug abuse clients within your community. UCW Academy of Health’s Addictions and Community Services Worker diploma caters to students who are interested in working in the professional health care sector. Graduates provide support in child, youth, and family social services, alcoholism, drug abuse, family violence and senior care. Career opportunities also exist in group homes, correctional and community mental health centres, and facilities for the physically and developmentally handicapped. Students are introduced to a wide range of core skills including writing, file management, assessment and treatment planning, counselling, and communications. Since addictions and community service workers are required to interact with clients and health care professionals on a daily basis these core skills are essential to the job. Additionally, students study the topics of psychology, pharmacology, addiction prevention and intervention, and other medical areas. Each student must complete a total of 320 hours over the course of 8 weeks in a mandatory clinical placement. UCW Academy of Health provides a Career and Employment Strategies course that covers job searching and interviewing techniques, resume writing, and job counselling services to help students prepare for the work world.
"Instructors are actively practicing in the field and through feedback from Practice Advisory Committees.” Dr. Betty Koo, Health Care Instructor
Program Courses
The program outline below is for British Columbia.
-
-
- This subject provides the student with a basic knowledge and understanding of psychological concepts. Areas covered include history of psychology, biology and behavior, states of consciousness, learning, developmental psychology, motivation, emotion, psychological disorders and therapies.
-
| ACSW02 |
Case File Management and Report Writing |
25 |
-
- This subject deals with preparing social work-related written reports to communicate the progress of a client. The student will be introduced to various methods of recording information, along with the requirements for various entries to a file within the parameters of legal and ethical requirements. Basic computer skills are further developed through a series of assignments.
-
| ACSW03 |
Assessment and Treatment Planning |
50 |
-
- This subject will enable the student to become aware of the various testing procedures and the methods by which an appropriate and accurate assessment can be made. Subjects covered include laboratory testing, psychometric assessment, interviews, services, analysis of life situations, differential diagnosis and the matching hypothesis.
-
| ACSW04 |
Communications Fundamentals |
75 |
-
- This subject provides a comprehensive study of effective communication skills and techniques the student will use ⎯ both professionally and personally. The subject will sharpen skills to work effectively in a professional helping relationship. Students will also learn how to conduct an effective job search and how to continue their development as an Addictions Worker.
-
| ACSW05 |
Ethical Counselling Relationship |
50 |
-
- This subject is designed to provide the student with a framework in which to view helping functions and related skills in a systematic manner. The subject concentrates on the helper’s task of becoming a more aware and effective person. The emphasis is on empowering others to help themselves through the development of communication and coping skills.
-
| ACSW06 |
Group Facilitation Concepts |
50 |
-
- This subject will provide the student with an overview of thenature of group work in a social service setting and an opportunityto explore relevant techniques and exercises designed to enhancegroup work.
-
| ACSW07 |
Community Resources and Networking |
25 |
-
- The goal of an Addictions Worker is to accurately assess theclient’s needs and provide the most appropriate referral in anethical manner. This subject establishes a framework to assessneeds and explores the various services available in thecommunity. This is accomplished by guiding the studentthrough a series of assignments to enhance evaluation skills andknowledge.
-
| ACSW08 |
Interviewing Techniques |
50 |
-
- This subject will assist the student to define communication skills anddemonstrate how to use them effectively in many types ofsituations. A group of core communication skills is essential toany interview, whether it takes place in counselling, nursing,social work, personnel work, or information gathering.
-
| ACSW09 |
Fundamentals of Addiction |
100 |
-
- This subject provides the foundation for further in-depthsubjects in the study of addiction. The basic pharmacologicalnature and effects of a range of psychoactive chemicals arepresented, with an emphasis on challenging the myths of whichchemicals cost society the most in terms of economic costs andsocial burden of human suffering. Specific target populationsare explored, focusing on women, children, adolescents, ethnicminorities, elderly, the disabled and those suffering from mentalillness. Assessment, intervention strategies, and treatmentoptions are presented, along with the most common problemsencountered during treatment.
-
-
- This subject provides basic drug information including the basicpharmacological nature and effects of a range of psychoactivechemicals. Students will build knowledge relating drugtreatments/usage to various body systems and associated statesof disease.
-
| ACSW11 |
Preventive Health Promotion |
50 |
-
- The student is introduced to various health and relationshipconcerns that are relevant in chemically dependent individuals.The student will learn to evaluate the effectiveness of programdelivery and begin to create new ideas for promoting healthierlifestyle choices within a range of settings and diversepopulations.
-
| ACSW12 |
Relapse Prevention and Intervention |
75 |
-
- This subject will provide the student with an understanding ofrelapse as a natural part of the recovery process. The student willstudy a range of strategies and techniques to assist in minimizingand preventing the effects of prolonged periods of relapse duringthe journey of recovery. Students are guided through the entirerelapse process by considering the application of some basicprinciples introduced in the CENAPS Model of Treatment(CENAPS is an acronym for Center for Applied BehavioralResearch).
-
| ACSW13 |
Secondary Traumatic Stress |
25 |
-
- Secondary traumatic stress results from helping or wanting to helpa traumatized or suffering person. Students will gain insightinto their personal strengths and weaknesses and will exploremethods to prevent/reduce secondary traumatic stress.
-
| ACSW14 |
Introduction to Software Applications |
25 |
-
- This subject educates the student about the software applicationsthat are commonly used in document preparation, report writingand presentations. The student will learn how to use acomputer’s operating system; perform basic file managementtasks; use a Web browser to explore the Internet and performsearches for information; create, edit, and format documents;and prepare a slide show presentation.
-
| ACSW15 |
Working with Families |
50 |
-
- This subject will provide students with an overview of howaddiction can impact the family unit. Understanding the familyreaction is critical to providing caring support to the recoveringaddict and their loved ones. A recovery program that does notaddress issues of co-dependency may increase the likelihood ofpersistent patterns of relapse for both the addict and their family.
-
| ACSW16 |
Selected Populations |
50 |
-
- Selected Populations provides the foundation for further in-depthexamination of the relationship between substance abuse and aspecific population in society. The purpose of this course is togain a realistic perspective of drug-related problems affectingdifferent sub-populations in society. To understand the complexissues surrounding drugs in our society, we need to recognize theenormous diversity that exists within the general population. Thiscourse will provide the student with the basic knowledge aroundbeing a multicultural counsellor and working specifically withsub-populations that are regularly encountered.
-
| ACSW17 |
Student Success Strategies |
25 |
-
- This course will introduce students to skills and concepts thatwill help them achieve personal, academic, and career success. Students will learn about personality styles, goal setting, time management, stress management, study skills, communication and conflict management.
-
| ACSW18 |
Professional Skills |
25 |
-
- This course is designed to equip students with interpersonalskills identified by employers as essential for success in theprofessional world. Using a variety of instructional methodsincluding case studies, group exercises, and discussion, studentslearn and practice key communication skills.
-
| ACSW19 |
Career and Emploment Strategies |
25 |
-
- This course looks at the planning, preparation, execution andfollow-up stages of an interview. Students will learn about job searches, employer expectations, transferable skills, interview techniques and resume preparation. They will also learn how to tap into the hidden job market, write effective cover letters ad manage their job searches.
|
