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 within an individual, 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 will provide hours that will 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 hrs. To apply for the LSAA license, applicants need only 90 clock hours in the field of Alcohol Abuse and Drug Abuse. For the LADAC license applicants will need 276 hours.

96-HOUR CERTIFICATE
2 required core courses
4 elective courses
$365 per workshop, 16 CECs or 2 quarter units

Core Courses:

• Holistic Models and Biological Aspects of Addiction and Recovery
• Ethical and Cultural Issues in Addiction

Elective Courses:

• Clinical Skills: Evidence-Based Practices in the Treatment of Co-Occurring Disorders
• Clinical Skills: Motivational Interviewing, Basic to Intermediate Level
• Process Addictions: Sex, Gambling, Gaming, Eating, Shopping and other Compulsive Behaviors
• Adolescents and Addictions
• Clinical Skills: Using Expressive Therapies To Treat Addiction
• Clinical Skills: Using Nature-Based Approaches in the Treatment of Addiction
  Additional courses may be listed in quarterly schedules. Click here to see upcoming classes in this certificate.

Program Learning Outcomes

KNOWLEDGE
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the addictive process, recovery and resiliency factors in order to facilitate transformation in persons who are struggling with compulsive and addictive behaviors.

SKILLS
Students will acquire proficiency with screening, diagnosing and treatment of addiction issues with their clients utilizing tools from leading Evidence-Based Practices.

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR
Students will exhibit an awareness around the importance of compassion, empathy and cultural contexts that impact work with addictive processes. They will demonstrate an understanding of ethical practice while using a strength-based and transformation approach.

Where you might use these skills:

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

Program Director

Brian Serna, LPCC, LADAC, is an international trainer and consultant in Evidence Based Practices (EBPs), ethics and cultural issues in behavioral healthcare. Mr. Serna excels at designing programs that implement EBPs with individuals who are resistant to change and have cultural barriers to accepting treatment. He has extensive experience working with gang-involved adolescent males and homeless youth in Albuquerque, NM. He has trained clinicians in the Adolescent-Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) and Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training (CRAFT) since 2001 having received his training and supervision directly from Dr. Robert J. Meyers.

Brian is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) and a Motivational Interviewing Supervisor Trainer (MIST) and has assisted programs in using MI techniques and strategies in working with resistant adolescents. He has trained and consulted with programs in over twenty different states and five different countries. Brian is on the faculty at Southwestern College in Santa Fe, NM. His company, Serna Solutions LLC provides training, consultation services and direct behavioral health services to adolescents and their families. read full bio