Diagnosing Substance Abuse and Dependence:
Using the DSM Structure
This 10-hour course is designed to explore the core function of assessment as it relates to effective care of substance abusing clients.  We will look the stages of an effective assessment from screening through the assessment process, focusing attention on the domains of information that need to be explored/gathered as well as some interviewing tips to assist in the process.  Special attention will be given to examining the history of the DSM structure as it relates to diagnostic assessments.  A case summary will be provided to show how to use the information gathered during the assessment, and additional case histories will be used to illustrate the decision-making process used by counselors. Cost: $135.  

Goals/Objectives

By participating in this Distance Learning Course the trainee will:

  1. Explore the role of assessment as one of the five critical elements of effective substance abuse treatment;
  2. Identify the purpose of diagnostic assessment;
  3. Differentiate between the functions of screening and assessment;
  4. Examine the role of the assessor in the assessment process;
  5. Learn how to utilize the 4 stages of the assessment process;
  6. Develop insight into the information gathering process;
  7. Identify the content domains to be assessed;
  8. Identify some of the basic interviewing tips to facilitate effective information gathering;
  9. Understand the role of treatment plan development and appropriate interventions;
  10. Explore the history of the DSM;
  11. Identify some of the changes made to the DSM structure with the DSM-IV-TR update;
  12. Be able to identify the five axis of diagnosis used by the DSM structure;
  13. Review a sample diagnostic summary to understand how to utilize the DSM Axis of Diagnosis;
  14. Analyze case studies to better understand how to use assessment skills as well as the DSM diagnostic structure.

 

Your Course Instructor:
Kevin R. Scheel
MS, MAC, LMFT
Co-Founder, DLCAS

Kevin R. Scheel is a Masters prepared chemical dependency counselor with more than twenty-three years of experience in the human service field. He has served as the director of programs in the public sector as well as in private care facilities, both in the profit and not-for-profit arenas. He has been involved in the delivery of education services to the field since 1986 as an instructor at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, and as a private training consultant with Hazelden. Mr. Scheel is the author of "Alcohol: Chemistry & Culture," as well as a series of education videotapes on the various drugs of abuse, published and marketed by WRS Group, Inc. He has also created a preparation and review manual that is currently in use by a variety of colleges and universities in Texas, designed to aid students preparing for their Texas chemical dependency credential.

While in Texas Kevin served as the Texas Coordinator for the federally funded Project for Addiction Counselor Training (PACT) program. For this project Mr. Scheel designed a 270 hour curriculum for beginning counselors, delivering over 45,000 hours of classroom training to 415 minority students. As a result of his efforts, 268 of these students have gone on to obtain their credentials to practice chemical dependency counseling in Texas.

Kevin also served in the position as Coordinator for the Texas Addiction Training Center (currently the Texas Addition Technology Transfer Center), a federally funded project from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment in Washington, D.C. The goal of this project has been to increase the level of addiction education to the various disciplines offering counseling services to drug and alcohol affected clients. In Texas this project worked with 8 major colleges and universities.

Kevin is one of the co-founders of the DLCAS.  He continues to be active as a writer/author of materials for this training service.