Online course

Understanding and Treating Addictions

– the essential information you need to know

Discover why we are all vulnerable to addictions, what causes and drives addictive and compulsive behaviours – and the best ways to overcome them

Course Factfile

Understanding and Treating Addictions online course

Read reviews

Special offer

  • Price: £159 £119.25 per person

Price includes course notes and life-time access

Special Offer

£119.25

The good news about addiction is that with the right knowledge and treatment, many addicts can, and do, recover quite quickly.

This popular online addiction course explains the key information you need to know to tackle and treat addictions successfully.

The most useful online addiction course I've done in over 10 years of working with people with addictions

Youth & Community Worker

Why take this course

CPD Provider LogoJoe Griffin’s science-based insights into what is happening in our brains when we become addicted have proved a major leap forward in not only our understanding of the addictive process but the successful treatment of a wide range of addictions, including: • alcohol and drug addictions • eating disorders • gambling addiction • shopping addictions • substance abuse • computer gaming and TV addictions • sexual obsessions • and other compulsive behaviours…

As a result, thousands of addicts have already been helped to overcome their particular addiction.

As well as exploring these profoundly helpful insights and their relevance to successful treatment, this online addiction course gives you an essential overview of a wide variety of addictive behaviours, including what they have in common, why we are all vulnerable to addiction, and what the genuine causes and drivers of addictive behaviours are.

It also explains the most successful ways to rapidly break addictive patterns and how to prevent, or at least minimise, relapses, using psychotherapy informed by these latest neuroscientific findings.

So — whether it’s for professional or personal reasons — taking this online addiction course could prove invaluable to you.

I can't thank you enough for the life-changing information you have shared on this excellent online addiction course

Businessman & Father

What will you learn

  • How to be more effective when working with all sorts of addictions, including alcoholism, drug abuse, eating disorders, gambling, shopping, computer games, TV, sexual obsessions and other compulsions
  • A greater understanding of the addictive process and what drives it including:
  • Key, little known insights into the process of addiction and the destructive dissociative elements that fuel it
  • New insights into why withdrawal symptoms are the key to understanding why people become addicted
  • New research-based information on the facts about which forms of treatment work and which don’t
  • A whole new understanding of the effective strategies you need for dealing with the full range of addictive behaviours – and how to put them into practice
  • Why many addicts can and do recover relatively quickly
  • Why withdrawal symptoms are so painful and how to deal with them
  • Specific information about how to break addictive patterns and prevent relapses
  • Ten warning signs that children are abusing drugs
  • Increased understanding of why young people take drugs and succumb to substance abuse
  • Knowledge of the discoveries about how to disengage the brain from addictive behaviour which are proving highly beneficial for helping addicts recover (sometimes even quite quickly)
  • The fascinating connection between addiction and learning – new insights which are transforming treatment
  • The social factors that are increasing the likelihood of addictive behaviour
  • Course notes
  • Accredited CPD certificate, that also counts towards the Human Givens Diploma
  • and much more…

Excellent online addiction course – I’d recommend it to anyone that wants to really understand how addiction works

David Chard
Counts towards a Diploma

Counts towards a Diploma

By taking this course, you could be on your way to completing Part 1 of the Human Givens Diploma – a flexible, part-time psychotherapy course which will deepen your psychological knowledge and increase your ability to help people effectively and quickly.  Learn more >

Who is this course suitable for?

  • Anyone wishing to better understand the process of addiction ‒ and why we are so prone to addictive behaviour and substance abuse ‒ no jargon is used
  • Anyone wanting to find out why withdrawal can be so painful, how to minimise its symptoms ‒ and how to prevent relapses
  • All members of the caring and welfare professions including: drug workers, youth workers, doctors, nurses, psychotherapists, counsellors, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, cognitive behavioural therapists, teachers, social workers, support workers
  • If you want to know about more effective ways to treat addictive behaviour ‒ whether for professional or personal reasons ‒ this course is for you.

What's included?

  • Videos
    24 Videos
  • 40 Quizzes
  • PDF Course notes
  • Lifetime access
    Life-long access
  • CPD Certificate
    CPD Certificate

‘Treating Addictions’ is based on our one-day seminar ‘Tackling Addiction’. This online version is split into 4 modules, each of which are broken down further into different sections containing filmed lectures given in English by the tutor, Joe Griffin.

Each film clip is followed by a short series of multiple choice questions. These are designed to help you think about and absorb the course content and to check that you have understood the main points of that section before proceeding to the next.

There are also course notes for you to download, plus additional reading information and helpful links.

You can take as long as you like to work your way through the course and can view it as many times as you like.

