Addiction Fellowship

Addiction Fellowship

Program Description

The experience includes:

  • Training in semi-structured diagnostic and clinical assessments of patients with concurrent addictive and psychiatric disorders.
  • Conducting research.
  • Assessing patients in hospital, day treatment and outpatient settings.  This includes addressing stage of change, identification of most appropriate treatment setting, and management of psychiatric disorders in context of addiction and potential roles of pharmacotherapy.
  • Conducting individual and group therapy for patients with concurrent addictive and psychiatric disorders.  This involves brief interventions/motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)/relapse prevention, 12-step facilitation, graduated group settings based on the stages of change and family therapy.
  • Managing patients with addiction and psychiatric issues as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

Educational Objectives

Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes
At the end of the fellowship, you will be expected to:

  • Conduct a reliable diagnostic assessment of patients with concurrent addictive and psychiatric disorders including, facilitating engagement in and motivation for treatment, and developing an individualized treatment plan with choice of treatment setting.
  • Know how to incorporate psychotherapeutic management involving brief interventions/motivational interviewing, CBT/relapse prevention, and 12-step facilitation appropriate to individual patient presentations.
  • Know the role of medications for substance withdrawal, opioid substitution/maintenance, cravings and relapse prevention.
  • Know how to alter psychotropic use based on psychiatric and addictive disorder co-morbidity.
  • Be able to work clinically in a multi-disciplinary program.

Supplementary Information

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Length of Rotation
Twelve months

Level of Training
Post-Specialty Psychiatry Training

Main Location
Foothills Medical Centre

Qualifications
FRCPC or equivalent license to practice in Alberta.

Funding
An honorarium commensurate with PGY-6 pay is available on a competitive basis, with opportunity for clinical earnings one day per week for fellows with a license and qualified to bill Alberta Health Care.

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Supervisors
Dr. David Crockford (Academic Lead, Addiction Psychiatry)
Drs. Rob Tanguay, Lydia Vezina, Alvis Yu, Stephen Amadala, Sam Chang, Tashi Kinjo

Description of Supervision
Academic supervision will be via Dr. David Crockford.  Day-to-day supervision will be via the program psychiatrists and dependent on the area the fellow is working in at the time.

Evaluation Method
Formal feedback will be provided every 3 months with ongoing informal feedback.