The New Science on Addiction Recovery

 

Dr. John Kelly
The New Science on Addiction Recovery

During the past 50 years, a great deal has been learned about how to provide acute care services for those suffering from addiction, but there has been relatively little emphasis on how best to help individuals attain and maintain remission and recovery over the long-term. Greater recognition of the persistence of post-acute withdrawal phenomena and increased sensitivity to biobehavioral stress had indicated a need for ongoing social and other support infrastructures to enhance coping and resilience and reduce relapse risk. This talk will review the scientific rationale for the need for ongoing recovery monitoring and management services and the recent evidence investigating novel recovery support services.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this presentation participants will be able to:

  • describe two major biobehavioral deficits facing individuals beginning in early remission;
  • outline the milestones in the process of recovery;
  • specify 3 evidence-based recovery support services

References

Kelly JF, Humphreys K, Ferri M. Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs for alcohol use disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD012880. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012880.pub2

Kelly JF, Bergman BG, Hoeppner B, Vilsaint C, White WL. Prevalence and pathways of recovery from drug and alcohol problems in the United States population: Implications for practice, research, and policy. Drug Alcohol Depend 2017; 181:162-169.

Kelly JF, Greene MC, Bergman BG. Beyond abstinence: Changes in indices of quality of life with time in recovery in a nationally-representative sample of US adults. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2018; 42(4):770-780.

Kelly JF, Fallah-Sohy N, Vilsaint C, Hoffman L, Stout R, Jason L, Cristello J, Hoeppner B. New kid on the block: An investigation of the physical, operational, personnel, and service characteristics of recovery community centers in the United States. J Subst Abuse Treat 2020; 111:1-10.

Kelly JF, White WL, editors. Addiction recovery management: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Springer (Humana) Press; 2011.

Bio

Dr. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School-the first endowed professor in addiction medicine at Harvard. He is also the Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Associate Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine (CAM) at MGH, and the Program Director of the Addiction Recovery Management Service (ARMS). Dr. Kelly is a former President of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Society of Addiction Psychology and is also a Fellow of the APA and a diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has served as a consultant to U.S. federal agencies and non-federal institutions and foreign governments. His clinical and research work has focused on addiction treatment and the recovery process, mechanisms of behaviour change, and reducing stigma and discrimination among individuals suffering from addiction.

Registration Now Open

 

REGISTER TODAY  

About the Conference

Click here for the Full Speaker’s Program

This one-day Recovery Capital Virtual Conference will include:

  • Expert Speakers presenting on Assessing and how to build Recovery Capital, the Science of Recovery,  and other related topics.
  • Earn CEUs
  • Networking Opportunities
  • Full Conference Experience using the WHOVA App

REGISTER TODAY  

Full Speaker Program

Click here for the Full Speaker’s Program

Thank you to our Sponsors and Partners

Continuing Education Units

Recovery Capital; Definitions, science and the impact of COVID

Dr. David Best
Recovery Capital; Definitions, science and the impact of COVID

The presentation will provide an overview of the concept of recovery capital and its three component parts – personal, social and community capital. The paper will discuss the origins of recovery capital as a concept and its emergence as a measurement system and an organising framework. The presentation will then discuss the growing evidence base around recovery capital measurement and in particular the use of the REC-CAP measurement system and its translation to routine practice in both community and justice settings. The next section of the presentation will focus on community capital and how it can be nurtured using the example of the Recovery Cities initiative. The final section will discuss some key innovations around online groups and supports and how they have evolved in response to the COVID crisis.

Learning Objectives

  • A clear understanding of the origins of the concept of recovery capital and how this can be operationalised
  • An understanding of recovery capital measurement systems and how they can be used to support recovery growth and wellbeing
  • An understanding of the role of communities in supporting individual endeavours to sustain recovery

References 

Best, D. (2019) Pathways to desistance and recovery: The role of the social contagion of hope. Policy Press: Bristol.

Best, D. & Colman, C. (eds)(2019) Strengths-based approaches to crime and substance use: From drugs and crime to desistance and recovery. Routledge: London.