Once you have completed the course, you will receive an accredited CPD certificate, which counts towards the Human Givens Diploma.

CPD Provider Logo
This course has been independently assessed by the internationally recognised CPD Standards Office for 6 hours of CPD training.

Meet your tutor

Joe Griffin tutor profile picture

Joe Griffin

Joe Griffin is a psychologist with many years’ experience both in psychotherapeutic practice and in training psychotherapists.

Read more

Reviews for this course

4.9/5 (44 Reviews)
  1. K Woods, Therapist

    Excellent and engaging course, inspiring and very informative. Thanks 🙂

  2. Janice Giddy BA Hons counselling, Counselled in private practice.

    This is an excellent course.
    Having attended the same course, lots of years ago in London with Joe! I am greatly impressed with the way the course has evolved.
    The delivery of the complexity of the subject was excellently presented and the multiple choice questions were challenging and thought provoking. I intend to repeat this on line course which is a wonderful added bonus of investing in this online experience.

  3. Jaz, Training to become Human Givens Therapist

    Joe Griffins is the best teacher you could possibly ask for.

    A wide plethora of information gained on this Addictions course.

    Thank you

  4. Rosie, student

    This has been the most engaging course on The Human Givens so far.
    It was delivered in a comprhensive manner and relatable examples explained the complexities and diverse experiences associated with addictive behaviours.

  5. David Chard, Facilitator and Trainer

    Excellent course and I’d recommend it to anyone that wants to really understand how addiction works. The material is well organized and expertly delivered in ways that are interesting and entertaining. Joe is a delightful presenter and makes you want more. Having taken so many online courses, I really think this is the best I’ve experienced so far.

  6. Rhonda Dow, Counsellor

    I love Joe’s humour. He makes learning fun and it is easier to retain. I learnt a lot from this in terms of how the brain works processing addiction cravings. Thank you

  7. Rachel Rose, Clinical Hypnotherapist, EFT & NLP Practitioner, Reiki Master/Teacher

    I had studied addiction many years ago and this was a refresh and found it a really interesting and knowledgeable course. I found the online course actually suited me better as I could write copious notes (rather than not catching everything in a classroom). It would have been helpful to have more printouts available from the lecturer’s presentation however rated it 5 stars as thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend. Thank you!

  8. Melanie Kettner-Borough, Pastor, Counsellor.

    This course has been extremely helpful in that, I work with people who are in process of coming out of addiction mostly using the disease model, 12 steps. I value the human Givens’ approach using the best of various treatment models and expecially the insights on the biological and psychological aspects related to human behaviour. The molar memories concept was helpful too in understanding deeper questions of why. With great respect, thank you.

  9. Sarah W, Clinical Hypnotherapist

    Brilliant insightful course, learned so much about addiction that I can start to use with clients straight away. Highly recommended!

  10. Elizabeth McBarnet, Independent Speech and Language Therapist

    Fascinating stuff, and relevant to all of us. The expectation theory really makes sense of why it is so easy to relapse, never before have I heard an explanation of why willpower alone isn’t enough.

  11. Lise Bratton, Book designer and editor, artist - potential HG Therapist.

    This information on addiction feels generally relevant to life with helpful case studies and strategies on how to tackle addiction. What I really appreciate is how each course further reveals how the Human Givens core principles fit into a practical, developing way to mental health. (With apologies for all the nominalisations!) Thanks.

  12. Stephen Pinsent, Psychologist

    Joe is just too entertaining, realistic and informative to ignore. Having taken courses from him before, I have come to see how informed, especially through personal professional experience, he is. Grounded in evidence based research, what he teaches is both relevant and instantly applicable to problem solving. I have gained both personal and professional benefit from this course. Upon completing it and the exams, I listened to his presentations again to gain more than from the first time. As a psychologist who specializes in both military and civilian PTSD, the addictions focus is relevant to most clients.

  13. Tracy Peach, Volunteer Peer mentor

    Bloody fantastic and very clear to understand, im trying to get into the support side of addiction after many years at the other side, 15 month sober, I am now a volunteer peer mentor and upping my knowledge accordingly and thought this course would be good in my arsenal, now I think its the best course I have ever taken and well worth the money.

  14. Jason James, Mental Health Professional

    Yes I really liked this course on Addiction. It was full of great advice and theory about Addiction that felt very relevant to my work. Brilliant!

  15. Susan Garnett, Detox clinic

    Brilliant as always! I have always liked Human Givens as it’s logical and easy to understand . I work in a detox clinic. This module will help me with group work that patients attend every day. The psychobiological brain analogy is brilliant and will really help when working with clients.

