Read the syllabus completely and refer to it throughout the semester. If you have any questions about the syllabus, contact your instructor.
The syllabus is in accordion style with nine sections. To read the information inside each section, open the accordion by clicking on the arrow before the accordion title or use the tab and down arrow key if using the screen reader for accessibility.
| Course Title: | Fundamentals of Addiction Counseling (CDCA Phase I) |
|---|---|
| Course Number: | MHT 1130 |
| Credit Hours: | 3 |
| Lab Hours: | None |
| Prerequisite(s): | |
| Course Description: | Course provides 40 hours of chemical dependency specific educational content required for application for CDCA-Phase I credential with the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board. Theories and fundamentals of addictive illness and physical/mental effects of psychoactive drugs. Dynamics of substance related and addictive disorders on persons, families and society. Knowledge of disease concept, stigmas, identification, assessment, trends in treatment and relapse process. Develop insights, challenge biases and identify personal and professional issues. Elements of professional/ethical behaviors. |
| Required Text: | OER-based course; all resources provided. Visit the Sinclair eCampus Bookstore to purchase an optional print version of the sections used from the OER textbook. |
| Instructor: | Fill in text here... |
|---|---|
| Department: | Mental Health and Addiction Services |
| Sinclair Email: | Fill in text here. |
| Phone: | Fill in text here... |
| Office Location: | Fill in text here... |
| Office Hours (campus): | Fill in text here. you may choose to say "By appointment" |
| Office Hours (online): | Fill in text here. you may choose to say "By appointment" |
General Education Outcomes:
- Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
Exhibit openness to alternative ideas.
Use appropriate problem-solving methods. - Values/Citizenship/Community
Examine personal values.
Display behavior consistent with the ethical standards within a discipline or profession. - Information Literacy
Access information using library resources, electronic resources and/or field resources.
Course Outcomes:
- Etiology and Theory of Addictive Illness: Describe the etiology and theories of substance use and addictive disorders.
- Professional and Ethical Behavior: Identify the ethical and professional behaviors expected in the field of substance related and addictive disorders.
- Classification of Drugs of Abuse: Identify the classifications of drugs of abuse (from the current DSM) and their harmful effects.
- Assessment and Treatment: Define and describe the basic components of prevention, assessment, intervention, diagnosis, treatment, and level of care placements with persons with substance use and addictive disorders.
- Self Awareness: Develop, identify, and describe one's personal attitudes, beliefs, and obstacles toward treating persons with substance related and addictive disorders.
There are no weekly deadlines in a FlexPace course, but you do have to make Satisfactory Progress. You can see the milestones in the table below and learn more about progress in the Grading Information section of the syllabus.
This course is structured into units. Each Unit contains a list of the readings, activities, assignments, and assessments you will complete located at the top of the Unit opening page. After completing the Course Overview Survey, the Required Course Projects and the first Unit out of 8 total Units will be available to you. For subsequent Units to open, you must achieve at least 80% on the Unit Assessment. Your scores on these assignments trigger the release of additional content.
This course includes the following graded activities. Again, you must score 80% or higher on each graded activity.
- Pre-Assessments - You can take pre-assessments only one time. You must get 80% on the pre-assessment to receive credit for the unit/topic without going through all of the content. However, if you receive 80%, you can opt to complete the readings, activities, and assignments to improve your grade.
- Post-Assessments - You may take post-assessments 2 times but must score 80% or higher. If you do not reach 80% after your first attempt, it is highly recommended that you contact your instructor BEFORE your second attempt to receive suggestions on how to better prepare. If you do not reach 80% on your second attempt, contact your instructor or success coach for options.
- Required Assignments – This course contains required assignments and course projects. These are required of all students regardless of their Pre-Assessment score.
