Graduate Certificate in Addiction Intervention

The Graduate Certificate in Addiction Intervention responds to a need in the social services sector for addiction practitioners to possess both the knowledge and skillset needed for entry into the workforce. Courses focus on key social issues, such as promotion of wellbeing, addiction and co-existing disorders, embedding a bicultural approach.

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Availability

Our distance learning courses are offered throughout the year to help you fit study around your work and life commitments.
Courses are offered up to 12 times per year depending on demand and availability of academic staff.
Exact start dates are in the course information pages and in our Enrolment dates page:

Enrolment dates

Cost

• Course costscan be found on all course pages.  The fees may increase annually.
• Qualification cost – to give you an idea of how much a qualification may cost in total over the duration of your studies, an approximate cost is provided for many of our qualifications. This is based on the required number of courses to complete the qualification and the average cost of those courses. It does not include annual administration fees, text books and course materials or external exam fees, and is subject to annual course fee increases.

Credits

Courses are assigned credits depending on how much time and effort is needed to complete their learning outcomes. In general, each credit represents approximately 10 hours of study time.

Delivery method

• Online – The course materials for online courses are delivered in an online format and all assignments are submitted online.
• Mixed – These courses are delivered using a mix of online and paper based course materials. This may include receiving paper course materials, submitting  assignments online, or being required to participate in online forums and learning activities.
• Print Only - The course will be delivered using paper based courses materials, and assignments may need to be submitted in hard copy rather than online. This will depend on the course.

Whether courses are delivered online, on paper or a mixture of both, there may also be components such as workshops, noho marae, work experience and practicum to participate in. To find out what your course involves check the course information page.

EFTS

EFTS stands for equivalent full-time student. An EFTS is the study time required for each course and is used by the Tertiary Education Commission to decide if a course is part-time or full-time. 

One year of full-time study is generally between 0.8 and 1.2 EFTS.

Level

You can tell how hard a course or qualification is by the level it is set at:

• Levels 1-4 are about the same as secondary school and basic trades training.
• Levels 5-7 are the same as university study.

Prerequisites

• Prerequisites are courses that must be completed before another course can be studied.
• Co-requisites are courses that can be studied at the same time as another course.

If a course has a specific prerequisite or co-requisite course, it will be listed on the course page under the title 'Prerequisites'. If no courses are listed, check the entry and other requirements under the qualification you are studying for. Some courses require you to have studied at a particular level prior to enrolling.

Student loans

Not all qualifications or students are eligible for student loans. You will need to meet criteria such as studying a minimum number of credits over a specific study period. It is up to you to apply for a student loan via StudyLink - Open Polytechnic does not do this for you.

Information about student loans and eligibility

StudyLink website

Teaching weeks

Teaching weeks is the number of weeks that we teach a course. This differs from the enrolment period, which is based on the course start and end dates.

For example, a 20-week enrolment period will have 16 teaching weeks, followed by four weeks to accommodate marking, any extensions and reassessments, or exams.

Workload

The workload estimate given on a course page is calculated like this:

Number of credits x 10, divided by the number of teaching weeks for the course. The hours will be rounded up to nearest whole number.

Please note, this is a guide only. You may need more or less time for study, and you may also need to do more hours during assessment due dates or exams times.

• Level

7

• Credits

60

• Cost $2,888 NZ Domestic Not including any course materials or external exam fees.
• Student loan Available. 

Student loans and eligibility

Dapaanz Pathway

Only learners who have successfully completed all courses in both the Open Polytechnic OP7800 Bachelor of Social Health and Wellbeing (Mental Health and Addictions) and OP7803 Graduate Certificate in Addiction Intervention will be considered eligible for provisional dapaanz registration.

Applicants joining with degrees from other health related disciplines will not be able to use the Graduate Certificate in Addiction Intervention as a pathway to provisional registration with dapaanz. Learners in this situation are advised to seek advice from dapaanz.

 

What you will learn

Graduates of this qualification will be able to:

• Integrate into practice a sound understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and competently engage with diversity in ways that enhance wellbeing and social justice.
• Apply ethical, reflective and critical practice and actively engage in clinical supervision and personal and professional development.
• Critically analyse and conduct and apply comprehensive assessments and deliver evidence informed, empowering therapeutic individual and whānau-centred interventions across the harm reduction continuum.

Career Opportunities

The Graduate Certificate in Addiction Intervention will provide learners with a range of specialist skills and practices in the addiction intervention field. If currently employed in the sector, learners will gain valuable opportunities to incorporate work-related learning that may build on an existing role or equip for new responsibilities.

 

Practical or work-based components

In BHW709 Practicum 3 learners must be supervised in a 120-hour practicum, and will be working with whaiora/clients of approved addiction services.

75 hours of this will be client-facing, the remainder can be other placement-related tasks. BHW709 will develop learners’ professional practice skills with individuals, families and whānau, their concept of professional identity and ability to work within the professional codes, legal requirements, professional values and ethics of practice.

It will build on learners’ understanding of reflective practice, Te Tiriti obligations, cultural responsiveness and the use of professional supervision.

Check out the upcoming dates here

Maximum Programme Completion Time

To be awarded the qualification, the programme must be completed in no more than 2 years of first enrolment, unless there are exceptional circumstances.