The Chicago School offers a Treatment of Addiction Disorders Concentration as part of its Counseling Psychology  graduate programs, designed to provide specific education in the area of assessment, intervention/prevention, and treatment of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) and behavioral addictions. This concentration strives to prepare individuals to provide effective Counseling Psychology  services for a wide range of addictions in community-based environments.

Our graduate programs in Counseling Psychology offer students a unique learning experience by combining theoretical classroom teaching with real-world learning experiences. The curriculum for our Counseling Psychology programs is practitioner-focused, giving students the ability to gain an expertise in the field of addiction disorder treatment through active participation with diverse and often underserved populations in Chicago’s dynamic urban environment. This real-world training will help students understand and appreciate the impact diversity and cultural issues have on the treatment of addiction disorders. Students will also benefit from the active learning experience produced with this clinical interaction and use it as a foundation for their Counseling Psychology expertise. Through classroom teaching and these practitioner-based opportunities, students will also learn the ethical and professional guidelines of the counseling profession and Clinical Psychology.

With our Counseling Psychology graduate programs, the theoretical frameworks and scientific bases of master’s level Clinical Psychology are taught by an experienced faculty of working professionals. As they bridge the field of Clinical Psychology and the counseling profession, our faculty provides students with the skills they will need to treat addiction disorders in the diverse populations they will encounter in their professional work. Students are taught research methodologies, as well as the ability to evaluate that research as it pertains to the field of Clinical Psychology.

Students enrolled in our Counseling Psychology graduate programs and specializing in the treatment of addiction disorders will gain an understanding and appreciation for how diverse populations and cultural issues impact those who need addiction treatment. Our graduate programs in Counseling Psychology will provide students with the essential diagnostic, therapeutic, and consultative skills necessary to work with many diverse populations afflicted with a variety of emotional and psychological conditions related directly to Addiction Disorder Counseling.

The following course work is required for this concentration:

• CC650 Biological Bases and Psychopharmacology of Addiction Disorders
• CC652 Historical & Legal Developments in Addiction Disorders
• CC655 Treatment of Substance Abuse and Addiction Disorders