Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies (Live-Online Attendance, Lecturer-Led): February & April 2026 Intakes

Addiction is rarely “just” about a substance or a behaviour. In clinical practice, it often sits at the intersection of trauma, mental health, relationships, social context, and the ways we learn to regulate distress. For practitioners, that complexity can feel daunting — but it’s also where meaningful, ethical, evidence-based work begins.

Addiction is rarely “just” about a substance or a behaviour. In clinical practice, it often sits at the intersection of trauma, mental health, relationships, social context, and the ways we learn to regulate distress. For practitioners, that complexity can feel daunting — but it’s also where meaningful, ethical, evidence-based work begins.

The Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies at The Institute for Counselling & Psychotherapy Studies (ICPS) is a comprehensive, trauma-informed programme designed to deepen your understanding of addiction and strengthen your professional competence when supporting individuals and families affected by substance use and behavioural addictions.

We have two upcoming start dates:

·      12th February

·      30th April

Course fee: €695

Who this course is for!

This professional diploma is designed to be accessible and clinically relevant for a wide range of learners, including:

·      Psychotherapists and counsellors

·      Healthcare professionals

·      Educators and social care professionals

·      Students and early-career practitioners

·     Anyone with a professional (or personal) interest in addiction and recovery

Whether you’re new to addiction work or you’re looking to build on existing experience, the course offers a structured foundation you can apply directly to practice.

Format at a glance

This programme is live-online attendance and lecturer-led, delivered in a supportive virtual classroom environment:

·      Live-online attendance, lecturer-led classes

·      10 weeks

·      One evening per week, 6pm–9pm

·      30 hours live online attendance

·      30 hours self-directed learning

·      60 CPD credits

· Assessment: written assignment (with possible viva voce)

· Award: Accredited Professional Diploma

What makes this programme different

Addiction training can sometimes become overly “one-size-fits-all” — focused on labels, protocols, or a single model of recovery. At ICPS, we take an integrative, evidence-based approach that reflects what clinicians actually meet in the room.

Throughout the course, you’ll explore:

·      The psychological, neurobiological, social, and cultural dimensions of addiction

·      How trauma and attachment patterns can shape addictive processes

·      Ethical decision-making, boundaries, and professional responsibilities

·      Practical tools for assessment, treatment planning, and relapse prevention

Each weekly module blends theory with applied learning through case examples, reflective practice, and group discussion, so you’re not just learning concepts — you’re building confidence in how to use them.

Importantly, the course also integrates psychoanalytic theory and application principles, offering an additional lens for understanding addiction as more than a behaviour to stop — but as a meaningful (and often costly) attempt to manage psychic pain.

Learning outcomes: what you’ll be able to do

By the end of the diploma, you will be able to:

·      Understand key theories and models of addiction and recovery

· Identify neurobiological and psychological mechanisms underlying addictive behaviours

·  Recognise the role of trauma, mental health, and social context in addiction

·  Apply ethical principles and professional boundaries in addiction-related work

· Use practical tools for assessment, treatment planning, and relapse prevention

· Engage with a range of treatment modalities, including harm reduction and abstinence-based models

· Reflect on personal attitudes, biases, and the emotional demands of addiction work.

Course outline (10-week structure)

Here’s what you’ll cover across the 10 weeks:

Week 1: Introduction to Addiction Studies

You’ll begin by defining addiction, exploring substance vs behavioural addictions, and challenging common myths and misconceptions. You’ll also look at the impact of addiction on individuals and families, and the foundations of the biopsychosocial model.

Week 2: The Neuroscience of Addiction

A clear, clinically relevant overview of the “addicted brain”: reward pathways, dopamine, neuroplasticity, withdrawal, craving, and how trauma can affect brain function — with practical implications for treatment.

Week 3: Psychological Theories of Addiction

From behavioural and cognitive models to psychodynamic and attachment-informed perspectives, you’ll explore how different theories explain addiction — and how they shape assessment and intervention.

Week 4: Toxicomania — a Psychoanalytic Perspective

A deeper dive into addiction as a psychic phenomenon: repetition, desire, lack, and the function of substances/behaviours in the person’s internal world. You’ll explore clinical implications and ethical considerations.

Week 5: Substances of Abuse

A structured overview of common substances (including alcohol, cannabis, stimulants, opiates, benzodiazepines, nicotine, and polydrug use), alongside risk factors, trends, and harm reduction strategies.

Week 6: Behavioural Addictions

Gambling, gaming/internet use, sex and love addiction, shopping/spending, and the overlap with eating-related difficulties. You’ll explore controversies in diagnosis and treatment considerations.

Week 7: Addiction as a Search for a Lost Object

A psychoanalytic exploration of loss, mourning, melancholia, and the “addictive object” as an attempt to fill a psychic void — with a focus on how meaning-making supports recovery.

Week 8: Assessment and Treatment Planning

You’ll work with practical frameworks and tools including stages of change, screening tools (e.g., AUDIT/DAST), risk assessment, motivational interviewing, CBT-informed approaches, and relapse prevention.

Week 9: Treatment Modalities & Recovery

An integrative overview of pathways to recovery: harm reduction vs abstinence, residential and community supports, 12-step and SMART recovery, psychotherapy modalities, family therapy, aftercare, and building recovery capital.

Week 10: Professional Practice & Ethical Issues

You’ll consolidate learning with a focus on ethics, confidentiality, safeguarding, boundaries, cultural competence, supervision, and working within scope of practice — all essential for safe and effective addiction work.

Why now?

Addiction-related presentations are increasingly complex, and many practitioners feel pressure to “have the right answer” quickly. This diploma offers something more sustainable: a grounded understanding of addiction, practical clinical tools, and a reflective framework that supports ethical, compassionate practice.