- Midterm & Final Exam - The midterm covers the first half of the course, and the final test is comprehensive. You must score 80% or higher on each. Two attempts are allowed per exam, and if you do not reach 80% on the first attempt, contact your instructor for guidance before the second attempt.
| UNITS | ASSIGNMENTS |
|---|---|
|
Required Course Projects
|
Assignment | Abstinence Journal Project Selection (required) Assignment | Abstinence Journal - Prompt 1 (required) Assignment | Mutual Support Meeting #1 (required) |
|
Unit 1 | Introduction and Theories of Addiction
|
Unit 1 Pre-Assessment (required) Unit 1 Post-Assessment (if needed) Assignment | Theories of Addiction (required) |
|
Unit 2 | Assessment, Diagnosis & Pharmacology
Completion of this unit is the 25% milestone for this course. |
Unit 2 Pre-Assessment (required) Unit 2 Post-Assessment (if needed) Assignment | Harm Reduction (required) |
|
Unit 3 | Counseling Procedures
|
Unit 3 Pre-Assessment (required) Unit 3 Post-Assessment (if needed) Assignment | Professional Issues in Counseling (required) |
|
Unit 4 | Midterm Exam Completion of this unit is the 50% milestone for this course. |
Feedback Quiz | Mid-semester Feedback (required) |
|
Unit 5 | Groups
|
Unit 5 Pre-Assessment (required) Unit 5 Post-Assessment (if needed) |
|
Unit 6 | Relapse Prevention & Documentation
Completion of this unit is the 75% milestone for this course. |
Unit 6 Pre-Assessment (required) Unit 6 Post-Assessment (if needed) Assignment | Case Study (required) |
|
Unit 7 | Legal & Ethical Issues
|
Unit 7 Pre-Assessment (required) Unit 7 Post-Assessment (if needed) Assignment | Ethical Standards (required) |
| Unit 8 | Final Exam |
Feedback Quiz | Course Evaluation (required) |
How are course materials, assessments, and outcomes all connected?
Visit the Course Alignment document. If you have questions, contact your instructor.
Where are the course materials coming from?
Unless otherwise cited, content in this course is from the Sinclair College Mental Health and Addiction Services Department.
Unless otherwise cited, all icons are from the Sinclair College eLearning Division, and all images are from Thinkstock or Dreamstime (Sinclair subscriptions).
| ASSIGNMENT | POINTS |
|---|---|
| Unit Assessments (6 @ 15 points each) | 90 |
| Required Assignments (5 @ 10 points each) | 50 |
| Abstinence Journal Project (6 @ 10 points each) | 60 |
| Mutual Support Meeting Project (4 @ 20 points each) | 80 |
| Exams (2 @ 100 points each) | 200 |
| Feedback Quizzes (2 @ 5 points each) | 10 |
| Total Points | 490 |
| GRADING SCALE | POINTS |
|---|---|
|
A (90-100%)
|
441-490 |
|
B (80-89%)
|
392-440 |
|
C (70-79%)
|
Note: Ineligible to take any more FlexPace courses |
|
D (60-69%)
|
Note: Ineligible to take any more FlexPace courses |
|
F (below 60%)
|
Note: Ineligible to take any more FlexPace courses |
How much time and work will this course take?
An eLearn course takes as much time as a face-to-face course and may take more. While more flexible than classroom courses, eLearn courses may require additional time reading lessons, as well as preparing for and completing assignments, tests, and quizzes. The estimated time commitment required outside of class in any college course is two to three times the number of credit hours. An eLearn course may require a total of three to four times the number of credit hours.
Since most communication in an eLearn course is completed via email and discussions, many of these courses require a significant amount of online communication and presence. Be sure to factor this into your schedule.
The Dos and Don'ts of Communication
As a general rule of thumb, you should plan on logging into the course at least three (3) days per week, and participating in discussions and activities. When you log in, make it a habit to:
- While you can send email messages from the eLearn email system to other students and faculty listed in your eLearn course address book, all emails sent from eLearn will be delivered to users’ Outlook accounts (@sinclair.edu email address). This means to read or respond to an email sent from eLearn, you must access your Outlook account.
- Check the course requirements and progress milestones to ensure you are on track.
- Contact your instructor if you are having difficulties with a concept in your course. Your instructor is available to help you with the course content. Instructor contact info is located at the top of the syllabus.
Student <—> Instructor/Student Communication
Remember that it's easy to misinterpret the meaning of a message when you can't see the person face-to-face. Consider these guidelines:
- Be sensitive and courteous to others when you communicate with them.
- Make your communications as clear as possible.
- Always respect others’ opinions, even when they differ from yours. Remember, we all come to the course with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
- If you disagree with someone, express your differing opinion respectfully.
- Do not make personal or insulting remarks.
