Collaboration across multiple perspectives enhances the potential for innovative solutions to the complex issues of our time. An interdisciplinary education (IDE) community of practice (CoP) proved to be a catalyst for bringing together interested faculty from across a large public college to create an IDE learning event focused on homelessness.…

Social workers play a critical role in assessing and treating individuals and families with mental health and addiction concerns. Although social workers are key professionals in the mental health workforce, there are gaps in the training and education of mental health, addictions, and suicide, and many students are inadequately prepared for field…

Providing skilled treatment options for clients experiencing addiction is imperative to positive client treatment outcomes. As a prerequisite to providing efficacious addiction treatment, counselors-in-training are charged with the responsibility of understanding the affect of cravings on addiction relapse. This article presents 3 experiential,…

This article describes five creative experiential classroom activities used in teaching addictions. The activities were integrated into the classroom curriculum and were processed weekly in focused dialogue. Student reflections throughout the article add depth to the meaning gained from the experience of the change process. The students' feedback…

Self-reflection, creativity, and experiential education are effective teaching strategies for counselor educators. Understanding and conceptualizing client cases can feel overwhelming for counselors-in-training. This article describes how the process of case conceptualization can be enhanced through the use of film. A case example is provided of…

Students come to the classroom with life experience that may reinforce stigmatization of those who struggle with addiction. Educators must address this dynamic directly if addiction practitioners are to move beyond their personal experiences and come to understand the neuroscience of addiction, evidence-based practices, and the human potential for…

This article suggests that evidence based practice instruction should be preceded by an introduction to the 3 types of knowledge about addiction: experiential, professional and research. Each knowledge base should be defined and critiqued. This introduction can create a climate for acceptance of evidence-based practices. The article outlines the…

Increased attention to preparing addictions counselors and related professionals to use evidence-based practices has brought new attention to the preparation programs for addictions counselors. Research and theory about adult learning emphasizes the importance of students as active participants in problem and experience based learning. This paper…

Per se, increased knowledge about substance abuse has not been effective in altering social workers' negative attitudes towards substance abusers or their failure to recognize or address substance abuse problems among clients. In this paper, we describe an experiential abstinence assignment integrated with the content of an elective substance…

Treatment for alcohol and drug disorders is changing. The evidence is emerging in federally sponsored reports, initiatives, and strategic plans from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The reports and…

The authors present a model for teaching group at the master's level that integrates classroom with experiential group practice. The basis for this adult learning model is an understanding of addiction, a model of how people change, and an appreciation of the stages of group development. The components of the model are didactic presentation, class…