The field of addictions It is one of the most fascinating and complex in Psychology and Health Sciences. The prevalence of addiction disorders is very high, especially at a time when the consumption of addictive substances increasingly begins at an earlier age.
However, the psychological and social interventions necessary to combat the problem of addiction cannot focus solely on treating addicted people. One of the crucial factors to take into account is prevention: the set of research, plans and strategies aimed at preventing dependency from reaching a critical point of development.
In this article we will see How to choose the best drug addiction prevention training taking into account several criteria that inform us about the quality of these courses, master’s degrees and specialization postgraduate courses.
How to train in Drug Addiction Prevention: quality criteria
When choosing training programs, it is important to look at whether the master’s degrees, courses and postgraduate courses have the following characteristics.
1. They treat the main forms of addiction
Unless the learning program focuses on a very specific type of addiction, these courses should provide a global vision of at least the main forms of addiction, and not just some relatively rare ones. In this way, students will gain versatility in the world of work.
2. They are based on scientifically validated knowledge
It is clear that the knowledge obtained through science is never definitive or impossible to question, but that does not mean that it has the same value as that achieved through any other procedure.
Especially in such a delicate area and associated with the health professions sector, it is essential that both the paradigm from which it is based and the contents taught have scientific solidity and are updated in line with the latest published research. Approaches that talk about addictions based on totally abstract concepts and without operational definition, or that are based on outdated models associated with mysticism, must be discarded.
3. They offer personalized treatment
Much of the learning potential that a training program offers us comes not from the information that is transmitted to us in a more or less unidirectional way, but from the possibility of interacting with people with real knowledge of the subject and willing to solve our specific doubts
Therefore, personalized tutoring is essential. Thanks to these counseling sessions, we “soak up” knowledge in a more spontaneous and dynamic way, although studying alone is also essential.
4. That offer theoretical and practical knowledge
In the case of postgraduate and master’s degrees, it is important to have the possibility of doing internships related to what is studied. In this way, students will internalize the knowledge transmitted through the double track of theory and practice, two facets interrelated and co-dependent on each other. It is of little use to know the theory if it does not translate into behavioral patterns that lead us to action regardless of whether our field is clinical, psychosocial or educational.
Addictions have different levels of complexity, ranging from the micro of the neuropsychology of the reward circuit to the macro of the relational and social aspects of addictive behaviors. To fully understand how the prevention of these alterations can be addressed, it is necessary to have a global vision of all this problem, and the courses, masters and postgraduate courses must cover those levels of complexity
Conclusion: an interesting area of specialization
The existence of addictions is a challenge that as a society we are forced to face, and this requires well-trained professionals. Therefore, specialization in prevention It is one of the main focuses of professionalization and it seems that it will continue to be so in the long term due to the extension of the problem of drugs and addictive behaviors.