Hamilton, S., Maslen, S., Best, D., Freeman, J., O’Donnell, M., Reibel, T., Mutch, R. & Watkins, R (2020) Putting ‘justice’ in recovery capital: Yarning about hopes and futures with young people in detention, International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v9i2.1256 (early online)

Cano, I., Best, Edwards, M. & Lehman, J. (2017) Recovery capital pathways: Mapping the components of recovery wellbeing, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 181, 11-19.

Edwards, M., Soutar, J. & Best, D. (2018) Co-producing and re-connecting: a pilot study of recovery community engagement, Drugs and Alcohol Today, 18(1), 39-50.

Bio
Dr. Best is Professor of Criminology at the University of Derby and Honorary Professor of Regulation and Global Governance at The Australian National University. He is also chair of the Prisons Research Network of the British Society of Criminology. Trained as a psychologist and criminologist, he has worked in practice, research and policy in the areas of addiction recovery and rehabilitation of offenders. He has authored or co-edited seven books on addiction recovery and desistance from offending and has written more than 200 peer-reviewed journal publications and around 70 book chapters and technical reports. In 2019, he has produced a monograph entitled “Pathways to Desistance and Recovery: The role of the social contagion of hope” (Policy Press) and a co-edited volume entitled “Strength-based approaches to crime and substance use” (Routledge). His research interests include recovery pathways, recovery capital and its measurement, social identity theory and its implications for recovery, recovery and resistance, addiction treatment effectiveness particularly in prison settings, prison and community connections, and family experiences of addiction and recovery.

Registration Now Open

 

REGISTER TODAY  

About the Conference

This one-day Recovery Capital Virtual Conference will include:

  • Expert Speakers presenting on Assessing and how to build Recovery Capital, the Science of Recovery,  and other related topics.
  • Earn CEUs
  • Networking Opportunities
  • Full Conference Experience using the WHOVA App

REGISTER TODAY  

Full Speaker Program

Click here for the Full Speaker’s Program

Thank you to our Sponsors and Partners

Continuing Education Units

Surviving the tripartite of COVID, Psychological Injury, and Addiction

Dr. Charl Els – Surviving the tripartite of COVID, Psychological Injury, and Addiction

Trauma is ubiquitous and no-one is immune. The advent of COVID-19 marks the introduction of cumulative trauma for those already traumatized by other adverse life events. The impacts of the pandemic, social distancing, and quarantine as risk factors for psychological and moral trauma are outlined. Exposure to cumulative trauma may be associated with the development of a psychological and moral injury, with or without the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Complications may follow, which include serious disruption in relationships, unemployment, financial hardship, substance abuse/addiction, as well as a suicide risk. Disruption of usual treatment services during widespread shutdowns has complicated an already precarious cycle. This session focuses on the impact of trauma on the development of addiction, against the backdrop of the complicating factor of a pandemic and the measures to curb its spread. This session will also outline the evidence-based interventions to optimize resilience, recovery and to achieve maximum medical improvement.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will have an enhanced:

  • An understanding of the trajectory of trauma to psychological injury to addiction;
  • Appreciation of the psychological impact of the COVID pandemic;
  • Skills in achieving maximum medical improvement in psychological trauma comorbid with addiction.

References

Brooks SK, et al. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: a rapid review of the evidence. Lancet 2020; 395: 912–20.

Calhoun LG, Tedeschi RG. Posttraumatic Growth in Clinical Practice, Taylor and Francis, 2013.

American Psychological Association. (2014). The Road to Resilience. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx

Bio

Dr. Charl Els is a fellowship-trained Psychiatrist, Addiction Specialist, and Occupational Physician. Els serves as a Clinical Professor at both the Department of Psychiatry and as an adjunct professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. He co-authored
several of the clinical practice guidelines of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, as well as for the Railway Association of Canada, and served on the Board of Directors for the Occupational and Environmental Medical Association of Canada. Finally, Els serves on the Board of Directors of Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH), the 2019 recipient of the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice.

