Universal Treatment Curriculum

The Universal Treatment Curriculum (UTC) has been developed by several teams of curriculum developers, including JBS International, SME Consulting, and TTK, with overall coordination by the International Centre for Credentialing and Education of Addiction Professionals (ICCE). It provides a series of training materials for knowledge and skill development of treatment professionals. The aim of the training series is to reduce the significant health, social and economic problems associated with substance use disorders by building international treatment capacity through training, and so expanding the professional global treatment workforce.

UTC is available through the basic and advanced series as well as with several specialist series that focus on populations with special needs, such as women, children, and persons in recovery.

Example Materials

Example Trainer Manual

Module 0 Slides

UTC Basic Level

The Basic Level UTC consists of eight courses that cover the broad spectrum of treatment for substance use disorders.

UTC 1: Introduction to the Science of Addiction

20 training hours

This course provides the foundation for understanding the science of addiction. It gives an overview of the physiology of addiction as a brain disease and pharmacology of psychoactive substances.

UTC 2: Treatment for Substance Use Disorders–The Continuum of Care for Addiction Professionals

33 training hours

The course provides the foundation for learning about substance use disorder(SUD) treatment.

UTC 3: Common Co-occurring Mental and Medical Disorders- An Overview for Addiction Professionals

20 training hours

This course offers an overview of the relationship between co-occurring mental and SUD-related treatment issues.

UTC 4: Basic Counselling Skills for Addiction Professionals

33 training hours

This course focusses on an overview of the helping relationship and the opportunity to practice core counselling including basic skills in motivational interviewing, group counselling and implementation of psychoeducation sessions.

UTC 5: Intake, Screening, Assessment, Treatment Planning and Documentation for Addiction Professionals

33 training hours

This course is a skills-based course that teaches effective and integrated intake, screening, assessment,

UTC 6: Case Management for Addiction Professionals

13 training hours

This is a skills-based course that provides an overview of case management in the treatment of substance use disorders and provides skills in case management.

UTC 7: Crisis Intervention for Addiction Professionals

13 training hours

This course addresses the concept of crisis as a part of life and provides guidelines for crisis intervention, including managing suicide risk. It also addresses ways counsellors can avoid personal crisis situations by providing information and exercises about counsellor self-care.

UTC 8: Ethics for Addiction Professionals

26 training hours

This course addresses professional conduct and ethical behaviour in SUD treatment that covers confidentiality, ethical principles and professional code of ethics.

UTC Advanced Level

The Advanced Level UTC is a set of 14 courses developed to provide a more comprehensive and theoretical foundation in the clinical practice of substance use disorder treatment.

UTC 9: Advanced Pharmacology and Substance Use Disorders

This 3-days course provides an overview of pharmacology through the identification of the classification of drugs based on their effects on the central nervous system and addiction potential.

UTC 10: Managing Medication Assisted Treatment Programs

This 4-days course provides a comprehensive understanding of the importance of medication in SUD treatment and its benefits when used in conjunction with psychosocial interventions.

UTC 11: Enhancing Motivational Interviewing Skills

This 5-days course provides an understanding of the theory and application of Motivational Interviewing strategies and interventions for SUD treatment.

UTC 12: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

This 4-days course provides an overview of cognitive – behaviour therapy goals, techniques and its application to treatment of people with substance use disorders and comorbid disorders.

UTC 13: Contingency Management

This 3-days course is a foundational course that provides an understanding of the theories and principles of reinforcement-based treatment, in general, with specific focus on the Contingency Management approach.

UTC 14: Working with Families

This 5-days course provides a comprehensive overview for SUD treatment practitioners working with families who are dealing with substance use disorders.

UTC 15: Skills for Managing Co-Occurring Disorders

This 3-days skills-based course enhances participants understanding of co-occurring disorders, substance-related disorders, and mental disorders.

UTC 16: Advanced Clinical Skills and Crisis Management

This 5-days course provides an in-depth understanding of the theories of counselling and the application of its therapeutic techniques in various SUD treatment settings.

UTC 17: Case Management Skills and Practices

This 3.5-days course is designed to provide the opportunity to enhance competency in case management through a better understanding of the important roles and skills of case managers.

UTC 18: Clinical Supervision

This 5-days course provides an overview of the fundamentals, principles, models and methods of clinical supervision. This is also meant to lay out the roles, functions, skills and competencies of clinical supervisors.

UTC 19: Enhancing Group Facilitation Skills

This 3.5-days course is a skills-based course that enhances group facilitation skills of SUD treatment practitioners.

UTC 20: Populations with Special Clinical Needs

This 6-days specialised course provides basic tools necessary to help meet the needs of a broad and diverse array of individuals with substance use disorders, provide and/or improve access to quality

UTC 21: Trauma-Informed Care for Adults

This 4- days course provides information about

UTC 22: Recovery management and Relapse Prevention

This 4-days course provides a foundational understanding of

UTC Specialised Series

The UTC specialised series has been developed to provide advanced material on specific issues relevant to those working in treatment:

The Child Intervention for Living Drug-Free (CHILD) Curriculum

Child Intervention for Living Drug-Free (CHILD) Curriculum provides

Women’s Intervention for Substance Exposure: Comprehensive Care for Substance Use Disorder (WISE)

The WISE Curriculum was created to increase understanding of women’s unique treatment needs and how to address them through practical knowledge and techniques.

UTC 46: The Intersection of Substance Use and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI)

26 training hours

This curriculum is designed to develop provider skills in delivering culturally responsive prevention and treatment services for LGBTQ populations.

Rural-based Prevention and Treatment Curriculum for Substance Use Disorders (Rural)

This specialty training series aims to reduce the significant health, social, and economic problems associated with the substance use by professionalizing prevention and

Alternatives To Incarceration (ATI)

The Alternatives To Incarceration (ATI) training and technical assistance program was developed in order to stimulate systems change through the use of treatment in the rehabilitation of individuals with substance use disorders whose criminal activity is related to that disorder.

Universal Nurse Addiction Curriculum (UNAC) Series

A new course specifically for nurses - called the Universal Nurse Addiction Curriculum (UNAC) Series.