CAC Course Descriptions
In addition to being approved by DBH for CAC, all Odyssey courses are approved for continuing education credit by NAADAC (Provider #344).
A Introduction to Certification (CAC) Requirements DBH/DORA
This workshop will introduce participants to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor Certification (CAC) system in Colorado. The workshop will provide a brief overview of regulations, and will assist students in understanding the application process. Please register by filling out a registration form online, under registration information. Participants are encouraged to obtain and read the counselor certification materials prior to the training event, and to bring questions with them for clarification and assistance. The certification packet can be obtained by going to DORA's Website. A copy of the CAC application wil be provided in class.
ODYSSEY REQUEST THAT ALL STUDENTS TAKE THIS CLASS DUE TO THE CHANGES TO THE CERTIFICATION ON MARCH 2011.
Addiction & Violence
The connection between addiction and domestic violence has been identified for some time and there is a wealth of research support this claim. Many of the clients we will see as clinicians will have some kind of addiction, coupled with current or past domestic violence issues. In order to work effectively with these clients it is important to understand that addiction and domestic violence are co-existing disorders. This class will explore addiction, the effects and connection of drugs with domestic violence, as well as legislative roles and treatment issues.
Addiction Counseling Skills
This new counseling skills development class presents the latest evidence and research based counseling skills. This course is both didactic and experiential. Students will have the opportunity to practice the skills, view video playback of their demonstrations, and give and receive feedback from each other. Students are expected to demonstrate a standard level of counseling skills proficiency.
Adolescent Substance Abuse Issues - Part I
Few issues in our society are as compelling as the impact of alcohol and drug abuse on the lives of adolescents and its effect on families, schools, communities and society. The decisions adolescents make regarding their use of psychoactive drugs will have a lasting effect on their lives. The question is what can we do as counselors to influence adolescents not to use drugs in the first place and to have a positive influence when they become more seriously involved in substance abuse. Adolexcent Substance Abuse Issues - Part I addresses a broad range of drug use patterns from non-use to experimentation to recreational use to patterns of abuse and dependency. Several national surveys of adolescent drug use will be presented outlining the scope of this problem.
Adolescent Substance Abuse Issues - Part II
Few issues in our society are as compelling as the impact of alcohol and drug abuse on the lives of adolescents and its effect on families, schools, communities and society. The decisions adolescents make regarding their use of psychoactive drugs will have a lasting effect on their lives. The question is what can we do as counselors to influence adolescents not to use drugs in the first place and to have a positive influence when they become more seriously involved in substance abuse. Adolescent Substance Abuse Issues - Part II examines the role of the environment, including family, peers, school and the media, in influencing adolescent drug using behavior. In addition, information on commonly available drugs as well as the relatively new phenomenon of Club Drugs will be presented.
Advanced Motivatinal Interviewing
This advanced training will serve as a booster session for Motivational Interviewing skills for the counselor as well as introducing advanced motivational interviewing skills.
Anger Management for Offenders
This course examines the nature of anger, where it originates, how to identify it and techniques for effectively managing anger. You will learn to assess the level of anger, trace its origins and design effective interventions for anger management.
Another Look at Brain Chemistry
This is an advanced class for those students who are interested in learning more about how the brain functions, how substance use interferes with balanced brain activity, and what, if anything, can be done about it. Personality development based on neurotransmitter dominance and deficiency will be discussed, along with specific life problems areas associated with brain chemistry imbalances. Those imbalances may predispose persons to choose drugs and behaviors as they attempt to rebalance their own brain chemistry.
Client Records Management
The purpose of this course is to train new counselors in the theoretical rationale and application of ADAD standards to client record keeping. Emphasis is on preparing treatment plans, progress notes, treatment plan updates and discharge summary.
Client Records Management - ONLINE
The purpose of this course is to train new counselors in the theoretical rationale and application of ADAD standards to client record keeping. Emphasis is on preparing treatment plans, progress notes, treatment plan updates and discharge summary.