Registration Now Open

 

REGISTER TODAY  

About the Conference

This one-day Recovery Capital Virtual Conference will include:

  • Expert Speakers presenting on Assessing and how to build Recovery Capital, the Science of Recovery,  and other related topics.
  • Earn CEUs
  • Networking Opportunities
  • Full Conference Experience using the WHOVA App

REGISTER TODAY  

Full Speaker Program

Click here for the Full Speaker’s Program

Thank you to our Sponsors and Partners

Continuing Education Units

 

BIPOC Recovery Pathways

Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour Recovery Pathways:  Equity, Intersectionality, Inclusion

Panellists will discuss lived experience on the intersectionality, diversity and historical racism and prejudice encountered when accessing professional and peer-based recovery supports. BIPOC communities are historically less likely to have access to safe, quality healthcare for mental health and substance use-related traumas and challenges. All Canadians have shared responsibility to create a safe and respectful recovery-oriented environment for Black, Indigenous, and persons of colour.

It is important to foster foundational knowledge of the significance of Black, Indigenous and persons of colour experiences in seeking pathways to and of recovery.

Objectives Goals
The intent of this facilitated panel discussion is to instil hope, acknowledge the need to seek out, share and affirm the distinct histories of BIPOC recovery communities and unlearn dominant narratives of historical and contemporary roles in the cultural, social, political, legal, and economic life. The session’s goal is to shed light on the foundation of truth and knowledge required to effect real change.


Lived Experience Panel Moderator 

Todd Ware, a person with lived experience with addiction, recovery and healthcare.


Lived Experience Panel

Avis O’Brien (Nalaga / Kaaw Kuuna)

Avis is a Haida Kwakwaka’wakw land-based cultural empowerment facilitator who has been on the Red Road for 13 years. Her passion is working within Indigenous communities helping to diminish shame rooted in our colonial history and built strength, healing and wellness through a connection to land and culture. She does this through her business, Nalaga Designs.

 

 

 


Donovan Patrick Mahoney

Instagram.com/donovanpee

Donovan is a First Nations man from the Kwakwakuwak People, the Namgis Band in Alert Bay was born in Vancouver… Has been teaching Yoga, meditation and mindfulness in treatment centres and public studios In Vancouver and Thailand… He is also Well known for his photography and writing in the downtown Eastside.


Vindi Sekhon – Recovering from Substance Use Disorder

Vindi Sekhon is a Communication Specialist at Wildlife Rescue Association of BC. She completed her Business Management Diploma at SAIT College in Calgary, AB before pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Professional Communication and minor in Marketing from Royal Roads University. Her experience in various corporate, non-profit, and small business organizations has allowed her to develop a versatile portfolio that allows her to step into tasks and challenges with ease of understanding various communication styles among people.

Vindi is proud to be in recovery and uses her experience as an Indo-Canadian woman to inspire men and women who face challenges to access the help they need.

In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, nature, and spending time with animals.


Kia Kadiri is a respected vocalist based in Vancouver.  For over 20 years her unique style has kept her in demand as a performer, instructor, facilitator and recording artist.  Kia has worked with organizations such as the Vancouver Biennale, Artstarts, Urban Ink and the City of Vancouver; teaching youth songwriting and the history of hip-hop culture.

 

 

 


My name is Kevin Parker

I started using substances when I was a young teenager

I ended up spending over 10 years on the downtown side east side and in and out of prisons for 14 years I found my way to recovery in 2009

Since then I’ve been on a recovery path and focus on helping others that want to recover.

 

 

 


 

My name is Todd

I am a child of Africville. I am a son, father, brother and I love my family as I define it.

I identify as a person in recovery and I put myself out there with transparency, humility and compassion and hold hope it will inspire others to do the same and ask for help.

I walk with people in recovery as it drives me to be better and to help others find their way back to what they truly value and love.

Being my best self has become about being a good helper to folks as they enter their recovery journey. I have built a way of being which has far exceeded anything I would have foreseen for myself, but it’s in my journey that I know…

No one needs to walk alone, the journey may always be travelled together.

In solidarity and service, Todd


 

REGISTER TODAY  

About the Conference

This one-day Recovery Capital Virtual Conference will include:

  • Expert Speakers presenting on Assessing and how to build Recovery Capital, the Science of Recovery,  and other related topics.
  • Earn CEUs
  • Networking Opportunities
  • Full Conference Experience using the WHOVA App

REGISTER TODAY  

Full Speaker Program

Click here for the Full Speaker’s Program

Thank you to our Sponsors and Partners

Continuing Education Units

 

My Recovery Plan

In 2020 the Recovery Capital Conference will launch Canada’s first Recovery Capital Assessment and Recovery Planning Toolkit which includes free to use assessment tools and treatment provider EHR

Mentor clients. Monitor progress. Measure outcomes. List your services for others to find support.

