Psychology Department

• Psychology Contacts
• Faculty Listing
• Faculty Research Interests
•  
•   Prospective Students
• Psychology Program
• Course Descriptions
• Substance Abuse Courses
• Student Activities
•  
•   Current Students
• Psychology Degree Req.
• Psychology Day
• Student Honor Roll
• Student Activities

Courses in Substance Abuse Counseling

Four courses on Substance Abuse Counseling are now offered at WCSU to meet the academic requirements for Certification of Substance Abuse Counselors (CADC) as defined by the Connecticut Certification Board (CRB). The certification board of New York provides reciprocal certification for Connecticut CADCs. These courses at WCSU have already received certification by the CRB and CADC.

Prerequisites for the first three courses in the sequence are Introductory Psychology and Abnormal Psychology. These prerequisites provide the background necessary for students to begin this sequence and were kept to a minimum so those students with majors other than psychology would not be excluded. Students are encouraged to obtain a broad undergraduate education and this is consistent with the recommendations of the CRB.

The CRB has recommended additional professional education for CADCs at the graduate level. As of October 1, 1998, Connecticut has licensed substance abuse counselors who meet requirements for the CADC certification and have Masters degrees in an area of human services. It is expected that substantial numbers of students who complete this sequence of courses in substance abuse counseling will pursue Masters degrees in human services.

Need more information?
Students should check the homepage for CRB at http://ccb-inc.org/ccb.html for the most up to date information about certification.

Please contact Dr. Nicholas Gallucci, 203 837 8472, galluccin@wcsu.edu for further information.

Summary of the four Substance Abuse Counseling courses

Psychology 292: Substance Abuse Counseling: Assessment and Counseling This course provides four hours of academic credit and is divided into four equal parts. The first two parts concern the assessment of substance abuse and treatment planning. This will include reviews of the prevalence and etiology of substance abuse by interviews and psychometric instruments, individual differences among substance abusers, comorbidity, the determination of the level of care necessary for substance abusers, and assessments of patient’s readiness to change. The third and fourth parts will address these issues in assessment and treatment planning with adolescents and children, and ethnic minorities. Prerequisite: PSY 100 and PSY 202.

Psychology 293: Substance Abuse Counseling: Drugs and Behavior This course provides four hours of academic credit and is divided into six equal parts. The first two will concern the pharmacology of the classes of psychoactive substances and of the most commonly used substances within each class. This discussion will also address tolerance, withdrawal and protocol for detoxification from psychoactive substances. The third part will focus on HIV/AIDS, especially within populations of substance abusers. The fourth part will be devoted to the ethical requirements for substance abuse counselors. The fifth and sixth parts will be devoted to studying counseling considered. Counseling issues with women, ethnic minorities, adolescents and children, and HIV/AIDS patients will be evaluated. Students will demonstrate an understanding of how to implement treatment plans in individual and group counseling. Prerequisite: PSY 100 and PSY 202.

Psychology 294: Substance Abuse Counseling: Counseling Techniques The topic of this course will be counseling substance abusers. The theories and techniques of the major schools of individual and group counseling and psychotherapy with substance abusers will be studied. Empirical research comparing the effectiveness of these schools of counseling and psychotherapy will be evaluated. The counselor’s role in supporting the 12-step fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and in preventing and managing relapse will be considered. Counseling issues with women, ethnic minorities, adolescents and children, and HIV/AIDS patients will be evaluated. Students will demonstrate an understanding of how to implement treatment plans in individual and group counseling. Prerequisite: PSY 100 and PSY 202.

Psychology 295: Abuse Counseling: Applied Counseling The focus of this course will be counseling techniques with substance abusers. Techniques endorsed by divergent schools of counseling and psychotherapy will be emphasized. Methods for engaging uncooperative and resistant clients will be reviewed. The application of these techniques in counseling couples will be studied. Counseling issues related to gender, ethnicity, and age groups will be examined. Relapse will be examined from the viewpoint of a Stages of Change model and interventions appropriate to specific Stages of Change will be evaluated. This course will have a practicum component of 10 hours per week in addition to two hours of classroom instruction. Prerequisite: PSY 292, PSY 293, or PSY 294. Registration requires departmental permission.