Clinical Assessment and Treatment Planning
Participants in this clinical assessment and treatment planning class learn how to conduct effective and appropriate screenings and assessments using a biopsychosocial approach. This will include idenifying problem domains using the ASAM Patient Placement Criteria, cultural needs, diagnostic impressions, strengths and supports among others. There will be an emphasis on assessment for co-occurring disorders and practice will include creating a treament plan for a client with a co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder. - Prerequisite is Client Records Management
Clinical Supervision I
This training is designed to help a counselor learn the models of supervision and tools necessary to use as a standard of supervision practice. Ethical Supervisory practices, including supervision contacts and work verification practices, will be discussed. Videotaping and feedback will assist the counselors in developing a standad level of supervisory skills proficiency.
Clinical Supervision II
Clinical Supervision II is designed to highlight the ethical, legal, multicultural and crisis management issues that arise when supervising addiction counselors. Specialized techniques, coaching, consulting, teaching, and use of video or audio in supervision will be discussed. MIA: STEP (Motivational Interviewing Assessment: Supervisory Tools for Enhancing Proficiency) will be utilized as a format of supervision. The MIA:STEP Manual is required for the class.
The MIA:STEP manual may be purchased from Odyssey or you may download it from the Web by looking up MIA:STEP Manual(the manual is 242 pages long) - Prerequisite is Clinical Supervision I & Advanced Motivational Interviewing.
Co-Occurring Disorders: Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders
Clients with both a mental illness and substance abuse disorder present opportunities for the therapist to address both issues simultaneously in their treatment planning. What is the counselor's first concern-achieving abstinence or medication evaluation? How does the counselor promote stability and involve community support systems? Personality disorders and limitations to treatment will be covered as well as developing a prioritized list of treatment goals. The participant will become familiar with the use of medication to treat co-existing disorders and practice diagnosing both substance abuse disorders and mental illness.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral interventions are recognized by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment as a best practice in the treatment of addictive behavior disorders. Participants in this two-day class will learn to apply key components of the cognitive-behavioral model including the impact of the client's belief system, on the decision to initiate abstinence, on their attitude toward recovery, attending a support system etc.
Culturally Informed Treatment
This class provides an introduction to aid the counsleor in working with culturally diverse individuals, explores barriers to treatment and recovery, and presents recommended treatment approaches for special populations. Diversity factors discussed include racial and ethnic diversity, gender, language, folk beliefs, socioeconomic status, spirituality versus religiosity, sexual orientation, drugs of choice, trauma, and health-related issues. This class will provide an opportunity for aspiring counselors to explore their own biases and outlooks. - Replaces Diversity Issues in Treatment Populations
Ethics I: Professional Ethics and Jurisprudence
This class focuses on ethical practice in counseling clients with substance use disorders and other behavioral disorders. It incudes an overview of ethical decision making models, confidentiality, code of ethics and the federal confidentiality regulation 42 CFR, Part 2. The Colorado Mental Health Practice Act will be discussed to include disciplinary procedures and prohibited activities.
Ethics II : Professional Ethics II
This class will provide participants with a comprehensive introduction to ethical and risk management issues related to addiciton treatment and services.It will focus on three key topics: 1) ethical dilemmas encountered by addiciton professionals with the use of cse studies. 2) ethical decision-making strategies: and 3) risk managment concepts designed tp prevent ethics complaints and ethics-related lawsuits pertaining to professionals' handling of confidential information, informed concent, boundy issues and dual relationships, conflicts consultation, referral and termination of services. - Prerequisite is Ethics I
Group Counseling Skills
This is an experiential workshop that will include the therapy-of-the-group method. Focus will be on overt and covert processes that emerge in the group, and on ways these dynamics support or impede the group's task. Students will learn to observe the covert level of the group process, and the manner in which group members seize on functional and dysfunctional solutions to group themes. Issues of authority and the role of the group leader will be covered. Course covers models of group therapy, developing group cohesiveness, therapist tasks, culture building, shaping norms, activation of the here-and-now, process observation and commentary by the group leader.
IDEP: Impaired Driver Education Program
This course offered by The Change Companies provides training for facilitators of the ADAD-Approved Impaired Driver Education and Therapy Program(IDEP) for DUI Level I & II Education. The training session includes a review of behavior change theory, content review and group facilitation practice. Includes Facilitator's Guide for the Level I &; II Education component of this program.