Recovery Capital Assessment Toolkit for people in recovery, people who use drugs, family members of people who use drugs, and clinicians with patients with substance use disorder.

Launching September 4th 2020

COMING SOON – MY RECOVERY PLAN – On September 4th 2020 We will be launching Canada’s Free Recovery Capital Assessment and Recovery Management Tool-kit.  This Tool-kit utilizes free validated evidence -based assessment and recovery management tools to help Canadians with ADDICTION have better health outcomes. My Recovery Plan will also include an Electronic Health Record Software for healthcare professionals and treatment providers.

What is Recovery Capital?

“The breadth and depth of internal and external resources that can be drawn upon to initiate and sustain recovery from alcohol and other drug problems”. – Cloud and Granfield 2004

For Treatment Providers and Support Recovery Residences

My Recovery Plan software provides electronic health recording software to measure, mentor, build, plan and review a person’s Recovery Capital and Recovery Plan.  People who build Recovery Capital have better health outcomes. Request a demo.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT MY RECOVERY PLAN

Request a Demo or List Your Service

Learn more about My Recovery Plan or learn how you can list your service in the mental health and addiction recovery directory

Please  email  giuseppe@lastdoor.org  

Measure your Recovery Capital, see where your strengths are !

Whole Person Recovery

A user-centred system’s approach to problem drug use. Europe has been building recovery capital for decades to solve their addiction crisis, be part of Canada’s Building Recovery Capital Conference.

A simple tool for measuring recovery gains and resilience at the individual and aggregate levels.

Create informed and effective recovery care plans based on cutting edge recovery research.

Manage your entire platform, from individualized care to accounting and contract reporting.

Each component of My Recovery Plan is built on research and best practices developed by the academic community over the last 50 years.

How’s your Recovery Capital?

Photo Credit – Broome, Steve & Daddow, Rebecca. (2010).

Registration and Program

Recovery Capital Conference Virtual Conference

September 4th 2020

Bringing together thought leaders, policymakers, health care professionals, persons with lived & living experience, for conversations about building Recovery Capital in Canadians to overcome addiction and mental health issues.

In response to COVID-19 the in-person 5 city conference will take place on a production stage as seem below and streamed as a webinar.
As promised over the past three years, we will be launching Canada’s Recovery Capital Assessment and Recovery Planning Toolkit called “My Recovery Plan”

As promised over the past three years, we will be launching Canada’s Recovery Capital Assessment and Recovery Planning Toolkit called “My Recovery Plan” during this year’s virtual conference.

This one-day Recovery Capital Virtual Conference will include:

  • Expert Speakers presenting on Assessing and how to build Recovery Capital, the Science of Recovery,  and other related topics.
  • Earn CEUs
  • Networking Opportunities
  • Full Conference Experience using the WHOVA App

REGISTER TODAY  

Full Speaker Program

Click here for the Full Speaker’s Program

Thank you to our Sponsors and Partners

Continuing Education Units

Resisting Burnout with Justice-Doing and Believed-in Hope

Vikki will be presenting at the following conferences.

Vikki Reynolds will differentiate vicarious trauma & burn out from the spiritual and ethical pain that our work engenders when we are unable to provide dignity and social justice with the people we want to be useful to.

We’ll look at our solidarity and ‘shouldering each other up in dark times immersed in mean spirited politics and neo-liberalism.

Vikki  will invite us to consider the transformations our work and the people we work alongside co-create. We’ll explore our relationship to a believed in hope, and resisting charitable and patronizing self-care prescriptions to workers.

We will also consider a frame for Resisting Burn out that is client-centered, based on how we treat people, and resist pathologizing ourselves and other workers as mentally ill and deficient…and that’s going to bring us to The Zone of Fabulousness…

Learning Objectives

  1. Practices of collective care as a resistance against Vicarious Trauma
  2. Enacting Ethics as a path to sustainability and resisting Burn Out
  3. Collective Accountability and Justice-Doing as an ethical frame for our work

References

Scholarly or scientific publications that were used as references while developing the content for this presentation.

