Students can gain the skills and knowledge they need for employment in a variety of addiction settings through practical, hands-on learning. The curriculum is based on the holistic teachings of the Medicine Wheel, with a focus on the root causes of addiction within Indigenous communities. Students will learn both cultural and mainstream approaches to addictions counselling. Training ranges from pharmacology to traditional methods including Sacred Circles, Teaching/Learning Circles, and the use of the four sacred medicines – tobacco, cedar, sage and sweet grass.

There is a placement component in this program.

Students will learn: • Traditional healing, learning and teaching • Cultural specific helping • Challenges facing Indigenous communities • Interviewing, reporting, and documenting • Addictions counselling skills • Relapse preventions • Multiculturalism • Psychology and sociology

Future Careers: • Traditional medicine • Alcohol and drug treatment units • Family resource centres • Young offender residential centres