This course is designed to prepare students for the graduate learning experience at Grand Canyon University. Students have opportunities to develop and strengthen the skills necessary to succeed as graduate students in the health sciences. Emphasis is placed on utilizing the tools for graduate success.

This course provides a broad understanding of counseling ethics, legal standards, and responsibilities, including professional identity, report writing, record keeping, and service reimbursement for addiction counselors. Also covered are the history of and current trends in counseling. Important goals of this course are to help students develop a strong personal and professional ethic, as well as an appreciation for the value of professional collaboration and identity.

This course provides a comprehensive survey of the major counseling theories and principles. Coursework includes the following theories: psychoanalytic, Adlerian, existential psychotherapy, behavioral, cognitive behavioral, person-centered, reality therapy/choice theory, and rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT).

This course provides a broad understanding of the stages, processes, and effects of substance use disorders, social and psychological dynamics of substance use disorders, and the professional's role in prevention, intervention, and aftercare, including recovery and relapse prevention. This course explores theories and models of treatment of substance use disorders, drug classification, and assessment. It also continues building foundational knowledge, utilization of professional resources, and exploration of standards to help students prepare for licensure/certification within the counseling industry.

This course provides a broad understanding of issues and trends in a multicultural and diverse society. Studies in this area include the following: attitudes and behaviors based on such factors as age, race, religious preference, physical disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity and culture, family patterns, gender, socioeconomic status and intellectual ability; individual, family, group, and community strategies for working with diverse populations; theories of multicultural counseling and identity development; and multicultural competencies. Students examine a variety of cultural populations in multiple regions of the United States, exploring issues and trends that are associated with each population. Cultural considerations for immigrants, refugees, and undocumented immigrants are also addressed.

This course provides a broad understanding of group development, group dynamics, group counseling theories, and ethical standards with reference to professional and substance use disorders counseling. The course also addresses group process components, appropriate selection criteria, developmental stage theories, group members' roles and behaviors, and group leadership styles and approaches. The course includes didactic and experiential group learning. Required synchronous group experience: 12 hours.

This course introduces students to the basic principles of psychopharmacology and the effects of psychoactive substances. Students examine the behavioral, psychological, physiological and social effects of psychoactive substance use, and learn to recognize symptoms of intoxication, withdrawal, and toxicity. The class covers various screening options, limitations, legal implications, and the utilization of pharmacotherapy as part of substance addiction treatment.

This course introduces students to co-occurring disorders. Students examine screening and assessment tools to reveal and evaluate the presence and severity of co-occurring disorders. This course also explores the treatment needs of persons with co-occurring disorders. Strategies for risk management associated with treating individuals with co-occurring disorders are presented.

This course examines the impact of substance use disorders in family systems. Various treatment interventions are discussed. The treatment roles and responsibilities of addicted individuals and their families are also examined.

This course provides a conceptual framework for the use of assessment and diagnostic tools for the development of appropriate treatment interventions for a variety of behavioral health and substance use disorders. Included is an introduction to the use of the diagnostic tools, including the DSM, and the integration of diagnostic and assessment information, in the development of treatment plans.

This course provides an introduction to adolescent substance use disorders prevention and treatment techniques and interventions. Signs, symptoms, and patterns of adolescent substance use are examined. Students also explore adolescent screening methods and assessment tools.

This is a supervised fieldwork experience under the supervision of a faculty member and an on-site clinical supervisor approved by the college or university. Documentation of a minimum requirement of 150 hours of counseling-related activities, which include 50 direct contact hours, is submitted directly to the Lopes Activity Tracker for verification and tracking. Students may not progress to PCN-662A without the required amount of hours submitted and proper approval. State licensure requirements may mandate additional hours. Students must review and adhere to their state board's additional requirements. Practicum/field experience hours: 150. Prerequisites: Completion of all didactic coursework in the program; a GPA of 3.0 or better; and maintenance of student professional liability insurance in the amount of $1 million, $3 million.

Students use this supervised practicum/internship experience to develop their counseling skills and to perform all the activities that a regularly employed professional counselor would be expected to perform in a supervised setting. The practicum/internship is performed under the supervision of an on-site clinical supervisor approved by the Office of Field Experience (OFE). Documentation of 150 hours of counseling-related activities, which include 50 direct contact hours, is submitted directly Lopes Activity Tracker for verification and tracking. Addiction Counseling students will need to complete 300 hours total, 150 total hours per course. State licensure requirements may mandate additional hours. Students must review and adhere to their state board's additional requirements. Practicum/field experience hours: 150. Prerequisites: PCN-622A; a GPA of 3.0 or better; maintenance of student professional liability insurance in the amount of $1 million, $3 million; and college approval.