Course

Learning Goals

To understand the development of the current care system.

To learn how research has supported the development of recovery-oriented systems of care.

Learning Objectives

To describe the difference between acute care, chronic care and recovery-oriented care systems.

To be able to explain integrated care and comprehensive care to others in a way for them to understand.

Student Self-Practicum Activity

• Find a veteran provider in your community who has provided services for 10 years or more. Interview them about how the recovery field has changed since they started working in the field. During the interview, listen for examples of acute care, chronic care and recovery-oriented care. What is the veteran provider’s knowledge and experience with recovery-oriented care? It is possible the veteran provider may not be familiar with it and this may be an opportunity to share what you have learned.

• Investigate your community. Find out which treatment facilities have been around for 20 years or more. Talk with an administrator about the changes the facility has undergone in that time. Have they changed from an acute care model to a recovery-oriented model? What challenges did they face during this transition and how were those challenges overcome? What strengths did they utilize to remain a successful entity? How have they implemented a recovery oriented approach to treatment? What are their plans for the future?

Learning Goal

To understand the current state of affairs for mental health, substance use, disabilities, physical health, incarceration and the systems that treat them.

Learning Objective

Students will recognize the need for continued improvement in the systems that provide care.

Student Self-Practicum Activity

• Choose a topic that you care about and look further into issues related to that topic. For example, if you are interested in working with LGBTQ youth, find out what issues are most important now and educate yourself. You may decide to advocate for clients in this area.

Learning Goals

To understand and describe what whole health recovery means.

To understand what role peer support can play in integrated healthcare.

Learning Objective

Students will be able to apply the philosophy of whole health recovery to themselves and their work with clients.

Student Self-Practicum Activity

• How does your organization approach whole health recovery? How can a you support a client’s whole health?

• Learn about your community. How are providers in your community addressing whole health recovery? Collect good examples for discussion with a colleague, mentor or supervisor. What can your organization improve upon to promote whole health recovery?

Learning Goal

To understand the basics of diagnostic language and recognize signs of mental health issues.

Learning Objective

Students will be able to identify and refer client who are in need of mental health treatment.

Student Self-Practicum Activity

• Take time to observe the behaviors of those you work with. If you already work with clients, consider which of them may struggle with mental health issues.

• With a colleague, mentor or supervisor, practice a role play in which you make a suggestion to a client that they may want to seek out mental health treatment. How do you bring it up? If you have lived experience with mental health issues, how would you share it? Request feedback.

Learning Goals

Understand how addiction changes the brain and how the physical nature of addiction affects recovery.

Learning Objective

Students will be able to explain the addiction process to client in and educational way.

Student Self-Practicum Activities

• Role-play how you would educate a client or client’s circle of support about the science of addiction.

• Create a short, 3-5 minute educational presentation that you can present to families of clients, explaining the science of addiction

Learning Goal

Understand the different addiction recovery models, how they are similar and how they differ.

Learning Objective

Students will be able to state the main ideas of each recovery model and the differences between them.

Student Self-Practicum Activity

• Investigate your community. Are there any treatment providers in your community utilizing these models? If so, visit them and discuss their strengths and weaknesses with a colleague, mentor, or supervisor. Include information about them in your resource binder for use with clients.

• Find a mutual aid group meeting either online or in your community. Attend a meeting and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the program with a colleague, mentor or supervisor. Include information about them in your resource binder for use with clients.

Learning Goal

Identify when and how to refer a client for counseling for co-occurring disorders.

Learning Objective

Students will have the basic skills to identify clients who need more comprehensive services and refer them to qualified providers.

Student Self-Practicum Activity

• Interview a provider who specializes in treating co-occurring disorders. What are their recommendations for how a peer service provider or case aide can support a client struggling with co-occurring disorders through treatment?

• Discuss the challenges and strategies about working with clients with co-occurring disorders with a colleague, mentor or supervisor either individually or in a group setting.

Learning Goal

To understand the benefits, barriers, and basics of medication assisted treatment.

Learning Objective

Students will understand benefits and barriers to medication assisted treatment and be able to refer clients if needed.

Student Self-Practicum Activity

• Investigate your community. Are there any treatment providers in your community who provides medication assisted treatment? If so, what is their referral process? What are the program requirements? Include information about them in your resource binder for use with clients.

• Discuss the challenges and strategies about working with clients utilizing medication assisted treatment with a colleague, mentor or supervisor either individually or in a group setting.

Learning Goal

To understand trauma-informed care, be able to recognize a client’s need for trauma-informed care and direct clients to appropriate services.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to define trauma-informed care and advocate for its implementation within organizations.

Students will be able to identify clients with histories of trauma and work with them in a trauma-informed manner.

Student Self-Practicum Activity

• Share examples of clients who have experienced trauma and what their treatment experiences were like. How can your organization address the special challenges faced by those who have experienced trauma?

• Investigate the availability of trauma-informed providers in your area, including counselors. Who would you feel comfortable referring clients to? If you find some, add those to your resource list to be able to pass on to clients.

Learning Goal

To understand how systems influence recovery.

Learning Objective

Students will be able to consider systems factors and how they influence a client’s recovery journey.

Student Self-Practicum Activity

Choose a client, a peer, or someone you know and discuss with a colleague, mentor, or supervisor the systems factors that have influenced that person’s current situation as well as their recovery.

Learning Goal

To understand how clinical research influences treatment systems.

Learning Objective

Students will understand what evidenced based practice (EBP) is and why it is important. They will be able to differentiate between good and inferior research.

Student Self-Practicum Activity

• Discuss with a colleague, mentor, or supervisor what EBP they use. If they are not using EBP, find out why. If they do, discuss the reasons those programs were chosen. Following the discussion, look up the EBP on NREPP National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices for mental health and substance abuse treatment (http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/01_landing.aspx) to find out more about it

Learning Goals

To understand professional ethical concepts and how they relate to the work of peer providers and case aides.

To understand the importance and function of documentation within treatment systems.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to define ethical concepts such as boundaries, scope of services, and confidentiality and know how they relate to the relationships with treatments systems and their clients.

Students will demonstrate basic documentation skills.

Student Self-Practicum Activity: Documentation 

Read the following case example and provide a D.A.P note based on the information given.

• Investigate your organization’s process for ethical review.

• Engage in discussions with a colleague, mentor, or supervisor about current client cases that involve ethical questions. If possible, invite multiple members of a treatment team to be involved in order for to experience a real ethical situation with a variety of professional perspectives.

• Take the Boundary Assessment (Appendix). Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

• Participate in a group discussion about situations with clients where confidentiality and boundaries were tested. How did providers handle those situations? What went well? What did not go so well? What can be done in the future to ensure ethical handling of confidentiality and boundaries?

• Practice documenting client meetings using DAP notes. Ask a colleague, mentor, or supervisor to evaluate your work.

• Create a plan for continued ethics education.

Learning GoalS

To understand the foundational principles of a working alliance.

To improve self-awareness as it pertains to modeling recovery behaviors and self-care.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to describe a working alliance.

Students will improve their self-awareness, practice modeling recovery behaviors, and have the tools to create a self-care plan

Student Self-Practicum Activity

• Create a 3-5 minute description of a peer-based working alliance that can be used for educating clients as well as colleagues.

• Create a 3-5 minute explanation about the definition of self-care and how self-care serves as a compassion fatigue preventative. Share this with clients and colleagues.