Understanding and Working with Addiction in Counseling and Psychotherapy - 3 hours
To access the discount form for registering for multiple workshops or participants, please click here.
- CE Hours Included: 3 (please see below for details)
- Format: On-Demand Webinar (“Asynchronous”) ~ At your leisure to be viewed at your own pace. You may pause, rewind, and fast forward at any point during the videos. You are in complete control of how you view this workshop. It also comes with a PowerPoint and references. There is a quiz at the end to ensure viewing and required by all CE approval organizations.
- NOTE: Your certificate will be dated when you complete the course - Click here for more detailed information on the best way to do this: https://www.theknowledgetree.org/p/help
- Investment: $87 (provides lifetime access!)
- Presented by: Melanie M. Wilcox, Ph.D., ABPP (see bio below)
- Date of Recording: May 21, 2026
- Instruction Level: Intermediate
- Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists
- This workshop is not yet available; by pre-registering, you will receive immediate access when it becomes available in June.
Educational Objectives:
After completing this workshop in its entirety, you will be able to:
- Discuss the foundational principles of addiction assessment and treatment
- Demonstrate knowledge of addiction, types of substances of abuse, and considerations for each
- Apply attachment theory and trauma-informed perspectives to the understanding of addiction
Workshop Description:
We’ve all read headlines about the opioid epidemic; the addiction crisis; the rise of sports betting; and other indicators that addiction is ubiquitous and rising. Rarely, however, is the treatment of addiction covered thoroughly in graduate program curricula. As a result, most mental health therapists are highly likely to encounter individuals struggling with substance use and addiction-related concerns (or even their loved ones), and yet have had little preparation for how to best work with these issues in the therapy room.
In this presentation, we will discuss foundational principles for working with substance use and addiction concerns; the importance of motivational interviewing and stages of change; navigating the grey area between abuse and addiction; and risk assessment. Basic information on categories of substances and special considerations for each will be described, as well as how understanding the categorization of substances can assist with assessment. Trauma-informed and attachment perspectives will be emphasized throughout. The relationship between adversity, trauma, and addiction will be discussed, including the role of oppression (e.g., racism; economic marginalization) as adversity that increases the risk of other traumas as well as addiction itself.
Course Outline:
- Demonstrate knowledge of addiction, types of substances of abuse, and considerations for each (60 mins)
- What is addiction and how prevalent is it?
- Focuses of Addiction: Substances and Behaviors
- Categories of Substances and Considerations for Each
- Discuss foundational principles of addiction assessment and treatment (60 mins)
- Assessing Severity, Risk, and Grey Areas
- Stages of Change and Motivational Interviewing
- Working with the Loved Ones of Those Struggling with Addiction
- Apply attachment theory and trauma-informed perspectives to the understanding of addiction (60 mins)
- Connection between ACEs, Trauma, and Addiction
- Research on trauma and addiction
- Attachment theory and addiction
- Research on attachment and addiction
Presented by: Melanie M. Wilcox, Ph.D., ABPP
Melanie M. Wilcox, Ph.D., ABPP is a licensed psychologist and board-certified specialist in counseling psychology. Her clinical specialties include trauma, addiction, assessment, and complex diagnosis. Dr. Wilcox has years of experience conducting both psychotherapy and psychological assessment both in person and (now) by telehealth, and is passionate about trauma-informed care. She has worked in residential crisis as well as intensive outpatient, “dayhab,” and university campus-based addiction treatment settings.
3 "Asynchronous" CE Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:
- PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
- COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please click here for more detailed information.
- SOCIAL WORKERS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
- MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
Registration: To register for individual workshops, you may use our online payment option, or to pay by check you may print and complete the Registration Form and mail or fax it to our office. The registration form is available on our website: www.theknowledgetree.org. Registration is permitted until the time the workshop begins, unless otherwise specified.
Multiple Workshop Special: There is a 10% Discount with registration for two workshops. There is a 15% Discount with registrations for three or four workshops. There is a 20% Discount with registration for five or more workshops.
Refund/Cancellation Policy: If you can no longer attend a workshop you have registered for, you can either receive a credit for another workshop or receive a refund if you are within the refund policy period. Refunds will be given for cancellations received at least five days prior to the workshop. More information about refund/cancellation can be found here.
Attendance Policy: 100% attendance and completion of a course evaluation is required at any CE program in order to receive credit for that CE program. No partial credit is given. Certificates of completion will be available in each attendee’s account once the broadcast has ended and the course evaluation completed.
ADA Requests: We will make every effort to accommodate any reasonable ADA request. Please call or email us at least two weeks prior to the event. Payment and registration are required to fulfill an ADA request.
No Conflict Policy: Neither The Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program.
System Requirements: Live Interactive Webinars are facilitated via Zoom. System requirements for the Zoom platform are linked at our FAQ page.
We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.
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