Addictions, Abuse and Recovery

Addictions, Abuse and Recovery Certificate Program

Program Description

The goal of the Addictions, Abuse and Recovery Certificate program is to provide reflective practitioners with an integrated approach in the treatment of addictions with individuals, families and communities. Special attention will be given to the utilization of evidence-based practices in cultural contexts that lead to meaningful outcomes.

The mission of Southwestern College is Transforming Consciousness Through Education. This mission has guided the College’s success in preparing practitioners to take a deeper look at the relationship between consciousness and compulsivity. Conscious awareness is the path to choice and freedom, whereas compulsivity leaves us in trances in which little freedom is possible.

For persons interested in seeking licensure as a Licensed Substance Abuse Associate (LSAA) or Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (LADAC) in the state of New Mexico, this certificate provides hours that pertain to either license. This certificate provides each student with 16 hours per class in the various topics dealing with addiction, with a total reaching 96 hours. To apply for the LSAA license, applicants need 90 clock hours in the field of Alcohol Abuse and Drug Abuse. For the LADAC license, applicants will need 276 hours.

Please Note: Students and community members pursuing a certificate through the New Earth Institute must complete all classes required for the Certificate within six (6) years of taking the first class. This program is offered in person with occasional courses offered via distance.

•   Holistic Models and Biological Aspects of Addiction and Recovery
•   Ethical and Cultural Issues in Addiction
•   Clinical Skills: Evidence-Based Practices in the Treatment of Co-Occurring Disorders
•   Motivational Interviewing: Engaging People in Meaningful Change
•   Compulsion or Coping Skill? What To Do When Sex, Tech, and Other Behaviors Get Out of Control
•   Addiction and the Developing Brain: Prevention and Treatment for Adolescents
•   Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Cultivating Recovery within the Family System
•   Emerging Trends in Psychopharmacology: Psychedelics and Other Substances Used to Treat Addiction
•   A Culture of Addiction: Systemic and Ecological Perspectives on Addiction and Recovery

Additional courses may be listed in quarterly schedules.

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PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES (PLOs):

Upon completion students will be able to:

PLO 1: Explain primary processes of addiction and recovery theory,
including trauma-based origins, neurological effects and changes, and
resiliency factors.

PLO 2: Apply traditional, alternative, and emerging theories on addiction
in the implementation of assessment, diagnoses, and treatment of
addiction issues in ethical and culturally sustaining practice.

PLO 3: Examine and appraise the role of the counselor/therapist within
a framework of cultural context, utilizing reflective practice to develop
an embodied, heart-centered, authentic, transformational approach to
treatment

Where you might use these skill

◆  Community Mental Health Centers
◆  Institutions of Higher Learning
◆  Residential Treatment Centers
◆  Primary and Secondary Schools
◆  Private Practice
◆  Youth Development Programs
◆  Public and Private Agencies
◆  Correctional Facilities
◆  Medical Settings/Hospitals
◆  Primary and Secondary Schools

Program Director

Richard Pelfrey, BA, LADAC, NCAC, has been holding space for the resolution and reintegration of trauma and addictions of all forms for the past 12 years. He started his career in non-profit treatment facilities working under the traditional “Johnson Model” of inpatient care. While becoming licensed as an addictions counselor, Richard heard the call to expand his work with people beyond traditional models and began exploring alternative methods for the resolution of trauma. This journey has led to many different modalities, including the Superhealth Kundalini Yoga training for addictions. Richard is also trained and certified as a Trauma, Grief and Renewal therapist through SWC. In addition, Richard is certified as a meditation leadership trainer from the Sage Institute, led by Sensai Sean Murphy of the White Plum lineage of Zen Buddhism. Alongside these credentials, Richard is trained and certified in Trauma Sensitive Yoga, Wim Hoff method, and Brainspotting, and incorporates all of these modalities as well as a decade of apprenticeship in the Toltec wisdom path and traditional earth-based ceremony in his focused work with individuals and groups for the purpose of healing and finding our highest joy and artistry in life. 

Southwestern College & New Earth Institute is approved by the New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board (#CEU2025065) and the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC ACEP No. 7520) as a Continuing Education Provider. If you are not licensed as a mental health professional in New Mexico, please check with your state’s licensing board to see if they will accept approved CEs from these two accrediting bodies.