Professional Certificate in Family Dimension in Addiction
Strengthen your skills in working with families affected by addiction. Learn systemic approaches and practical tools to support recovery for clients and their loved ones.
This certificate explores the role of families in addiction and recovery. It examines how family systems function in both healthy and addicted contexts and equips you with practical skills to engage with families, couples, and significant others in treatment.
You’ll also explore your own family background through reflective practice, strengthening your ability to work systemically and ethically in addiction counselling.
DATES
- Day 1: Sunday, 26th of October – Online
- Day 2: Sunday, 9th of November – Online
- Day 3: Saturday, 22nd of November – In Person
- Day 4: Sunday, 23rd of November – In Person
From 9:00 am to 5:30 pm
Please note that by enrolling on this Professional Certificate programme, you will be joining a Year 2 module of PCI College’s MSc Addiction Counselling & Psychotherapy programme. Some of your classmates will be students completing their studies on the MSc Addiction Counselling & Psychotherapy programme, so you can expect to experience a high level of knowledge from your peers during your studies on this Professional Certificate.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers, and allied health professionals who wish to deepen their understanding of family dynamics in addiction and learn practice-based approaches to support both individuals and their families.
Course Requirements
Attend all 4 days of teaching
Formative Assessments
Create a three-generation genogram of your own family of origin for presentation during the second weekend.
Write a 500-word reflective learning journal on your experience of developing the genogram and exploring family dynamics. This is ungraded but supports your integration of theory with personal insight.
Practise family engagement skills in class (in roles such as client, therapist, family member, and observer) and receive coaching and feedback from your lecturer and peers.
Summative Assessment
Submit a 3,000-word treatment plan for a family case developed throughout the module. This plan should include:
- A family genogram
- A trauma-informed family formulation
- Consideration of theory, technique, and ethics
- Reflections on diversity, culture, and personal insights
The treatment plan must demonstrate your ability to integrate theory, skills, and reflective practice, showing achievement of the module’s learning outcomes.
What are the benefits of doing this course?
Develop specialist skills for working with families and couples impacted by addiction.
Gain confidence in applying systemic perspectives to clinical practice.
Learn to use genograms and family engagement strategies as practical tools.
Enhance your professional readiness by integrating theory, practice, and reflective awareness.
What will you learn?
By completing this course, you will be able to:
Understand the patterns, roles, and lived experiences of families affected by addiction.
Apply systemic perspectives to your work with individuals and families.
Identify and support the needs of families in crisis.
Practise culturally informed, evidence-based family engagement and intervention skills.
Reflect on your own family origins and how they shape your practice as a counsellor.
Day 1
- Boundaries and subsystems in healthy and unhealthy families
- The addicted family and its life cycle
Day 2
- Family roles and adaptation to addiction
- Genograms to explore attachment, heritability, and transgenerational trauma
Day 3
- The main theorists and tenets of family therapy
- Twelve Step oriented perspectives on family work and its implications
- Person Centred approaches to counselling families and couples
- Multicultural perspectives on family kinship and substance use
Day 4
- Family engagement skills including enactments, multi-partiality, and circular questioning
- Providing psychoeducation and other supports to families in addiction
- Introduction to the Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) approach
- Introduction to Behavioural Family Therapy to improve communication in families
Eligibility
Applicants should possess the maturity to reflect on their development as a person and have successfully completed and obtained a minimum grade 2.2 in one of the following:
Level 8 NFQ/Level 6 UK accredited degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy/Addiction Counselling
OR
Level 8 NFQ/ Level 6UK degree in Social Sciences (Youth Work, Social Care, Social Work, Psychology, Nursing, Medicine, etc.)
OR
Accredited Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy/Addiction Counselling plus Level 8 NFQ/Level 6UK degree in an unrelated area plus submission of a clinical portfolio
IT Skills
Students require sufficient IT skills to complete the course.
Additional Entry Requirements
Students with a diagnosed learning difficulty (e.g. dyslexia) must declare this at the application stage. Advice and support will be provided where needed. Students currently enrolled in Year 1 of the MSc Addiction Counselling & Psychotherapy are not eligible to apply for this programme.
Fees
Standard Rate: Applies to all non-affiliated participants.
PCI College Graduate: Discounted rate available for graduates of BSc Degree and Postgraduate programmes.
Current BSc/MSc Students & Alumni Members: Preferential rate available. Join our Alumni Group on LinkedIn to access this discount
Course Fees – Republic of Ireland
Course Total