Professional Certificate in Dual Diagnosis & Treatment Considerations in Mental Health and Addiction
Deepen your expertise in working with co-occurring addiction and mental health challenges. Learn integrated approaches to complex presentations in diverse client groups.
This certificate equips you with an advanced understanding of the complex relationship between mental health conditions and addiction. You’ll explore diagnostic systems, integrated and transdiagnostic treatment approaches, and the ethical challenges of working with comorbidity. The course highlights both the promise of integrated care and the barriers that prevent its delivery, while building your competence to work therapeutically with diverse and marginalised populations affected by dual diagnosis.
DATE
- Saturday May 2nd
- Sunday Mat 3rd
- Saturday June 6th
- Sunday June 7th
From 9:00 am to 5:30 pm
Please note that by enrolling on this Professional Certificate programme, you will be joining a Year 2 module of PCI College’s MSc Addiction Counselling & Psychotherapy programme. Some of your classmates will be students completing their studies on the MSc Addiction Counselling & Psychotherapy programme, so you can expect to experience a high level of knowledge from your peers during your studies on this Professional Certificate.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers, and allied health professionals who want to develop specialist knowledge and skills for working with clients presenting with both mental health and addiction concerns.
Course Requirements
Attend all 4 days of teaching
Formative Assessment
Deliver a short in-class presentation on a chosen dual diagnosis theme.
Complete a 500-word reflective journal entry on your presentation and learning process.
Summative Assessment
Submit:
• A poster or PowerPoint presentation on a dual diagnosis topic of your choice
• A 1,500-word reflective commentary on the presentation, integrating theory, practice, and cultural considerations
What are the benefits of doing this course?
- Gain confidence in working with clients experiencing co-occurring mental health and addiction issues.
- Learn to critically evaluate and apply integrated and transdiagnostic treatment models.
- Explore ethical considerations, self-care, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Enhance cultural competence and professional readiness for dual diagnosis practice.
- Develop presentation and critical reflection skills transferable to clinical and academic contexts.
What will you learn?
By completing this course, you will be able to:
- Critically evaluate models explaining the prevalence of dual diagnosis.
- Appraise the challenges of treating dual diagnosis across diverse populations.
- Analyse the benefits and limitations of integrated treatment models.
- Apply a transdiagnostic approach to common underlying factors in addiction and mental health.
- Demonstrate awareness of professional limitations, supervision, and self-care in this field.
- Present a specialist dual diagnosis topic showing integrated knowledge and cultural awareness.
Day 1
• Defining and understanding dual diagnosis
• Prevalence and lifespan issues in co-occurring disorders
• Mortality risks and health disparities in dual diagnosis populations
Day 2
• Vulnerability, trauma, and socio-cultural barriers to care
• Assessment and formulation of dual diagnosis cases
• Counsellor competency, ethical limits, and the role of supervision
Day 3
• Integrated treatment principles and approaches
• Barriers to integrated care in the Irish context
• Insights from treatment sites: reflections on practice and service delivery
Day 4
• Working with co-occurring disorders: mood, anxiety, psychotic, neurocognitive, personality, neurodevelopmental, and eating disorders
• Alternatives to medical model classification of dual diagnosis
• Transdiagnostic approaches and the Unified Protocol for treating underlying processes
Eligibility
Applicants should possess the maturity to reflect on their development as a person and have successfully completed and obtained a minimum grade 2.2 in one of the following:
Level 8 NFQ/Level 6 UK accredited degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy/Addiction Counselling
OR
Level 8 NFQ/ Level 6UK degree in Social Sciences (Youth Work, Social Care, Social Work, Psychology, Nursing, Medicine, etc.)
OR
Accredited Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy/Addiction Counselling plus Level 8 NFQ/Level 6UK degree in an unrelated area plus submission of a clinical portfolio
IT Skills
Students require sufficient IT skills to complete the course.
Additional Entry Requirements
Students with a diagnosed learning difficulty (e.g. dyslexia) must declare this at application stage. Advice and support will be provided where needed. Students currently enrolled in Year 1 of the MSc Addiction Counselling & Psychotherapy are not eligible to apply for this programme.
Fees
Standard Rate: Applies to all non-affiliated participants.
PCI College Graduate: Discounted rate available for graduates of BSc Degree and Postgraduate programmes.
Current BSc/MSc Students & Alumni Members: Preferential rate available. Join our Alumni Group on LinkedIn to access this discount
Course Fees – Northern Ireland
Course Total