Degree: Graduate Certificate, Addictions Counseling
College: Health Professions
Department: School of Social Work
Contact: School of Social Work, 1-207-221-4513
Overview
The School of Social Work (SSW) offers a Certificate of Graduate Study (CGS) in its Addictions Counseling Certificate Program (ACCP). Matriculation in the Master of Social Work (MSW) Program is not required for the ACCP. Students enrolled in both the MSW program and the ACCP program may receive the MSW degree and a CGS in Addictions Counseling.
As an extension of the MSW program, the ACCP focuses on developing expertise in addictions counseling and leads to the Certificate of Graduate Study (CGS) in Addictions Counseling. It builds on elective courses in the MSW program and incorporates a clinical component.
This certificate is aimed at MSW students, alumni, and other professionals seeking to expand their clinical expertise, as well as individuals seeking to develop careers focused on addictions counseling. Students develop their clinical practice skills through case conferences, case discussions, and role playing. Both descriptive and prescriptive theories, diagnostic classification systems, and agency treatment models are examined from a critical perspective. Students are provided with on-going opportunities to process course material and to critically reflect on their practice.
The curriculum is designed so that the certificate can be completed within one year and within the MSW course of study. The certificate requires 18 credits, but with careful selection of existing School of Social Work elective courses, MSW students can complete the program within the MSW curriculum. Credit for previous course work is evaluated on an individual basis. MSW students enrolled in the ACCP may plan for a portion of their field experience to be addictions related and supervised by an addictions professional.
The Addiction Counseling Certificate curriculum is designed to provide students the educational foundation to sit for a national certified level written examination developed by the International Certification Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Inc. (ICRC/AODA). This test is one of the criteria that the Maine State Board of Alcohol and Drug Counselors (BADC) requires for licensure eligibility. MSW students in the ACCP should plan for a portion of their field experience in the MSW to be in the addictions area. Field work experience providing substance abuse services will apply towards the MSW requirement for contact hours in a field setting; however, new regulations proposed by BADC may not consider these hours counting towards work experience for BADC licensure unless the field agency also has a BADC certified clinical supervisor.
Mission Statement
The School of Social Work at the University of New England is committed to the values of human dignity, individual and cultural diversity, individual and collective self-determination, and social justice. We honor the uniqueness of the individual while simultaneously respecting people's membership in groups distinguished by class, race or ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, culture, religion, age or ability. With a strengths perspective as our primary organizing theme, our efforts to promote growth and change respective of such uniqueness demand a commitment to struggle against and ameliorate oppression in all its forms, including discrimination, social and economic injustice, and violence.
Professional social work knowledge and skills emanate from these values and form the basis for our educational program. We provide students with the opportunity to understand people's strengths, individually and collectively. We focus on identifying and understanding societal barriers to human dignity including thorough assessment of social, psychological, economic and organizational oppression, their impact on people's lives, and the strengths people have developed to endure, resist, and change. Our learning environment (1) facilitates and encourages self-examination and reflection; (2) provides respect for each student as both teacher/learner; and (3) demands that our own actions serve as models for operationalizing these values in the classroom, among colleagues, in our governance, and in the University and community.
We prepare our graduates as advanced social work practitioners firmly based in these values as the principles guiding their work. We provide students with the knowledge and skills to promote human relationships grounded in mutuality, compassion and dignity; to support and enhance individual and collective self-determination; and to influence social, economic and political systems to develop the human rights, resources and opportunities to achieve social justice.