Reynolds, V. (2011). Resisting burnout with justice-doing. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work. (4) 27-45.

Richardson, C., & Reynolds, V. (2012). “Here we are amazingly alive”: Holding ourselves together with an ethic of social justice in community work.

International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies 1:1-19.
nd structuring safety. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work. No. 1, 1-13.

Bio

Vikki Reynolds PhD RCC is an activist/therapist from Vancouver, Canada, who works to bridge the worlds of social justice activism and therapy.

Vikki is a white settler of Irish, Newfoundland and English folks, and a heterosexual woman with cisgender privilege. Her experience includes supervision and therapy with peers, activists, and other workers responding to the opioid epidemic/poisonings, torture and political violence, sexualized violence, mental health and substance misuse, homelessness and legislated poverty and working alongside gender and sexually diverse communities.

Vikki is an Adjunct Professor and has written, keynoted and presented internationally on the subjects of ‘Witnessing Resistance’ to oppression/trauma, ally work, resisting ‘burnout’ with justice-doing, a supervision of solidarity, ethics, and innovative group work.

Vikki’s articles and keynotes are available free on her website: www.vikkireynolds.ca

>>> REGISTER HERE <<<

Recovery Capital Conference Schedules

Register for Recovery Capital Conference

Multiple dates and cities:

  • September 5, 2019 – New Westminster, BC, Anvil Centre
  • September 11, 2019 – Calgary, AB, Best Western Plaza
  • September 13, 2019 – Winnipeg, MB, RBC Convention Centre
  • September 20, 2019 – Regina, SK, Queensbury Convention Centre
  • September 24, 2019 – Halifax, NS, Pier 21

>>> REGISTER TODAY <<<

Attend the Recovery Capital Conference and engage in dialogue sessions to assist in the development of a Recovery Capital Assessment Toolkit and learn about the upcoming New Recovery Capital Certification.

Receive the education that qualifies you for the NEW Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation Recovery Capital Associate (RCA) certification and learn about the Recovery Capital Professional Certification (RCP)

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RCA and RCP

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CEUs

New Westminster

 

 

Calgary

Regina

Winnipeg

Halifax

Register for Recovery Capital Conference

Multiple dates and cities:

  • September 5, 2019 – New Westminster, BC, Anvil Centre
  • September 11, 2019 – Calgary, AB, Best Western Plaza
  • September 13, 2019 – Winnipeg, MB, RBC Convention Centre
  • September 20, 2019 – Regina, SK, Queensbury Convention Centre
  • September 24, 2019 – Halifax, NS, Pier 21

New Westminster, British Columbia – September 5 & 6th 2019

 

Register for Recovery Capital Conference of Canada: New Westminster

Register for Recovery Capital Conference of Canada: New Westminster

Calgary, Alberta – September 11, 2019

 

Register for Recovery Capital Conference of Canada: CalgaryRegister for Recovery Capital Conference of Canada: Calgary

Regina, Saskatchewan – September 20, 2019

 

Register for Recovery Capital Conference of Canada: ReginaRegister for Recovery Capital Conference of Canada: Regina

Winnipeg, Manitoba – September 13, 2019

 

Register for Recovery Capital Conference of Canada: Winnipeg
Register for Recovery Capital Conference of Canada: Winnipeg

Halifax, Nova Scotia – September 24, 2019

 

Register for Recovery Capital Conference of Canada: HalifaxRegister for Recovery Capital Conference of Canada: Halifax

New Westminster, British Columbia – September 5, 2019
Calgary, Alberta – September 11, 2019
Winnipeg, Manitoba – September 13, 2019
Regina, Saskatchewan – September 20, 2019
Halifax, Nova Scotia – September 24, 2019

Register for Just Say Know: an evening with Author David Sheff
Register for Just Say Know: an evening with Author David Sheff

 

Recovery Capital Conference CEUs

Recovery Capital Conference Continuing Education Opportunities

The following certification bodies have approved CE Units for conference delegates:

