Course Listing

• The history and relationship among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people
• Definitions of Aboriginal people
• Relevance of these issues to working with clients today

• The dynamics of addiction within the family system
• The implications of these dynamics in identification, intervention and recovery processes of the family

• Socio-environmental contexts which may make individuals and families vulnerable to experiencing addiction and family violence
• Interrelationship between addictions and violence
• Cycle of Violence and Stages of Change Model
• How the individual and family are affected by addictions and violence
• Issues in identification, referral and treatment

This course will include foundational information in the following areas:

Overview of drugs, drug use, and gambling activities in Canadian society:

• Theories of causation and current models for treatment and prevention.
• How drugs work in the brain and how gambling affects thought processes.
• Prevalence of alcohol and other drug use and misuse, gambling and problem gambling activity in Canada.

Overview of the formal addiction treatment system in Canada:

• Framework to determine Level of Involvement and model of how people change behaviours (Stages of Change).
• Components for successful treatment planning and continuum of treatment services available in Canada.
• Ongoing processes for making and maintaining behaviour change.

• Levels of Involvement with addictive activities
• The Harm Reduction Approach

This course will develop skills to:

• Identify or screen for potential problems
• Introduce the topic and talk to people about concerns
• Assist with the referral process

• Examination of the major classifications of psychoactive drugs
• Withdrawal process
• Treatment planning issues

• Stages of Change
• Relapse process and issues
• High Risk situations
• Relapse management strategies

• An introducation to gambling, gambling concepts and behaviour
• How gambling works
• How gambling can develop from non-problematic to problematic and an awareness of the psychology of gambling
• Issues and the impact of problem gambling on significant others
• Various screening and assessment tools
• Gain knowledge of strategies to manage problem gambling

• The dynamics of women's issues related to addictions
• Identification and referral processes
• Resources

• Adolescent drug use
• Attitudes which may impact on helping relationships
• Identification and assessment
• Intervention and treatment

• Characteristics of effective facilitators
• Selection of group members
• Characteristics of effective groups
• Identifying issues of process and content in group
• Curative factors and group norms
• Stages of group development
• Challenging issues in group dynamics
• Termination and closure issues in group
  

ASIST is a two-day, skills building workshop that prepares caregivers of all kinds to provide suicide first aid interventions. As an ASIST-trained first aid intervention caregiver, you will be better able to:

• Identify people who have thoughts of suicide
• Understand how our beliefs and attitudes can affect suicide interventions
• Seek a shared understanding of the reasons for thoughts of suicide and the reasons for living
• Review current risk and develop a plan to increase safety from suicidal behaviour for an agreed amount of time
• Follow up on all safety commitments, accessing further help as needed

• Small group discussions
• Skills practice that are based on adult learning principles
• Experience powerful videos on suicide intervention

Participation in the full two days is required to be certified. Feel challenged and safe in a supportive environment.

This course will include information and skills practice in:

• Learning styles and their implications for design and delivery
• Accommodating adult learning principles and concepts
• Needs assessment
• Instructional goals and objectives
• Instructional design and techniques
• Presentation skills
• Monitoring and feedback skills

This course is taught using a micro approach to counselling. The skills taught are:

• The overall process involved in making changes
• Techniques that assist people through the change process
• The implementation of a directive, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence (Miller & Rollnick)