Sector Professional Development

Get better outcomes for your clients who use alcohol and other drugs

When: Wednesday 5 March 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

• Gain core knowledge and clinical skills in different types of behavioural and cognitive therapies
• Understand the CBT approach to assessment, formulation, and treatment planning
• Apply knowledge and practice of key alcohol and other drug specific CBT interventions

Understand what really makes motivational interviewing tick

When: Thursday 6 March 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Motivational interviewing is an essential skill for alcohol and other drug workers that has a powerful impact on change. In this interactive, evidence based online workshop, you’ll develop core MI skills and explore the spirit and philosophy of MI.

Boost your confidence and skills in applying MI in practice so you can better engage your clients and achieve lasting outcomes.

• Find out what really motivates people to change so you know exactly what to target in treatment
• Understand MI theory and processes so you have a solid framework to work from
• Build and strengthen your core MI skills and strategies so you know how to adapt it to any situation

Understand the inner workings of the brain on drugs and how to work effectively with cognitive impairment

When: Thursday 20 March 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Alcohol and other drugs can affect the brain in both consistent and idiosyncratic ways. Up to 70% of people in alcohol and other drug treatment have significant temporary or long term cognitive impairment related to drug use, lifestyle, or other factors.

In this workshop, learn about how different parts of the brain can be affected by drug use and how this may impact functioning. You will gain a thorough understanding of how the brain works, the functional impact of drugs, and the effects on treatment.

Learn how to enhance client engagement and adapt treatment strategies to improve outcomes for clients with cognitive impairments.

Help your clients to manage strong emotions

When: Thursday 3 April 2025
Time: 9:30am–1:00pm
Duration: 3.5 hours
Location: Online

• Understand how lifestyle factors can impact on a person’s ability to regulate their emotions
• Know how to explain to clients how emotions work and how they interact with thoughts and behaviours
• Identify strategies to help your clients identify triggers to strong emotions and respond effectively
• Learn key emotion regulation skills and how to integrate them into your practice

Gain skills in identifying and responding to complex personality traits

When: Monday 28 April 2025
Time: 9:30am–1:00pm
Duration: 3.5 hours
Location: Online

Complex personality traits can present a complex set of challenges to engaging and staying connected to care, significantly impacting people’s ability to get the most out of treatment. In this workshop, we will explore the essential elements of what works with people with complex personality traits. You will walk away with a helpful model for thinking about personality and how best to respond within the context of your role.

Learn about the essential elements of working with people with complex personality traits so you can engage in effective alcohol and other drug treatment. Learn how to include personality traits in your formulation effectively and increase your skills in implementing strategies.

Develop advanced skills in motivational interviewing to supercharge your alcohol and other drug practice

When: Thursday 15 May and Thursday 22 May 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm (both days)
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Motivational interviewing is an evolving science that has recently been updated. Advance your MI expertise and ensure your practice is aligned with the latest best practice evidence to enhance client outcomes with our revised Rethink MI masterclass.

Join one of Australia’s most experienced alcohol and other drug trainers in this two  day motivational interviewing masterclass to reinvigorate your MI practice, learn useful adaptations, and explore ways to effectively manage challenges and barriers.

Take your motivational interviewing skills to the next level by using self-reflection and practical exercises to understand and apply advanced strategies across assessment, intervention, and responding to therapeutic challenges.

Gain confidence in delivering effective trauma informed practice

When: Monday 19 May 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Work more effectively with families and carers of people who use alcohol and other drugs, whether the person using drugs is in treatment or not.

Learn an effective, evidence based framework to help you engage better with families. You will walk away with increased confidence and skills to understand and work with family members as clients in their own right or as participants in your work with individuals.

This workshop focuses on the impact of alcohol and other drugs on families and models of responding based on Jim Orford’s stress-strain-information-coping-support model. You will find out how to blend strategies from family therapy, motivational interviewing, and cognitive behaviour therapy into effective treatment when working with families with alcohol and other drug issues.