If you’re ready to strengthen your competence in addiction work — and to support clients with greater confidence, clarity, and integrity — the Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies is an excellent next step.

Start dates: 12th February and 30th April

Fee: €695

For full details and registration, visit: https://www.icps.ie/addiction-cpd

The Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies at The Institute for Counselling & Psychotherapy Studies (ICPS) is a comprehensive, trauma-informed programme designed to deepen your understanding of addiction and strengthen your professional competence when supporting individuals and families affected by substance use and behavioural addictions.

We have two upcoming start dates:

·      12th February

·      30th April

Course fee: €695

Who this diploma is for

This diploma is designed to be accessible and clinically relevant for a wide range of learners, including:

·      Psychotherapists and counsellors

·      Healthcare professionals

·      Educators and social care professionals

·      Students and early-career practitioners

·      Anyone with a professional (or personal) interest in addiction and recovery

Whether you’re new to addiction work or you’re looking to build on existing experience, the course offers a structured foundation you can apply directly to practice.

Format at a glance

This programme is live-online attendance and lecturer-led, delivered in a supportive virtual classroom environment

• Live-online attendance, lecturer-led classes via Zoom

• 10 weeks

• One evening per week, 6pm–9pm

• 30 hours live online attendance

• 30 hours self-directed learning

• 60 CPD credits

• Assessment: written assignment (with possible viva voce)

• Award: Accredited Professional Diploma

What makes this programme different

Addiction training can sometimes become overly “one-size-fits-all” — focused on labels, protocols, or a single model of recovery. At ICPS, we take an integrative, evidence-based approach that reflects what clinicians actually meet in the room.

Throughout the course, you’ll explore:

• The psychological, neurobiological, social, and cultural dimensions of addiction

• How trauma and attachment patterns can shape addictive processes

• Ethical decision-making, boundaries, and professional responsibilities

• Practical tools for assessment, treatment planning, and relapse prevention

Each weekly module blends theory with applied learning through case examples, reflective practice, and group discussion, so you’re not just learning concepts — you’re building confidence in how to use them.

Importantly, the course also integrates psychoanalytic theory and application principles, offering an additional lens for understanding addiction as more than a behaviour to stop — but as a meaningful (and often costly) attempt to manage psychic pain.

Learning outcomes: what you’ll be able to do!

By the end of the diploma, you will be able to:

• Understand key theories and models of addiction and recovery

• Identify neurobiological and psychological mechanisms underlying addictive behaviours

·      Recognise the role of trauma, mental health, and social context in addiction

• Apply ethical principles and professional boundaries in addiction-related work

• Use practical tools for assessment, treatment planning, and relapse prevention

• Engage with a range of treatment modalities, including harm reduction and abstinence-based models

• Reflect on personal attitudes, biases, and the emotional demands of addiction work.

Course outline (10-week structure)

Here’s what you’ll cover across the 10 weeks:

Week 1: Introduction to Addiction Studies

You’ll begin by defining addiction, exploring substance vs behavioural addictions, and challenging common myths and misconceptions. You’ll also look at the impact of addiction on individuals and families, and the foundations of the biopsychosocial model.

Week 2: The Neuroscience of Addiction

A clear, clinically relevant overview of the “addicted brain”: reward pathways, dopamine, neuroplasticity, withdrawal, craving, and how trauma can affect brain function — with practical implications for treatment.

Week 3: Psychological Theories of Addiction

From behavioural and cognitive models to psychodynamic and attachment-informed perspectives, you’ll explore how different theories explain addiction — and how they shape assessment and intervention.

Week 4: Toxicomania — Psychoanalytic Perspective

A deeper dive into addiction as a psychic phenomenon: repetition, desire, lack, and the function of substances/behaviours in the person’s internal world. You’ll explore clinical implications and ethical considerations.

Week 5: Substances of Abuse

A structured overview of common substances (including alcohol, cannabis, stimulants, opiates, benzodiazepines, nicotine, and polydrug use), alongside risk factors, trends, and harm reduction strategies.

Week 6: Behavioural Addictions

Gambling, gaming/internet use, sex and love addiction, shopping/spending, and the overlap with eating-related difficulties. You’ll explore controversies in diagnosis and treatment considerations.

Week 7: Addiction as a Search for a Lost Object

A psychoanalytic exploration of loss, mourning, melancholia, and the “addictive object” as an attempt to fill a psychic void — with a focus on how meaning-making supports recovery.

Week 8: Assessment and Treatment Planning

You’ll work with practical frameworks and tools including stages of change, screening tools (e.g., AUDIT/DAST), risk assessment, motivational interviewing, CBT-informed approaches, and relapse prevention.

Week 9: Treatment Modalities & Recovery

An integrative overview of pathways to recovery: harm reduction vs abstinence, residential and community supports, 12-step and SMART recovery, psychotherapy modalities, family therapy, aftercare, and building recovery capital.

Week 10: Professional Practice & Ethical Issues

You’ll consolidate learning with a focus on ethics, confidentiality, safeguarding, boundaries, cultural competence, supervision, and working within scope of practice — all essential for safe and effective addiction work.

Why now?

Addiction-related presentations are increasingly complex, and many practitioners feel pressure to “have the right answer” quickly. This diploma offers something more sustainable: a grounded understanding of addiction, practical clinical tools, and a reflective framework that supports ethical, compassionate practice.

If you’re ready to strengthen your competence in addiction work — and to support clients with greater confidence, clarity, and integrity — the Professional Diploma in Addiction Studies is an excellent next step.

Start dates: 12th February and 30th April

Fee: €695

For full details and registration, visit: https://www.icps.ie/addiction-cpd