Introduction to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for AOD Workers

This is a 1-day in person training.

Description: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) has evolved over the years and is a most favourably reviewed treatment approach. There is much evidence for the effectiveness of CBT with a range of Alcohol and Other Drugs issues. In recent years CBT has expanded its focus to include third wave approaches. These approaches seek to blend traditional CBT principles with concepts new to cognitive-behavioural therapies such as mindfulness and acceptance.

In this introductory workshop you will build your capacity in applying evidence-based interventions that work on the underlying processes that support behavioral change. You will discover how, when and why to apply a best practice cognitive, behavioral or emotion focused approach.

This workshop will introduce you to a range of models, techniques and interventions to help your clients to change negative thought patterns, develop coping strategies, and improve emotional wellbeing. It will be a practical and interactive workshop where you will be introduced to a range of tools, worksheets and relapse prevention strategies that you can use collaboratively with your client to implement.

Date: Thursday, 2nd October 2025

Time: 10:00pM – 4:00PM

Location: Turning Point, 110 Church Street, Richmond, VIC 3121

Cost: Free

Who should attend: AOD clinicians, counsellors, support workers and allied health working in a Victorian Department of Health funded AOD organisation.

Registration:  Click here to register

Recognising and Working with Cognitively Impaired Clients in AOD Settings

This is a 1-day in person training.

Description: Working with cognitively impaired clients can be a significant challenge, particularly when access to assessment services and resources are limited. Cognitive difficulties may arise from a range of aetiologies including acquired brain injury, mental health, substance use, or neurodevelopmental differences and together, this can have a cumulative and adverse impact on treatment outcomes and recovery. This workshop will provide practical strategies for working with clients who present with or have concerns regarding cognitive difficulties. In particular, this workshop will cover four main themes:

  • Recognising cognitive impairment
  • Underlying aetiologies across the lifespan
  • Supporting clients with cognitive impairment
  • Referral pathways: When might assessment be indicated?

Date: Friday, 28th November 2025

Time: 9:30pM – 4:30PM

Location: Turning Point, 110 Church Street, Richmond, VIC 3121

Cost: Free

Who should attend: AOD clinicians, counsellors, support workers and allied health working in a Victorian Department of Health funded AOD organisation.

Registration:  Click here to register

Webinar: Integrating Hepatitis C testing and treatment into addiction care of people who inject drugs – lessons from Melbourne’s Medically Supervised Injecting Room

This is a Turning Point Connect & Learn one-hour webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.

Description: According to WHO, hepatitis C is the main cause death globally in people who inject drugs, yet it is easy to diagnose and treat. Australia has the potential to eliminate hepatitis C, but this requires a concerted effort to diagnose and treat HCV in PWID, not just those who have injected in the past but those who are continuing to inject drugs. While diagnostic and treatment pathways for HCV are simple, adapting them to the needs of our clients, rather than expecting our clients to adapt to our treatment systems, is the key to increasing the rates of diagnosis and treatment. This has implications for both the way we design our health care systems and the way we manage individuals within those systems. The webinar will be presented by A/Prof Nico Clark.

Date: Tuesday, 16 September 2025

Time: 1:00pM – 1:45PM

Location: Zoom

Cost: Free

Who should attend: This webinar is only available to staff who are working in a Victorian Department of Health (DH) funded AOD organisation.

Registration:  Click here to register

Webinar: Nicotine e-cigarettes for smoking cessation following discharge from smokefree inpatient AOD withdrawal services: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial

This is a Turning Point Talking Point one-hour webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.

Description: E-cigarettes containing nicotine (e-cigarettes) have demonstrated effectiveness for smoking cessation among general populations, but limited evidence in people with substance use disorders (SUD). This presentation will focus on the NEAT Trial, a pragmatic, two-arm, open-label parallel-group randomized controlled trial (n=363) examining the effectiveness of e-cigarettes for smoking abstinence in people with SUD following discharge from smokefree inpatient withdrawal services. The webinar will be presented by Professor Billi Bonevski.