Canadian Addiction Counsellor Certification Federation

BC – 12

AB – 7.5

SK – 7

MB – 7

NS – 7.5

Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association

BC – 12

AB – 6

SK – 6

MB – 6

NS – 6

Employee Assistance Certification Commission

BC – 17.25

AB – 7.75

SK – 6.75

MB -7.25

NS -7.25

Medical Psychotherapy Association of Canada

BC – 12

AB – 7.25

SK – 6.75

MB – 6.75

NS – 7.25

The National Association for Addiction Professionals

BC – 12

AB – 5.75

SK – 6.75

MB – 6.75

NS – 7.25

Vocational Rehabilitation Association of Canada

BC – 12

AB – 7.25

SK – 6.75

MB – 6.75

NS – 7.25

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT Recovery Capital Associate (RCA) and Recovery Capital Professiona (RCP)

More CEUs

As more Continuing Education information is provided by various certification bodies it will be made available on the Recovery Capital Conference of Canada website.

Please check our website for additional information on claiming your continuing education units with individual certification bodies, as each have their own requirements and prerequisites.

How do I get my CEUS

Certificates will be emailed after proof of attending the conferences.

Register today 

Multiple dates and cities:

  • September 5, 2019 – New Westminster, BC, Anvil Centre
  • September 11, 2019 – Calgary, AB, Best Western Plaza
  • September 13, 2019 – Winnipeg, MB, RBC Convention Centre
  • September 20, 2019 – Regina, SK, Queensbury Convention Centre
  • September 24, 2019 – Halifax, NS, Pier 21

 

 

Recovery Capital Certification

This year Canada’s Recovery Capital Assessment Toolkit and Recovery Planner will be available,

Be an innovator in your field.

By attending the Recovery Capital Virtual Webinar you will receive the education you need to qualify you for the NEW Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation  (CACCF) Recovery Capital Associate (RCA) certification.

Be a change agent and leader in your field.

 

Work with your clients with a strength-based approach.

Individuals who obtain RCA will also be able to further their credentials by obtaining the Recovery Capital Professional certificate.  Details below.

 

 


Recovery Capital Associate 

  • Membership with CACCF in good standing
  • Canadian Certified Addiction Counsellor (CCAC) in good standing or the equivalent of 270 education hours of Substance Use/ Addiction specific
  • Formal Education 4000 hours of Clinical Work Experience and 300 hours of Supervised Clinical Training.
  • Supervisor’s Evaluation Form. The supervisor must be/have been in an acting capacity for 6 months or more
  • Read & Sign Consent to Release Information
  • Read & Sign Canon of Ethics Principles
  • Application Processing Fee

Work Experience

Work experience is for the purpose of acquiring and refining skills needed to be a competent substance use/addictions counsellor. This must be direct experience in counselling based on the “Twelve Core Functions”. Such experience is defined as supervised work, paid, working directly with clients with a primary diagnosis of substance use. In order to be eligible for certification, candidates must document that they have obtained qualified clinical work experience in the field.

The candidate must have the equivalent of two (2) years full-time work experience (4000 hours) within the past five (5) years providing direct and regularly supervised counselling services to persons with the primary diagnosis of substance abuse.

  • Experience or practise in substance use disorders in each of the 12 core functions areas, can be made up of the following:
  • Paid work experience
  • The experience acquired by means of a supervised practicum/ internship, undertaken as part of a program of study.
  • Proven experience as a volunteer in a Wellness/ Addiction Organization or recovery-oriented system of care

Education

Education includes University or College. Education must be related to the base of knowledge and skills, associated with the “Twelve Core Functions” of the addiction counsellor. To be eligible, all education must be documented by means of a transcript, and course outlines if not a preapproved program.

The applicant must have a minimum of 270 hours of education, including a minimum of 1.5 hours specific to recovery capital, in the knowledge and skill areas.

Twelve core functions

All clinical training hours must be documented as to where and with whom they took place, and what material was covered. This documentation must indicate a minimum of ten (10) hours of supervision in each of the “Twelve

  • Core Functions”
  • Client Screening
  • Client Intake
  • Client Orientation
  • Treatment Planning
  • Client Assessment
  • Counselling
  • Case Management
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Client Education
  • Referral
  • Reports and Record Keeping
  • Consultations with Other Professionals

Supervised Clinical Training

The minimal accepted standard is 300 hours. It is expected that this supervision will be a continuous, on-going part of the counsellor’s experience.

