Advanced Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies (Live-Online) Lecturer Led Course commences 5th May 6-9pm for 10 Weeks- 10% Discount

Understanding Addiction: Why Advanced Professional Training Matters

Addiction is rarely just about a substance or a behaviour. In clinical and community settings, addiction often presents alongside anxiety, depression, relationship strain, family stress, social disadvantage, and profound experiences of shame, loss, and disconnection. For counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, nurses, healthcare professionals, educators, and those working in social care, the need for grounded, practical, and ethically sound professional training in addiction studies has never been greater.

In modern counselling and psychotherapy practice, addiction frequently intersects with mental health concerns, trauma, attachment difficulties, and complex relational dynamics. For professionals working in psychology, nursing, counselling, and psychotherapy, continuing professional development (CPD) training in addiction studies can significantly enhance clinical understanding, improve assessment skills, and strengthen intervention strategies when supporting individuals, couples, and families affected by substance use or behavioural addictions.

At the same time, addiction is a topic that affects many areas of society. For this reason, high-quality education in addiction studies can also be valuable for individuals who simply want to deepen their understanding of addiction, recovery, and mental health.

The Institute for Counselling & Psychotherapy Studies (ICPS) is now enrolling for the Advanced Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies (Live-Online) Lecturer Led — a comprehensive Advanced Professional Diploma and CPD-accredited training programme designed to deepen understanding of addiction while strengthening professional competence for counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, nurses, and allied health professionals working in therapeutic, healthcare, or community settings. Importantly.

The programme is also open to anyone with a genuine interest in addiction, recovery, and mental health, making it accessible to those who wish to learn more about the field.

Advanced Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies: CPD Training for Counsellors, Psychotherapists, and Healthcare Professionals

This Advanced Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies is delivered through live-online, lecturer-led classes via Zoom, combining evidence-based teaching with reflective practice and applied learning. The programme supports professionals working in counselling, psychotherapy, psychology, nursing, and healthcare who wish to develop specialist skills in addiction counselling, addiction psychotherapy, and addiction recovery support.

A distinctive feature of this addiction studies diploma is its psychoanalytic-informed lens, supporting participants to think beyond symptom management and explore addiction as a meaningful psychic and relational phenomenon. Participants are encouraged to explore important clinical questions surrounding desire, repetition, attachment, loss, and the psychological function of the addictive object.

For counsellors, psychotherapists, psychology graduates, nurses, social care professionals, and healthcare practitioners seeking CPD training in addiction and recovery, the programme offers an accessible pathway to deepen clinical insight, strengthen assessment and treatment planning skills, and enhance professional competence when working with addiction-related presentations.

At the same time, the course has been designed to be accessible to participants who may not be working in a clinical profession but who have a personal or professional interest in addiction, recovery, counselling, psychotherapy, psychology, or mental health more broadly.

Advanced Professional Diploma Details: Course Overview

• Programme: Advanced Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies (Live-Online) Lecturer Led course

• Course Information Click Here

• Start Date: 5th May 2026

• Schedule: Tuesdays | 6:00pm – 8:30pm | 10 weeks

• Delivery Format: Live-online, lecturer-led classes, (virtual-classroom)

• Live Attendance: 30 hours

• Self-Directed Learning: 90 hours

• Total CPD Credits: 120 CPD credits

• Assessment: Written assignment +/- viva voce assessment

• Attendance Requirement: 80% attendance

• Accreditation: CPD Standards Office (CPDSO), Professional Development Consortium (PDC) & ICPA

• Course Fee: €795

• Enrol: https://www.icps.ie/booking

This structured Advanced Professional Diploma & CPD accredited programme is designed to support working professionals in counselling, psychotherapy, psychology, nursing, and healthcare who wish to expand their specialist knowledge of addiction treatment, addiction recovery, and therapeutic approaches to substance use and behavioural addictions. It is also suitable for anyone interested in understanding addiction from psychological, social, and clinical perspectives.

Limited-Time Professional Diploma Promo Offer

ICPS is currently offering a Special 10% Discount for participants enrolling in the Advanced Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies.

