Universal Treatment Curriculum for Substance Use Disorders (UTC)

Dhaka Ahsania Mission has been implementing drug prevention and treatment program since 1990 and received award from the Government several times. It may be mentioned here that Dhaka Ahsania Mission is the first ICCE approved Non Govt. Organization in Bangladesh which is going to work as education provider in this field.

International Center for Credentialing and Education of Addiction Professionals (ICCE)) of Colombo Plan has recognized Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) for enhancing the capacity of professionals in drug treatment.

In 9 October 2016 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between ICCE and Dhaka Ahsania Mission in this regard. The overall objective of this joint initiative is to increase knowledge and skill of the persons who are involved in providing drug treatment and rehabilitation.

Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) will implement training initiatives on Universal Treatment Curriculum For Substance Use Disorders (UTC) in Bangladesh under the aegis of ICCE. The UTC basic level curricula is a set of eight training curriculum that covers the broad spectrum of substance use disorder treatment. It aims to enhance the knowledge, skills and competency level of addiction and professionals by providing them with a solid foundational understanding of the science of addiction and latest information on evidence-based practices in treatment and interventions for clients and families. The experiential activities aim to enhance the skills and build up the confidence of Treatment Practitioners in the delivery of quality care and services that could help improve treatment outcomes.

Universal Treatment Curriculum For Substance Use Disorders (UTC) Basic Level consists of the following curricula:

Curriculum 1: Physiology and Pharmacology for Addiction Professionals (24 Hours)

The curriculum presents a comprehensive overview of addiction provides an understanding of the physiology of addiction as a brain disease and describe the pharmacology of psychoactive substance.

Curriculum 2: Treatment for Substance Use Disorders- The Continuum of Care for Addiction Professionals (24 hours)

The curriculum provides the foundation for learning about SUD treatment. It gives an overview of recovery and recovery management, stages of change, principles of effective treatment, components of treatment and evidence-based practices.

Curriculum 3: Common Co-Occurring Mental and Medical Disorders- An Overview for Addiction Professionals (24 hours)

This foundational course provides an overview of the relationship of co-occurring mental and medical disorders and SUD related treatment issues.

Curriculum 4: Basic Counseling Skills for Addiction Professionals (40 hours)

The curriculum provides an overview of the helping relationship and the opportunity to practice core counseling including basic skills in motivational interviewing, group counseling and implementation of psycho-education sessions.

Curriculum 5: Intake, Screening, Assessment, Treatment Planning and Documentation for Addiction Professionals (40 hours)

This curriculum is a skills-based course that teaches effective and integrated Intake, Screening, Assessment, Treatment Planning and Documentation procedures to Addiction Professionals.

Curriculum 6: Case Management for Addiction Professionals (16 hours)

The curriculum is a foundational and skill-based course that provides skills practice in case management functions.

Curriculum 7: Crisis Intervention for Addiction Professionals (16 hours)

The curriculum addresses the concept of crisis as a part of life and provides guidelines for crisis intervention, including managing suicide risk. It also addresses ways counselors can avoid personal crisis situations by providing information and exercises about counselor self-care.

Curriculum 8: Ethics for Addiction Professionals (32 hours)

The curriculum addresses professionals conduct and ethical behavior in SUD treatment. Topics include confidentiality, ethical principles and professional codes of ethics. It also highlights the importance of supervision as part of ethical practice. In this curriculum, the participants are given the opportunity to learn and practice the use of an ethical decision-making model through case study analyses. As part of the integration, participants will develop their code of ethics.