Date: Wednesday, 29 October 2025

Time: 1:00pM – 2:00PM

Location: Zoom

Cost: Free

Who should attend: This webinar is only available to staff who are working in a Victorian Department of Health (DH) funded AOD organisation.

Registration:  Click here to register

Webinar: Managing opioid agonist treatment in regional Victoria

This is a Turning Point Connect & Learn one-hour webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.

Description: Attendees will gain an increased appreciation for managing clients in rural and regional Victoria. Discussion will focus on the need for flexibility within the regulations guiding practice, and attendees will gain understanding regarding the difficulties of distance and opioid agonist treatment.

Date: Tuesday, 28 October 2025

Time: 1:00pM – 1:45PM

Location: Zoom

Cost: Free

Who should attend: This webinar is only available to staff who are working in a Victorian Department of Health (DH) funded AOD organisation.

Registration:  Click here to register

Webinar: The role of dual diagnosis in AOD rehabilitation

This is a one-hour Turning Point Connect & Learn webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.

Description: This presentation provides a brief overview of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders and introduces key principles for working effectively with clients experiencing this. The presentation will aim to improve knowledge about the prevalence of comorbid mental health and substance use disorders, their relationship and impact on recovery. Dr Lea Foo and David Hill will provide tools and strategies to support addressing comorbid mental health conditions in the AOD space.

Date: Tuesday, 18 November 2025

Time: 1:00pM – 1:45PM

Location: Zoom

Cost: Free

Who should attend: This webinar is only available to staff who are working in a Victorian Department of Health (DH) funded AOD organisation.

Registration:  Click here to register

Working with LGBTIQ+ people in AOD services

This training will assist participants in building their knowledge and confidence to engage LGBTIQ+ community members in their AOD practice and will provide opportunities for participants to:

  • Individually analyse your own assumptions and values and reflect on the implications in your delivery of health care to LGBTI+ communities
  • Understand the importance and use of respectful and appropriate language
  • Identify and understand the unique vulnerabilities that LGBTI+ communities face
  • Improve your confidence in comprehensively meeting the needs of LGBTI+ consumers
  • Develop improved skills around intake and assessment
  • Understand the complexity and risk of methamphetamine use for men who have sex with men (MSM) and aim to improve treatment outcomes for this community
  • Understand the broader AOD issues for LGBTI+ communities

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Please ensure you have clearance to attend from your line manager. If you cannot attend, even if you find out the day before, please cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

ABOUT PROVIDER

Uniting RTO has provided training to industry workers since 2000. Our comprehensive training is practical, evidence-based and blended to meet the needs of students and industry. Training programs are developed and delivered by trainers with solid industry and training experience, regularly reviewed through industry consultation, latest research, evaluations and consumer input. Uniting offers nationally recognised training: CHC43515 Certificate IV in Mental Health CHCSS00093 Alcohol and Other Drugs Skill Set HLTAID011 Provide First aid HLTAID009 Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation

26 Jessie St
Coburg VIC 3058
Ph: 03 9386 2876
Email: rto@vt.uniting.org
web:unitingvictas.org.au
Feb 01
01/02/22 CHCAOD005 – Provide alcohol and other drugs withdrawal services Copy
clock Duration: 2 Months
location Delivery Mode: Blended

Register your Expression of Interest to study CHCAOD005. This accredited unit covers all elements on how to provide support and assistance to people going through the process of withdrawing from alcohol, tobacco or other drugs, including combinations of these. It is aimed at workers who currently work with clients going through alcohol and other drugs (AOD) withdrawal in residential or non-residential settings following established withdrawal guidelines.

clock Timetable:
location Details:

Weekly Zoom tutorials from 1st February 2022

Live Zoom workshops: 15th & 16th March 2022

  • Training Type: Accredited
  • Topic: Withdrawal
  • Priority Population: All
  • Age Group: Adult
  • Location: 

    Zoom

About this training:

IMPORTANT: registrations for training will become live approximately two months prior to start of training. To enrol in this or any training, you must click the link below and complete the registration. If you do not complete the registration, you will not have a place in the training. If you experience a broken link, please get in touch with us at elevate@vaada.org.au

****

This accredited unit covers all elements on how to provide support and assistance to people going through the process of withdrawing from alcohol, tobacco or other drugs, including combinations of these.

