Addiction Counselling QLS Level 3

There is a national shortage of qualified therapists able to help people overcome problems associated with addiction. Thousands of people suffer from addictive behaviour and many seek professional help to overcome it. If you are already working as a counsellor, this Addiction Counselling QLS Level 3 course is an excellent opportunity to specialise in the area of addiction and addictive behaviour. However, the course may also appeal to novices who are considering a career in counselling. At the end of this course, students will be able to join and become a member of the ACCPH. The ACCPH is an independent self-regulated professional body for counsellors, psychotherapists and hypnotherapists. What is addiction counselling? You will help people struggling with addiction in different ways, from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT). CBT helps individuals by identifying their problematic behaviours and turning them into positives. Counselling provides people with addictions to think, feel and act by interrupting the cycle of addiction. DBT, on the other hand, is based on CBT and is a type of talking treatment. By allowing them to experience, recognise and accept their difficult emotions, the aim is to help them learn to manage those emotions. What next? There are several avenues you can go down once you have successfully completed this course. You could take a look at our other counselling  courses, or you could further your education by studying a counselling degree at university. If you want to work in counselling using your Addiction Counselling Level 3 qualification, here are just a couple of the jobs you could explore (depending on your credentials):

• Substance abuse counsellor
• Clinical supervisor
• Community health worker
• Probation officer
• Mental health counsellor
• Social and community service worker

Awarding body This course has been endorsed by the Quality License Scheme for its high-quality. The Quality Licence Scheme, endorses high-quality, non-regulated provision and training programmes. This course and/or training programme has been endorsed by the Quality Licence Scheme for its high-quality, non-regulated provision and training programmes. This course and/or training programme is not regulated by Ofqual and is not an accredited qualification. Your training provider will be able to advise you on any further recognition, for example progression routes into further and/or higher education. For further information please visit the Learner FAQs on the Quality Licence Scheme website.

Course Content

Unit 1 Counselling skills and approaches (part 1)

• Core skills and competencies of counselling
• Aims and objectives of counselling
• Key theoretical principles that underpin counselling
• Scope of counselling

Unit 2 Counselling skills and approaches (part 2)

• How to establish and maintain the counselling relationship
• Importance of relationship boundaries in addiction counselling
• Ethical principles and how they apply to counselling contexts
• Concepts and processes of transference and countertransference

Unit 3 Counselling skills and approaches (part 3)

• Theoretical principles for each approach
• Clients each approach is suitable for
• Specialist skills required for each approach
• Key similarities and differences between each approach

Unit 4 Understanding addiction

• The physiology of addiction
• The psychology of addiction
• Predisposition to addiction
• Processes of relapse linked to physiological and psychological changes

Unit 5 Types of addiction

• Substance and alcohol addiction
• Common features of addiction
• How counsellors need to adapt their approach for each type of addiction
• Challenges of each addiction with regard to social, family and wide-ranging impacts

Unit 6 Client and support issues in addiction counselling

• Explain the challenges of co-occurring diagnoses
• How stereotyping and labelling affects the counselling process
• Challenges of denial and ambivalence
• Social and family support systems and how these impact recovery