Introduction

Ecolink Institute of Well-being is an approved training provider for the Colombo Plan involved in training addiction professionals globally. It has successfully done seven international batches, covering addiction professionals from around the globe through online live training sessions.

 

The Institute has been awarded the “Best Training Provider” in the world by International Society for Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) recently in Abu Dhabi, UAE amidst representatives from over 100 countries around the globe in the presence of senior leaders of the Colombo Plan, UNODC, WHO, African Union and ISSUP.

 

Now, we offer courses for teachers of schools and colleges as they are the primary guides and counselors to the students; right from their infancy. Teachers can play an important role in the prevention and management of substance use in schools and colleges by being their mentor and counselor. The Universal Treatment and Prevention Curriculum on Substance Use Disorder is developed by the Colombo Plan with the support of the US Department of State, and is used as an internationally recognized training syllabus in more than 80 countries.

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The Background:

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The 2022 World Drug Report provided a global overview of the supply and demand of opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants and new psychoactive substances (NPS), as well as their impact on health. The report has clearly pointed out that there have been an increase in the number of young people using drugs, especially cannabis and hallucinogens. Legalization of cannabis in different parts of the world has resulted in more use and addiction among youngsters.

 

According to the report, around 284 million people aged 15-64 used drugs worldwide in 2020, a 26 per cent increase over the previous decade. Young people are using more drugs, with use levels today in many countries higher than with the previous generation.

 

In this context, prevention and early intervention play an important role and teachers can play a crucial role in this regard. The global syllabus on Universal Treatment and prevention curriculum is developed by the global experts under the supervision of the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program and the UNODC with funding from INL, US Department of State, which is recognized as an evidence based syllabus.

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Training goals:

• To provide teachers with an understanding of the physiology of addiction as a brain disease;

• To understand various categories of drugs and their impacts on health

• To understand the science of addiction, stages and syndromes, causative factors and progressive nature.

• To understand the role of teachers as also counsellors and guide

• To define helping relationships and characteristics of effective counsellors

• To understand and practice reflective listening as a counselling skill.

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The Training Design:

The crash course will be held two days a week (Tuesday and Thursday) from 2-4 PM. The course is imparted through the zoom platform by live training sessions by global trainers in English. The course is for two months, starting on 22 August 2022.  

 

The trainers will provide a specific agenda for each course with trainer-led presentations and discussions, frequent use of creative learner-directed activities, small-group and partner-to-partner exercises and presentations, and periodic reviews to enhance learning retention. Your active participation is essential to making this a positive and productive learning experience!

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The title of the training program:

“Science of Addiction & Counseling Skills for Teachers”

The Organizers: 

Ecolink Institute of Well-being, India in Collaboration with  The Colombo Plan-Drug Advisory Programme

Duration of the training:

 Two Months (Online) 

Eligible groups:

Teachers from Elementary and High Schools, Colleges & Universities.

Proposed starting Date: 

22 August, 2022. (Registration to be closed by 18 August)

Training Days:

Tuesday & Thursday

Training Hours:

IST 6 pm - 8 pm 

Selection Process: 

Selection is done based on the recommendation from the Principal or a written test and interview by the Ecolink Institute, India.

Selection Process: 

40

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What the participants gain:

1. 1. The participants will get a soft copy of the Participant Manual for each curriculum with more than 250 Pages of resource materials, PPTs, and reference pages completely free. These manual will be in English, but classes will be in Hindi (Total: 2 manuals)

2. 2. In addition to Curriculum 1 & 4, the participants will get significant sessions on addiction recovery, Co-occurring mental disorders, prevention science & strategies, social media addiction management, etc.

3.  3. The Certificates of Completion will have logo of the Colombo Plan and the transcript of the topics and modules covered with number of hours.