• Promo-code: ICPS-PDIP-10

• Apply discount at enrolment: https://www.icps.ie/booking

This limited-time offer provides an opportunity for counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, nurses, healthcare professionals, students, and anyone interested in addiction and recovery to access accredited CPD training at a reduced cost.

Why a Psychoanalytic-Informed Approach Matters in Addiction Counselling and Psychotherapy

Addiction work can be clinically complex. Individuals may present with co-occurring mental health difficulties, repeated relapse cycles, relational breakdown, or a long history of feeling disconnected from themselves and others.

In counselling, psychotherapy, and psychological practice, addiction frequently functions as a way of regulating affect, managing overwhelming internal states, or negotiating experiences of emptiness, longing, trauma, or psychic conflict.

A psychoanalytic-informed perspective in addiction therapy offers practitioners a way to hold this complexity without reducing the person to a diagnosis. Instead, it encourages deeper clinical curiosity and reflective practice around key themes such as:

1. Repetition and compulsion – understanding why destructive patterns persist despite serious consequences.

2. Desire, lack, and substitution – how addictive behaviours may function as solutions to internal psychological conflicts.

3. Attachment and development – how early relational experiences shape coping strategies and emotional regulation•

4. Shame, loss, and melancholia – the emotional worlds often underlying addiction and recovery struggles•

5. The therapeutic relationship – understanding transference, countertransference, and the emotional demands of addiction counselling and psychotherapy work

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Importantly, the programme remains evidence-based and clinically grounded, integrating contemporary psychological research, neuroscience of addiction, and therapeutic best practice alongside psychoanalytic theory and reflective clinical application.

Who This Addiction Studies Professional Diploma Is Designed For

This CPD-accredited professional diploma is suitable for a wide range of participants, including:

1. Counsellors and psychotherapists• Psychologists and psychology graduates• Nurses and healthcare professionals• Social care and community support workers•

2. Educators and youth workers•

3. Students in counselling, psychotherapy, psychology, or mental health disciplines•

4. Anyone with a professional, academic, or personal interest in addiction, recovery, and mental health

The programme is designed to be both clinically credible and accessible, supporting participants to build confidence in addiction-related work while maintaining ethical clarity, professional integrity, and reflective practice

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Learning Outcomes: What You Will Gain From This Advanced Addiction Training

By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:

1. Understand major theories and models of addiction and recovery• Identify neurobiological and psychological mechanisms underlying addictive behaviours•

2. Recognise the relationship between mental health, trauma, and addiction• Apply ethical principles and professional boundaries in addiction counselling and psychotherapy•

3. Use practical tools for assessment, screening, and treatment planning•

4. Develop relapse prevention strategies for individuals and families•

5. Engage with a range of treatment approaches including harm reduction and abstinence-based models•

6. Reflect on personal attitudes, professional identity, and the emotional demands of addiction work

These learning outcomes support practitioners in developing competence in addiction counselling, addiction psychotherapy, and addiction-informed mental health practice, while also giving non-clinical participants a deeper understanding of addiction and recovery.

A Supportive Learning Environment for Working Professionals and Interested Learners

Because the programme is delivered Live-Online Lecturer-Led, participants can join from anywhere while benefiting from real-time teaching, discussion, and reflective learning.

The course structure is designed for working professionals in counselling, psychotherapy, psychology, nursing, and healthcare, while also remaining accessible to anyone who wishes to deepen their understanding of addiction and recovery.

Reflective practice is embedded throughout the programme, encouraging participants to think carefully and ethically about addiction while remaining attentive to the emotional complexity of this work.

Enrolment Information for the Advanced Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies

If you are ready to strengthen your knowledge and confidence in addiction-related work — or if you simply want to develop a deeper understanding of addiction and recovery — the Advanced Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies offers an evidence-based, psychoanalytic-informed, and clinically relevant learning pathway.

1. Programme Start Date: 5th May 2026

2. Enrol Online: https://www.icps.ie/booking

3. Promo Code (10% Discount): ICPS-PDIP-10

For professionals committed to ethical, informed, and compassionate therapeutic practice — and for anyone interested in learning more about addiction and recovery — this advanced professional diploma provides the tools to engage with addiction work with deeper understanding and greater clarity.