Addiction is a problem faced by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, many whom need to seek professional help to overcome it. Addiction Counselling Level 3 will enable you to learn about the varying types of addiction from gambling, alcohol and drugs to shopping and stealing.

It is suitable for those already qualified as a counsellor and looking to specialise in the area as well as those new to the sector considering a career in counselling.

The course is approved by the ACCPH (Accredited Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists. 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.

Support is provided for up to 12 months but it is entirely up to you how quickly you work through the course. The estimated study time is 100 hours so if you average around 5 hours a week study you would complete in 5-6 months. 

Students can choose to take the online version of the course where you access through a portal or request a paper copy where the course is delivered hard copy in folders. This is yours to keep so you can write on it, make notes etc.

Support is provided throughout the course via a tutor who can be emailed at any time should you come across anything you are unsure of. There is also a support team by telephone.

Addiction Counselling Level 3 is split into six units. At the end of each unit you will complete an assignment which you will email to your tutor. An assignment is a set of questions based upon the unit you have just studied. Your tutor will mark your work and give you feedback. If there are any areas for improvements or anything that you have misunderstood you will always have the opportunity to re-submit.

The good news is there are no exams! Once you have completed all the assignments you complete the course.

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 technique 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

At the end of this course successful learners will receive a Certificate of Achievement from ABC Awards and Certa Awards and a Learner Unit Summary (which lists the components the learner has completed as part of the course).

The course has been endorsed under the ABC Awards and Certa Awards Quality Licence Scheme. This means that Open Study College has undergone an external quality check to ensure that the organisation and the courses it offers, meet defined quality criteria. The completion of this course alone does not lead to a regulated qualification* but may be used as evidence of knowledge and skills gained. The Learner Unit Summary may be used as evidence towards Recognition of Prior Learning if you wish to progress your studies in this subject. To this end the learning outcomes of the course have been benchmarked at Level 3 against level descriptors published by Ofqual, to indicate the depth of study and level of demand/complexity involved in successful completion by the learner.

The course itself has been designed by Open Study College to meet specific learners’ and/or employers’ requirements which cannot be satisfied through current regulated qualifications. ABC Awards & Certa Awards endorsement involves robust and rigorous quality audits by external auditors to ensure quality is continually met. A review of courses is carried out as part of the endorsement process.

ABC Awards and Certa Awards have long-established reputations for providing high quality vocational qualifications across a wide range of industries. ABC Awards and Certa Awards combine over 180 years of expertise combined with a responsive, flexible and innovative approach to the needs of our customers.

Renowned for excellent customer service, and quality standards, ABC Awards and Certa Awards also offer regulated qualifications for all ages and abilities post-14; all are developed with the support of relevant stakeholders to ensure that they meet the needs and standards of employers across the UK.