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The Resource persons:

Globally Certified Trainers for the Universal Treatment Curricula with several hours of regional and national training and counselling experience

1. Dr. Thirumagal V, Global Master Trainer, Colombo Plan

2. Ms. Aditi Ghaneker, Global Master Trainer, Colombo Plan

3. Mr. Francis Moothedan, ICAP-III certified Global Master Trainer, Colombo Plan

4. Ms. Susmita Bannerji, Global Master Trainer, Colombo Plan

5. Dr. Thomas Scaria, ICAP Certified Addiction Trainer & Director, Ecolink

Moderator: Dr. Thomas Scaria, ICAP Certified Addiction Trainer & Director, Ecolink

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The Syllabus (Curricula and Modules)

The syllabus is designed by international experts based on evidence-based approaches and years of research. The overall goal of the training series is to help addiction practitioners with basic knowledge and skills in managing SUDs at their Recovery centres. The course is designed to give a clear picture of the science of addiction, its disease concept, stages and symptoms, and classification of psychoactive substances in the first course and discuss the role of the teacher as a counsellor in the second course

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Course 1: Physiology and Pharmacology for Addiction Professionals

Module 1—Training Introduction

Module 2—Introduction to Psychoactive Substance Use 

Module 3—The Science of Addiction

Module 4—Social Stigma

Module 5—Substances of Abuse: Characteristics and Consequences

Module 6—Integrating Learning Into  Practice

Participants who complete Course 1 will be able to: 

• Name and briefly describe four classes of psychoactive substances;

• Describe the ways in which psychoactive substances may be taken; 

• Define substance use disorders; 

• Define physiological dependence; 

• Define addiction; 

• Briefly describe the ways in which substance use affects normal brain communication;

• Define and describe the concept of stigma; and

• Describe the effects and consequences of at least six psychoactive substances.

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Course 2 : Treatment for Substance Use Disorder, Continuum of Care

Module 1—Training Introduction

Module 2— The Helping Relationship

Module 3— Core Counseling Skills

Module 4— Stages of and Strategies for Change

Module 5— Group Counseling: Basic Skills

Module 6— Psycho-education Groups for Clients and Families Module

Module 7_ Teaching Clients Skills

Module 8 _ Integrating Learning Into Practice

Participants who complete Course 4 will be able to: 

• Describe the concept and importance of counsellor style; 

• List at least five characteristics of effective counsellors; 

• Define helping relationship; 

• Describe the three types of reflective listening; 

• Demonstrate basic competence in reflective listening; 

• Describe and demonstrate asking open-ended questions, affirming, summarizing, and rolling with resistance; 

• Identify at least two effective counselling strategies for each stage of change; 

• Demonstrate basic competence in three types of skills-based counselling:

  • Relapse prevention

  • Problem-solving

  • Goal-setting; 

• Describe at least two basic issues or tasks for each typical group phase; and Demonstrate basic competence in group facilitation.

 

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Methodology for training:

The training will be imparted through a zoom video conference, and the link will be sent through email and WhatsApp 3 hours prior to the scheduled time of the sessions. The students can click the link and the host will admit them to the classroom 15 minutes prior to the session. The training sessions will be from 6 pm to 8 pm with a break in between.

 

The training will be using PowerPoint presentations, interactive sessions, and activities, and will be following a detailed manual with PPT and other instructions which will be made available to the participants before the session begins. The modules will be taken by expert resource persons who are recognized by the Colombo Plan and UNODC, most of them serving as global trainers. There will be 8 curricula with 6-8 modules which will be imparted on one module-one day basis. Certain modules will be split into two days depending on their content. There will be home works and activities related to the sessions and reference materials will be provided. Hours spent on Home assignments will be also added to the hours of training.

 

Sessions will be provided live and not through any recorded video. Students are expected to learn not only through the zoom sessions but through prescribed activities, home works and reading reference materials from the participant's manual and references provided.

 

The training is imparted in four parts of two curriculums each and participants will get completion certificates upon successful completion of each part. In addition to these completion certificates, participants will be given the opportunity to appear for an international examination, conducted by GCCC for credentialing and certification. There will be a feedback session and online model examination after each curriculum to help participants successfully pass through the ICAP examination at the end for credentialing as an internationally certified Addiction Professional (ICAP).

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For more details, please contact:

Dr. Thomas Scaria, Director OR Mr Ronnie Thomas, Correspondent, Ecolink Institute of Well-being, Christa Jyoti, Opp.A.J.Hospital, Mangalore-575004, India. Email: ecolinkinstitute@gmail.com, Phone: +919448327209, +91 8073168164 (WhatsApp)

 

Acknowledgments: Universal Treatment Curricula for Addiction Professionals is part of an eight-volume training series developed for the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) by the Colombo Plan