Infectious Diseases in Addiciton Treatment
In this training, the focus will be on the complex relationship between the client's drugs of choice, lifestyle choices, and physiological health. Discussions will include immune system health, liver function, harm reduction and specific diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis. Strategies will be presented for screening to determine level of risk, referral, and education about diseases prevention and treatment.
Intergenerational Violence
Intergenerational Violence focuses on Family of Origin patterns that are instrumental in the intergenerational transmission of family violence. Perpetrator and Victim Issues are addressed, and treatment techniques are reviewed. The dynamics of domestic violence encompass many facets. When viewing the whole system that is impacted by family violence, the facets that comprise this system include the victim, the offender, the relationship, the children, and the multigenerational family system. Knowing about these areas of abuse as well as assessing the degree of violence within the family is important for understanding and treating the various family members. The long-term effects of experiencing violence in the home can be played out in future relationships, work settings, social settings, and all areas of life.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing is an evidence-based practice with widespread use in addiction counseling and is considered to be crucial to the development of counseling skills for this population. This class will focus on learning the motivational interviewing model. In this training, participants will learn the transtheoretical model of stages of change, the tools for cerating an environment where positive change can occur, and practice of the skills. Videotaping and feedback will assist the participants in developing a standard level of counseling skills proficiency in Motivational Interviewing.
Pharmacology - Part I
This course covers basic Anatomy and Physiology of the human body as a basic for understanding addictive substance use. How drugs/chemicals effect the body and how the body responds to them will be included. Sedative Hypnotic drugs, including alcohol, barbiturates, sleepers, benzodiazpines, and date rape drugs, will be discussed in addition to the narcotic and inhalant groups.
Odyssey encourages students to take both Pharm I & II form the same instructor to maximize continuity between classes.
Pharmacology - Part II
This course continues the discussion of mind-altering substances and the effect on the human body. It will build on the foundation laid in Pharmacology I and continue with a discussion of the use of stimulants, tobacco, hallucinogens, marijuana, designer drugs, steroids, and psychotropic medications.
Principles of Addiction Treatment
This is the new introductory addictions treatment course for persons entering the addictions field in Colorado. This course is both didactic and experiential. It will cover the history of addictions counseling and emphasizes the current researched base counseling models that have shown empirical support for their use with addicted persons. The class will demonstrate the research support for the client-oriented, counselor-directed models.
Principles of Addiction Treatment - ONLINE
This is the new introductory addictions treatment course for persons entering the addictions field in Colorado. This course is both didactic and experiential. It will cover the history of addictions counseling and emphasizes the current researched base counseling models that have shown empirical support for their use with addicted persons. The class will demonstrate the research support for the client-oriented, counselor-directed models.
Professional Practice
This training will focus on adminstrative supervision, organizational issues, DBH-licensed treatment agencies requirements, challenges of the current treatment enviornment, confidentialty concerns,role of prgram director, policies and procedures and other topics to be determined. In addition, the expectations of the addiciton professional interacting with other mental health professionals in treatment settings as well as in the community will be explored.
SASSI: Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory
for Adults and Adolescents
SASSI is a brief psychological measure designed to detect substance use/abuse and dependence in individuals regardless of their attempts to minimize or deny such use. Participants will learn to properly administer, score, profile, and clinically apply the results of the SASSI. With 93% accuracy, the SASSI is appropriate for assessment of both adults and adolescents.
Trauma Informed Care for Diverse Populations
The focus of this training will be an overview of what the addiction counselor needs to know to work effectively with specialized treatment populations, including women, men, adolsecents, clients refered by the criminal justice system, PTSD and trauma survivors, and families. In addition topics such as recovery management, relapse prevention, creating trauma informed treatment environments and others will be explored
Victim Empathy Empowerment
What is the empowerment model? In this class you will learn how to apply the empowerment model in the clinical setting. The basis of this approach is understanding how to facilitate independent decision making which supports the healing process. Essential to the process is awareness of the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder how that's tied to the empowerment model. Finally, you will learn the practical application of creating boundaries and developing safety plans.