- Be open-minded and discerning. Strive to be a skeptic (a doubter) instead of a cynic (a disbeliever). Question yourself and others to find a solution or to search for the truth. We can learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives.
- Use cyberspace etiquette (netiquette); visit The Core Rules of Netiquette (excerpted from the book Netiquette by Virginia Shea) for guidelines.
If you have any questions or concerns about course communications, please get in touch with your instructor.
Instructor —> Student Communication
Your instructor must be in regular and substantive communication with you as you progress through the course. Expect the following guidelines to be practiced:
- Email Response Time: Your instructor will respond to your email questions typically within 24-48 hours from Monday - Friday, excluding weekends and holidays.
- Graded Assignments/Assessments: Your instructor will communicate with you regarding graded assignments, quizzes, and exams within one week of the due date.
- Discussion Boards: Your instructor will monitor the discussions. Discussions allow you and your classmates to exchange ideas and opinions. Feedback is provided when the discussion is graded within one week of the discussion closing. Your instructor will actively enter the discussion when posts or replies lack professional courtesy.
- Assistance: If you are having difficulties with a concept in your course, contact your instructor for assistance. You can contact your instructor via email or telephone. Additionally, most instructors also have office hours.
Testing Information
All tests in this course are taken online. Things to keep in mind when taking the tests:
- Once you start the test you must complete it. You are not able to leave and return to the test.
- All tests are assigned a time limit. Please review the designated time limit for each test before beginning. That information is located in the test instructions.
- All course materials are to be put away and not used when taking the tests.
- In case of an emergency resulting in missing an exam, it is students’ responsibility to email the instructor within 48 hours to discuss an opportunity to take the exam.
- Failure to contact the instructor, request, and make up the exam within 7 days, will result in forfeiting the opportunity to make up the exam and zero points will be earned.
- All rescheduled exams are subject to a 10% loss of possible points for that exam.
- The final exam MUST be taken on the designated day at the designated time.
- All exams and quizzes will be allowed one attempt.
Other course policies I should know about?
Behavioral Competencies
Students will be receiving two kinds of feedback: academic and behavioral/interpersonal.
- This class follows the principles of the Student Code of Conduct for Sinclair Community College and the policies of the MHAS department.
- Behavioral Competencies are in the course E-Learn shell.
- Please read and review the Behavioral Competencies to understand appropriate classroom behaviors.
- Violation of MHAS policies and/or Behavioral Competencies will lead to disciplinary actions and could ultimately result in dismissal from the MHAS program.
Mental Health and Addiction Services Student Handbook
Written assignment expectations
- Your assignments will be examined very closely and graded on organization, accuracy, thoroughness, presentation of information, professional style, typographical and grammatical structure, and neatness.
-
All assignments are to be double spaced, 12-point font, and standard margins unless otherwise noted.
Plagiarism
According to the American Psychological Association (2020), plagiarism is the act of presenting the words, ideas, or images of another as your own without proper attribution. This includes:
- Direct Plagiarism: Copying text word-for-word from a source without quotation marks or citation.
- Self-Plagiarism: Submitting one's own previous work, or parts of it, without permission from all professors involved.
- Mosaic Plagiarism: Borrowing phrases from a source without using quotation marks or finding synonyms for the author’s language while keeping to the same general structure and meaning of the original.
- Accidental Plagiarism: Neglecting to cite sources, misquoting sources, or unintentionally paraphrasing a source by using similar words, groups of words, and/or sentence structure without attribution.
Source:
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association 2020: the official guide to APA style (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Transparency and Disclosure: Students must disclose the use of AI tools in their coursework submissions, specifying the extent of AI involvement and acknowledging any assistance received.
- Ethical Considerations: AI tools should be employed responsibly, avoiding plagiarism, bias, or misrepresentation of work as solely human-generated. Students are responsible for understanding and complying with ethical standards related to AI usage.
One of the most important roles of participants in the learning community is to be open to growing and to help others grow by naming any biases, oversights, or assumptions they observe. Students are encouraged to discuss any incidents of perceived bias or discrimination, conscious or otherwise, with the course instructor, the division chair, or the office of the Chief Diversity Officer at Sinclair Community College (SCC).
SCC is committed to providing equitable educational opportunities and a safe learning environment for all students, faculty, and staff.