Program Goals
| 1. | To prepare students to practice in the field of addictions to carry out professional roles and responsibilities consistent with the values and ethics of addictions-based practice. | |
| 2. | To prepare students to understand the interactive and multiple historical and contextual factors that shape the addictions field, policies and programs, and their impact on different client systems. | |
| 3. | To provide students with the knowledge and skills in addictions assessment and treatment to identify and build upon the strengths of client systems at multiple levels. | |
| 4. | To provide students with the knowledge and skills in addictions necessary to produce effective interventions with people from diverse backgrounds, experiencing different kinds of addictions-related problems, across different settings. | |
| 5. | To help students develop and implement professional addictions practice relationships based upon empowerment and connection to enhance social functioning and social change consistent with the values of human dignity, individual and cultural diversity, self-determination, and social justice. | |
| 6. | To help students use critical self-reflection and research to enhance professional addictions-based practice. |
Requirements
The Addictions Counseling Certificate Program is offered at the post-baccalaureate level and awards the certificate of graduate study upon successful completion of the 18-credit hour curriculum. Students are required to hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
Procedures and Policies
A complete admissions application contains the following materials:
| 1. | A completed application form. | |
| 2. | If not a current UNE student, transcript(s) indicating completion of degree(s), both undergraduate and graduate, if applicable, from accredited college(s) or university(ies). | |
| 3. | If not a current UNE student, an application fee of $40. |
Non-Matriculated Students
Students may enroll in one or two courses (maximum of six credits) prior to applying to the program on a space available basis. Individuals may be admitted into the ACCP throughout the academic year and summer.
Transfer Credit
Applicants can request a transfer of credit applied to required courses. Transfer of credit only occurs for graduate courses taken at an accredited institution, under the following conditions:
| 1. | The request for transfer of credit must be initiated at the time of application to the certificate programs. In no event will a request for transfer of credit be considered when made by students already admitted to the certificate programs. | |
| 2. | The transferred credit must have been earned at the appropriate level at an accredited university or college within five years preceding the request for transfer. | |
| 3. | The transferred credit must be accepted by certificate program faculty in order to waive a specific course in the certificate program curricula. A maximum of six credit hours can be transferred toward required courses in any certificate program. | |
| 4. | All transferred credits must carry a minimum grade of B. Grades earned at other institutions are not included in the computation of a grade point average (GPA) at the University of New England. | |
| 5. | Procedure: Applicants wishing to apply for transfer of credit must provide the Addictions Counseling Certificate Program coordinator or designee with a written petition for the transfer, along with the following documents: an official transcript showing that the course(s) were taken; a copy of the university or college bulletin in which the course is described; a course syllabus; and, if applicable, clinical practicum evaluations. |
Advanced Standing
Advanced Standing status does not apply to this certificate program.
| Graduate Certificate, Addictions Counseling (18 credits) |
Credits |
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| ACP 510 Substance Abuse |
3 |
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| ACP 520 Pharmacology: Drugs and Behavior |
3 |
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| ACP 530 Addictions Counseling and Family Dynamics |
3 |
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| ACP 540 Social Work Practice with Groups |
3 |
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| ACP 550 Advanced Psychosocial Assessment |
3 |
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| ACP 555 Legal and Ethical Perspectives in Social Work |
3 |
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| Total Program Requirements |
18 |
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Grading
Course grades are determined by the student's performance in that course and expressed as a letter grade. A passing grade is considered to be a “B” or better. Other details of the grading process, as well as general rules and regulations are detailed in the UNE School of Social Work Student Handbook.
Incomplete Grades
An incomplete (I) grade is given to a student who is doing passing work in a course, but who, for reasons beyond his/her control, is not able to complete the work on time. The “I” grade must be changed within the time limit determined by the instructor and may not extend beyond six weeks following the end of the semester or 30 days following the end of an eight-week session. The “I” grade defers computation of credits for the course to which it is assigned. Failure to complete the work by the limitation date, or within the time imposed by the instructor, results in the assignment of an administrative “F” grade for the course.
Tuition and Fees
Tuition and fees for subsequent years may vary. Other expenses include books and housing. For more information regarding tuition and fees, please consult the Financial Information section of this catalog.
Financial Aid
Detailed information and applications are available on request from the Financial Aid Office at the University Campus. Call 207-602-2342 or visit the Financial Aid website.
Students must successfully complete the 18-credit-hour curriculum to receive the certificate of graduate study.
Courses are taught by faculty with expertise in addictions and by licensed practitioners from area agencies, organizations, and private practice. These professionals share their expertise, recent developments in addictions theory, and clinical methods.
| Marcia Cohen, Ph.D. | David Mokler, Ph.D. | ||
| Clay Graybeal, Ph.D. | David Prichard, Ph.D. | ||
| David Johnson, Ph.D. | Martha Wilson, Ph.D. |
While each student may work closely with an academic advisor, he or she must retain individual responsibility for meeting requirements in this catalog and for being aware of any changes in provisions or requirements.