This workshop focuses on the impact of alcohol and other drugs on families and models of responding based on Jim Orford’s stress-strain-information-coping-support model. You will find out how to blend strategies from family therapy, motivational interviewing, and cognitive behaviour therapy into effective treatment when working with families with alcohol and other drug issues.

Build key skills in mindfulness based relapse prevention to better support your clients

When: Thursday 5 June 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Mindfulness based relapse prevention integrates traditional relapse prevention with mindfulness meditation practices, supporting clients to better understand their thoughts, emotional reactions, and behavioural patterns. This helps them to more easily become aware of their triggers and respond mindfully rather than automatically.

With this interactive online workshop, you’ll gain the practical skills and knowledge you need to seamlessly introduce mindfulness based relapse prevention into your practice. Boost your understanding and practice so you can easily adapt mindfulness based relapse prevention to suit individual clients’ needs.

Unlike most mindfulness based relapse prevention training which is designed for groups, in this workshop you will learn how to introduce mindfulness based relapse prevention into your individual client work.

Unlike most mindfulness based relapse prevention training which is designed for groups, in this workshop you will learn how to introduce mindfulness based relapse prevention into your individual client work.

Gain advanced clinical practice skills in working with families

When: Thursday 12 June 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Work more effectively with families and carers of people who use alcohol and other drugs, whether the person using drugs is in treatment or not.

Learn an effective, evidence based framework to help you engage better with families. You will walk away with increased confidence and skills to understand and work with family members as clients in their own right or as participants in your work with individuals.

This workshop focuses on the impact of alcohol and other drugs on families and models of responding based on Jim Orford’s stress-strain-information-coping-support model. You will find out how to blend strategies from family therapy, motivational interviewing, and cognitive behaviour therapy into effective treatment when working with families with alcohol and other drug issues.

Build your resilience and learn effective self care strategies

When: Monday 16 June 2025
Time: 9:30am–1:00pm
Duration: 3.5 hours
Location: Online

This workshop covers all you need to know about potential reactions to distressing and stressful material at work. Take a half day out of your work to help build resilience by increasing your repertoire of prevention and self care strategies.

Join Dr Richard Cash, our trauma expert, to understand the range of potential reactions to distressing, confronting or objectional material at work and learn about the different ways working with trauma survivors can affect you.

You will learn how to recognise and differentiate a number of responses, including vicarious trauma, burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral injury. Develop best practice strategies for prevention and learn how to identify early warning signs, implement effective self care strategies and access further support.

Effectively blend motivational interviewing and CBT to achieve better client outcomes

When: Thursday 24 July 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Motivational interviewing and cognitive behaviour therapy are two key evidence based approaches for alcohol and other drug treatment. Being able to blend and move between them means that you can be more responsive to where your client is in the change process and drive positive change faster.

In this interactive one day workshop, we deep dive into frameworks and key elements of MI and CBT so you can easily combine them to boost your effectiveness. Learn what makes these two core approaches unique, where they align, and how to move seamlessly between them. Amplify your practice and maximise outcomes by ensuring that your work with your clients is always connected to what matters to them.

Gain a deeper understanding of how to respond to co-occurring mental health problems in alcohol and other drug treatment 

When: Thursday 31 July 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Co-occurring mental health issues are the norm rather than the exception among people seeking alcohol and other drug treatment. With this one day interactive online workshop, you will learn how to adapt and expand your existing alcohol and other drug treatment skills to assist your clients with managing mental health symptoms.

Deepen your understanding of co-occurring mental health and alcohol and other drug issues and build your knowledge, confidence and skills to better understand clients’ needs, respond effectively, and adapt treatment. Find out what you need to know about the different co-occurring conditions you may encounter and how to effectively incorporate best practice responses into your treatment.