A “supervisor” shall be interpreted to mean the person who has responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the performance of alcohol and drug counsellors and students. This individual must be a person with comprehensive knowledge of the treatment of alcoholism and drug dependency and have reached a supervisory position in a treatment setting. Others, who might be in positions of authority, but with little knowledge of addiction, would not be acceptable.

Supervised clinical training is supervision designed to improve and evaluate a counsellor’s knowledge and skill in the “Twelve Core Functions”. This training must be part of the eligible clinical work experience and may be completed under more than one supervisor or agency.

Recovery Capital Competencies

  1. Ability to assess strengths and competencies of clients when completing recovery capital assessments, providing strength-based interventions and facilitating ongoing recovery plans.
  2. Demonstrated ability to utilize the twelve core functions when employing counselling methods that are respectful of the values and needs of the person approaching recovery or currently recovering and tailor treatment planning to increase the recovery capital they possess.


Recovery Capital Professional 

  • Application Checklist
  • Membership with CACCF in good standing
  • International Certified Alcohol & Drug Counsellor (ICADC) in good standing or the equivalent of 300 education hours of Substance Use/ Addiction specific
  • Formal Education 6000 hours of Clinical Work Experience and 300 hours of Supervised Clinical Training.
  • Supervisor’s Evaluation Form. The supervisor must be/have been in an acting capacity for 6 months or more
  • Read & Sign Consent to Release Information
  • Read & Sign Canon of Ethics Principles
  • Case presentation form describing your practice of the Recovery Capital Competencies
  • Application Processing Fee

Work Experience

Experience or practice in substance use disorders in each of the 12 core functions areas, can be made up of the following:

  • Paid work experience
  • Experience acquired by means of a supervised practicum/ internship, undertaken as part of a program of study.
  • Proven experience as a volunteer in a Wellness/ Addiction Organization or recovery-oriented system of care

Education

Education includes university or college. Education must be related to the base of knowledge and skills, associated with the “Twelve Core Functions” of the addiction counsellor. To be eligible, all education must be documented by means of a transcript, and course outlines if not a pre-approved program.

The applicant must have a minimum of 300 hours of education, including a minimum of 3 hours specific to recovery capital, in the knowledge and skill areas.

The applicant should have documented hours of education at the post secondary or training level in the following:

Addiction Recovery specific topics

  • Introduction to Addictions
  • Dynamics of Addictions
  • Pharmacology
  • Human Development
  • Addiction Interventions
  • Self, Health and Wellness
  • Ethics / Cultural Values
  • Addiction – related topics
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Mental Health
  • Group Therapy
  • Philosophies and theories of recovery-oriented systems of care
  • Recovery Capital Assessment and tools
  • Relapse prevention
  • Suicide
  • Drugs / Substances
  • Self – care
  • Concurrent Disorders

Twelve Core Functions

  • Screening
  • Intake
  • Assessment and Evaluation
  • Treatment Planning
  • Counselling: Individual, Group and Significant Other
  •  Case Management
  • Client Education
  • Referral
  • Reports and Record Keeping
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Orientation Case Management
  • Consultation with Other Professionals

General Skills and Knowledge

  • Communications
  • Group Facilitation
  • Interviewing Techniques
  • Conflict Resolution / Management

Supervised Clinical Training

Applicant requires supervised training during their experience hours. Practicum is optional, but the hours can be counted as hours of work experience

Recovery Capital Competencies

  1. Ability to respect, implement and incorporate culturally competent recovery-oriented competencies when providing counselling – such as strength-based approaches utilizing recovery capital tools and assessments.
  2. Ability to assess strengths and competencies of clients when completing recovery capital assessments, providing strength-based interventions and facilitating ongoing recovery plans.
  3. Utilize a strength-based recovery-oriented framework that fosters physical, psychological and emotional safety (i.e.: trauma-informed practices, cultural humility/competency) and identifies opportunities for the person to maintain or re-establish a sense of autonomy and empowerment.
  4. Demonstrated ability to utilize the twelve core functions when employing counselling methods that are respectful of the values and needs of the person approaching recovery or currently recovering and tailor treatment planning to increase the recovery capital they possess