Understand addiction, relapse, and recovery while building real-world treatment planning skills.
When you finish this course, you will receive 6 CEUs approved by the Georgia Addiction Counselor's Association.
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the disease concept of addiction, equipping participants with a clear understanding of how substance use disorders develop, progress, and are effectively treated. Moving beyond outdated moral and behavioral models, this training explores addiction as a chronic, progressive, and relapsing condition that impacts brain function, behavior, and overall life functioning.
Participants will begin by examining the foundations of addiction as a disease, including the role of brain reward systems and how substances alter motivation and decision-making. The course introduces key neurobehavioral concepts in an accessible way, helping learners understand why individuals continue using substances despite negative consequences. From there, participants will explore the bio-psycho-social model, gaining insight into how biological, psychological, and social factors interact to influence substance use and recovery outcomes.
The training also covers the progression of addiction, outlining common patterns from early use through dependence and addiction, and highlighting critical points for early identification and intervention. A dedicated section on relapse and recovery provides a practical framework for understanding relapse as a process, identifying warning signs, and applying effective prevention strategies that support long-term change.
In the final portion of the course, participants will learn how to translate clinical understanding into action through treatment planning and level-of-care decision-making. Using an ASAM-informed approach, learners will develop skills in assessing risk, matching clients to appropriate services, and writing clear, clinically justified recommendations that hold up in professional and legal settings.
Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on real-world application, helping participants move beyond theory to practical skills they can use immediately in clinical practice. By the end of the training, participants will be able to confidently explain the disease model of addiction, recognize patterns of progression and relapse, and develop structured, individualized treatment plans that support effective and ethical care.