Balance your lived experience with your role and enhance outcomes for your clients and yourself

When: Wednesday 6 August 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Lived experience brings a unique and valuable perspective to alcohol and other drug treatment. Many workers with lived experience are not in dedicated lived experience roles and may be searching for ways to balance their lived experience with the models of care that govern their practice. In this new workshop, you will explore how to make this work best for you, your service, and your clients.

Join Dr Amanda Davies, who draws on her lived and professional experience in this new workshop. With discussion of frameworks, clinical anecdotes, and a focus on self care and boundaries, you will walk away with skills and confidence to find the right balance in your work.

Work effectively with people who use methamphetamine

When: Thursday 14 August 2025
Time: 9:30am–1:00pm
Duration: 3.5 hours
Location: Online

Keep up to date about methamphetamine use and increase your understanding, confidence and skills in working with people who use methamphetamine.

Understand how methamphetamine affects the brain and how to adapt existing treatments and strategies for people who use methamphetamine.

You’ll learn about common co-occurring conditions associated with methamphetamine and the most effective ways to modify treatment and support to get the best outcomes.

Build your leadership skills and contribute to the next generation of practitioners

When: Monday 18 August 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

The key to great practice is great supervision. Are you a practice or clinical supervisor in the alcohol and other drug sector or looking to become one? Level up your supervisory skills by learning about effective supervision frameworks, building key supervision skills, and gaining strategies to manage challenges with our Superskills for Supervisors workshop.

Gain a deep understanding of the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ and ensure that you have the right theoretical and practical foundation skills to offer powerful practice supervision across different contexts and supervisees.

You will learn about developing and implementing supervision contracts and plans, assessing supervisee development needs, and navigating challenges and roadblocks.

Understand the causes and impacts of trauma and how to effectively respond

When: Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 September 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm (both days)
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Step up your trauma response skills with one of Australia’s most knowledgeable trainers. Find out everything you need to know to be able to understand and respond to trauma in the alcohol and other drug sector in a sensitive and evidence based way. You will come away with clear frameworks for understanding trauma and an effective toolkit in this essential area of practice.

Building on our Trauma Informed Practice workshop, you will deepen your knowledge of trauma and practice advanced strategies to effectively support people with trauma symptoms in alcohol and other drug treatment. Go deeper into understanding and responding to trauma and enhance your knowledge, skills and confidence in working with people who have experienced trauma.

Do you know what to say and do if you are subpoenaed to appear in court? Are you court ready?

When: Thursday 11 September 2025
Time: 9:30am–4:30pm
Duration: 7 hours
Location: Online

Join our clinical expert Paula Ross for this practical and fun interactive one day workshop specially designed to assist practitioners to get court ready. Understand the court system and gain a thorough understanding of good court preparation, including ensuring your case notes and reports are court ready. Gain confidence and reduce anxiety about appearing in court by enhancing your court presentation skills.

You will walk away feeling fully prepared and confident to represent your work and opinions in court so that your knowledge and experience really count.

The AOD Skill Set Course is comprised of four core, AOD specific, units from the Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drug Work. Upon successful completion of the AOD Skill Set, each worker will be provided with nationally-recognised Statements of Attainment.

Units are:

CHCAOD001 Work in an AOD context
CHCAOD004 Assess the needs of clients with AOD issues
CHCAOD006 Provide interventions for people with AOD issues
CHCAOD009 Develop and review individual AOD treatment plans

Training fees are fully subsidised by ATODA with funding from ACT Health.

Please contact ATODA to discuss enrolment in the AOD Skillset in 2025.

The Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs is offered by a number of providers including CIT and TAFE. Fee-free places may be available. Please contact ATODA to discuss how you can access the Certificate IV as a requirement of the Qualifications Strategy.

Maintaining a current Provide First Aid (Senior First Aid) certificate is a requirement of the Qualifications Strategy. On occasion, ATODA offers limited spaces in subsidised First Aid training for workers in the ACT ATOD sector. To enquire about enrolment, please contact ATODA.

Upcoming training:

• 11 February 2025