Addiction Professionals / Adfam Drug and Alcohol Family Worker Professional Certificate

Addiction Professionals and Adfam have a jointly developed competence-based certification for practitioners supporting families affected by alcohol and other drugs. Adfam brings years of experience of working with families and Addiction Professionals bring their expertise as the professional body and membership organisation for the sector.

Addiction Professionals/Adfam Drug and Alcohol Family Worker Professional Certification is specifically designed for practitioners working with families affected by alcohol and other drugs use, and outlines a unique role profile. It provides practitioners with a number of benefits:

• A professional competency-based certification mapped to National Occupational Standards (NOS).
• A role profile and commitment to the Addiction Professionals Standards of Conduct and Ethics.  

Registration 

To acquire registration:

• practitioners' employers assess their competence in each of the NOS units outlined in the role profile. Practitioners will be required to develop a portfolio of proof of competence which may be asked for as part of random sampling and which will allow them to demonstrate continued professional development in order to become re-accredited at the end of the 3 years.
• Practitioners will be asked to write a 1000 word reflective piece, addressing what is important in work with adult family members affected by a loved one’s substance use, or working with the children of people who use alcohol and other drugs. You should cover areas such as attitude and approach; adapting your skills or knowledge from other fields to this area of work, and what models you use in your work with family members. You should make clear how you have adapted your approach to the family member as the primary beneficiary, and how you may have changed or learned from experience. Please also give us a sense of the kind of topics that you would typically cover with family members and what needs you find yourself supporting them with. THE REFLECTIVE PIECE WILL BE ASSESSED BY ADFAM. 

Certification is valid for three years. To be eligible for re-certification, a practitioner must provide up-to-date evidence of their on-going competence in the units concerned.

SPECIAL OFFER  1 year's free Addiction Professionals membership for those who apply for the Drug and Alcohol Family Worker Professional Certificate. NB applications must submit their application for the certificate within 3 months of joining.