This unit is aimed at workers who currently work with clients going through alcohol and other drugs (AOD) withdrawal in residential or non-residential settings following established withdrawal guidelines.

UPDATE: This unit was previously planned to be delivered in a blended format with some classes being face to face.  Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this training now will be delivered completely online via weekly tutorials via Zoom and comprise two full days of Zoom workshops on the 15th and 16th of March.

Provider: Uniting

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.
Please ensure you have clearance to attend from your line manager. If you are unable to attend, even if you find out the day before, please cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waiting list.

ABOUT PROVIDER

The Centre for Mental Health Learning is the central agency for public mental health workforce development in Victoria. CMHL provides online learning to Mental Health and AOD workers.

Website: https://cmhl.org.au/
Nov 30
Forensic Foundations
clock Duration: 1-2 hours
location Delivery Mode: E-Learn, Online

Enrolments are open. Read instructions on how to access the course!

Forensic Foundations is a self-directed e-learn course for new Alcohol & Other Drug (AOD) sector staff to provide foundational knowledge to support the provision of AOD treatment of forensic clients. Click on the ENROL NOW button to be re-directed to the Centre for Mental Health Learning online portal.  

clock Timetable:
location Details:
  • Training Type: Non-accredited
  • Topic: Forensic
  • Priority Population: All
  • Age Group: Adult
  • Location: 

    Online, self-directed learning.

About this training:

The Forensic Foundations E-learn is designed for new Alcohol & Other Drug (AOD) sector staff to provide foundational knowledge to support the provision of AOD treatment of forensic clients. This one-hour e-learn will assist you to navigate the forensic AOD system and processes. The content was developed by VAADA and the e-learn was designed by Caraniche. Specifically, the e-learn course will provide you with foundational knowledge about:

  • how a forensic client is defined
  • the differences between forensic and voluntary clients
  • the key stakeholders and their roles and responsibilities
  • the AOD funding system (targets and loadings for forensic treatment)
  • treatment options for forensic clients
  • the main referral pathways between the criminal justice and AOD treatment systems
  • clinical safety, supervision and self-care

This E-learn provides the foundational knowledge that is further expanded on in the Forensic Fundamentals training workshop.

Instructions on enrolling:

NB: workers from Gateway Health will not be able to access the CMHL site at work due to firewall restrictions

  • Click on the ENROL NOW button below.  You will be redirected to the CMHL website
  • Click on SIGN UP (create an account).  Once you have entered your information click SIGN UP again.  Check your inbox to activate your CMHL account
  • Click the link in the email.  SIGN IN to your account using the email and the password you just created
  • On the PROFILE page, complete your professional information and click SAVE PROFILE
  • Now access Forensic Foundations by clicking on COURSES in the left-hand menu
  • Click on VAADA Forensic Foundations
Provider: Centre For Mental Health Learning

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.

Who is not eligible?

Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Forensic Foundations

The Forensic Foundations E-learn is designed for new Alcohol & Other Drug (AOD) sector staff to provide foundational knowledge to support the provision of AOD treatment of forensic clients. This one-hour e-learn will assist you in navigating the forensic AOD system and processes. The content was developed by VAADA, and the e-learn was designed by Caraniche. Specifically, the e-learn course will provide you with foundational knowledge about the following:

  • how a forensic client is defined
  • the differences between forensic and voluntary clients
  • the key stakeholders and their roles and responsibilities
  • the AOD funding system (targets and loadings for forensic treatment)
  • treatment options for forensic clients
  • the main referral pathways between the criminal justice and AOD treatment systems
  • clinical safety, supervision and self-care