ADS555 Multicultural Aspects of Addiction (2 cr.)

This course provides an integrated overview of the psychology and sociology of psychoactive drug use, abuse, addiction, and evidenced-based treatment approaches in contemporary American society and other world cultures. The complex relationships between individual, family, group, and sociocultural dimensions of drug using are explored. Special attention is given to variables of age, ethnicity, spirituality, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Examine one’s own biases and prejudices regarding chemical use.
2. Review common and evidence-based assessment, diagnosis and treatment approaches for chemical health from diverse individual, couple, family, and community perspectives.
3. Develop practical and effective skills for interviewing, assessing, and treatment planning for diverse populations considering modalities such as Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Motivational Enhancement Training, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Multi-systemic Family Therapy, and Narrative Approaches.
4. Analyze assumptions, strengths, and limitations of approaches such as Abstinence, 12-Step, Harm Reduction, and Responsible Use for diverse groups.
5. Articulate the distinctive treatment issues and needs with respect to individual differences within their cultural context.