A bias incident is any conduct, speech, or expression that demonstrates conscious or unconscious bias and targets individuals or groups that are part of a federally protected class (i.e., race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, or disability). Bias-based behavior can also be identified as when someone treats another person differently or makes an offensive comment because of their membership in a protected group, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.
What is Expected of All
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” Maya Angelou
The work to recognize our own human biases opens the door to engaging with others on a whole new level. This work can only be done with conscious purpose, including awareness of ourselves and others, self-reflection, a willingness to listen and learn with humility, authenticity, and compassion, and a determination to take action once we "know better.”
To be successful, this work must be done within a context of mutual care, respect, and trust, with an assumption of innocent ignorance (unconscious bias) on the part of others but with an emphasis on the real impact of the behavior or comment. Gentle but firm persistence in this effort will lead to lasting and effective change.
What about privacy and accessibility on websites?
You may come across many websites or web-based applications linked within this course. Many websites will have a policy or statement regarding privacy and/or accessibility. For example, Sinclair's website has a Privacy Statement and a Web Accessibility Policy Statement. eLearn, the Learning Management System Sinclair uses for its courses, is owned and maintained by D2L/Brightspace. The D2L website has a Privacy Statement and an Accessibility Compliance statement.
If a website has such policies/statements, they are typically linked at the bottom of the website's homepage. If not noticeably present, you might find them by searching within the website. If you have any concerns about such policies/statements (or lack thereof) on an external website/web-based app linked in this course, please contact your instructor.
What about the accessibility of content within the course?
Sinclair Community College (SCC) prioritizes the accessibility of our course materials, content, and other components by following federal law and other applicable statutes.
SCC respects these guidelines when creating web-based content, documents, images, audio, video, and other course materials. Companies that provide educational content in SCC courses must also explain how their products or services meet accessibility standards.
When materials do not meet accessibility standards, SCC can sometimes edit or modify those products to improve accessibility. However, some materials are produced or regulated by local, state, or national agencies that grant professional certificates or accreditation. SCC cannot legally make changes to materials produced by these agencies, or the certification/accreditation will not be valid.
Due to specific regulations, some of the content in this course might not be accessible. Please see the Alternate Formats Available in eLearn Courses under Student eLearn News on your eLearn homepage to learn how to generate different formats for these materials. Also, please contact your course instructor ASAP, as they may be able to provide different formats as well. If you need accommodations for this course, contact Sinclair's Accessibility Services.
Sinclair Academic Policies:
Click the link below to view policies such as dropping a course, withdrawing from college, late registrations, change of schedule, administrative withdrawal, grades, student behavior guidelines, safety and security, and academic and other counseling. Understanding these policies is the responsibility of every student.
Sinclair College Policy Library
Here are some policies you may want to pay close attention to as a SinclairOnline student:
- Student Code of Conduct Handbook, which includes the Sinclair Academic Integrity Policy
- Financial Aid Policies, which include the Student Attendance policy
- Equal Opportunity/Non-Discrimination Policy, which applies to educational, work, and service environments at Sinclair. For more information on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Sinclair, visit the Diversity Office website, which includes resources, events, workshops, and student organizations.
- An academic policy related to the Recording of Lectures and other Classroom Sessions.
- Student Religious Accommodation Policy: Ohio law requires each state institution of higher education to “adopt a policy that reasonably accommodates the sincerely held beliefs and practices of individual students with regard to all examinations or other academic requirements and absences for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief system.” Hence, a student shall be permitted to be absent for up to three (3) days each academic semester to take holidays for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief system. Instructors must provide students with alternative accommodations regarding examinations and other academic requirements missed due to an absence described under this Policy provided both of the following apply:
- The student’s sincerely held religious belief or practice severely affects the student's ability to take an examination or meet an academic requirement.
- Not later than fourteen (14) days after the first day of instruction in a particular course, the student provides the instructor with written notice of the specific dates for which the student requests alternative accommodations.
To view the full policy, please visit the Campus Ministry page or the Course Catalog. For more information about the Policy, students may contact the Associate Provost at 937-512-2522 or email Provost@sinclair.edu.
- Basic Needs Security: Any student who has difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe and stable place to live, and believes this may affect their performance in the course, is urged to contact Julie North, Coordinator of Student Support/Social Work at Julia.north@sinclair.edu.