  16. Ellen

    I have always thought the subject to be very complicated, but this course provided a common-sense approach and clarified many aspects for me about what addiction is really about. Lots of new information I’m going to do the skills workshop next. Thank you.

  17. Samantha

    I very much enjoyed this course how it was set out it was very clear and gave me so much extra knowledge and much more confidence to tackle addictions , after this course and applying the knowledge and skills , I have had great success with clients , i will certainly be signing up for the other courses.

  18. John

    Hi I really enjoyed the course and hope to do many more online courses as this can be done at times that suit me. Loved the irish accent and the way it was delivered.

  19. Michelle

    I found this seminar to be very informative and thorough. I especially liked the examples given and specific strategies shared.

  20. Sara

    The HG approach to working with addiction is applicable to so many problems. I work with eating disorders, and have already found the material really useful in my work. I have now booked the in-person workshop to bring my practical skills up to scratch too.

  21. Tom

    Another great HG course taught with humour, intelligence and clarity.

  22. Dora

    I have learned so much.

  23. Jack

    The best with this and the other HG courses is that they are now available for a whole year. Now I need a year to digest . Kind regards from Denmark Jack Gallagher

  24. Ruth

    As a trainee psychotherapist I have found all the courses attended thus far very useful, this one in particular as it has helped me pull together all I have learnt from classic psychology and hypnosis to help my future clients. Thank you.

  25. Ann

    I very much enjoyed the online module. It was presented in a most engaging way. The explanations were clear and well-supported with examples and metaphor. It would be very helpful for many people who are fixed unhelpfully in one way of thinking about addiction and troublesome habits of behaviour or thinking. Having done this module, I feel motivated to take another – hopefully not an addictive response! 😉 I would find it very helpful to have a transcript, or at least subtitles, to follow it more easily.

  26. Tracey

    I thoroughly enjoyed this online class. The material is well-paced and very easy to follow. Joe is so easy to listen to.

  27. Doug

    An easy to follow and well presented on-line learning course which I’d recommend to anyone who may have contact with individuals suffering from an addiction.

  28. Jennifer

    Good!

  29. Marian

    Good course. Found it a little difficult to navigate around it when wanting to review different bits. Perhaps I never found something that was obvious. Was there a way of getting the overall page up to see which bit I wanted?

    • In reply to Marian – HG College

      Yes if you navigate via the menu you should be able to scroll through to find any film clips or questions you want to review again.

  30. Elaine

    This was an incredibly insightful module clearly explaining the way the body works in terms of addiction. I found it very useful, and would love to see Joe record a cd for this as they have for other modules…. I find I can use this to reinforce these ideas, but can easily incorporate a cd into my life rather then reading a book (which I would also do!) but for Hebbian learning purposes listening to a cd while doing other tasks can be beneficial 🙂 A must do module for anyone wanting to learn about addiction, either for yourself or to help others!

  31. Leslie

    Very broad ranging course content with lots of excellent real life examples

  32. Eileen

    The course content is structured exceptionally well. I found the material informative ,insightful and it was delivered online at a very high standard that was easy to follow and retain. Joe Griffin is a joy to listen to, his down to earth professional approach and witty lectures made my learning fun and easy. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and the companion book on the subject. Thankyou

  33. Síle

    Apart from feeling satisfactorily equipped now to explain the process of addiction to anyone who would benefit from understanding it from a science perspective, I am on a rampage of gratitude for the myriad of practical treatments proposed on this course and supported by anecdotal evidence of their success. The content is grippingly interesting and so passionately delivered by Joe, one could not but be excited at the prospect of using it to turn the lives of others around. There is however something for everyone in this material. On the continuum of clean living to which I think we all aspire, there can be many a slip between the cup and the lip. Knowing about the hierarchy of neuro communications in our brains can only serve to make us all more aware of triggers, trance states and potential overindulgence, if not addictions. I for one will be listening out for over enthusiastic self- talk and over attachment to food and beverages in advance of partaking of same henceforth, to ensure balanced, healthy relationships with everything I allow into my system. Joe Griffin and Iven Tyrrell are legends in their own time. This whole Human Givens organising idea is going to change the blueprint for effective psychotherapy and healing in whatever corners of the world it reaches. It’s got that Goldilocks quality, not too scientific, but significantly enough so, to render it credible and enduring and just the right balance of fact, new findings, breakthrough treatments and support material to make it engaging, accessible and respectably measurable. A fascinating learning space. Buíochas Mór. ‘Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in’ Leonard Cohen

  34. Susan

    I have always liked Human Givens as it’s logical and easy to understand . I work in a detox clinic. This module will help me with group work that patients attend every day. The psychobiological brain analogy is brilliant and will really help when working with clients.

  35. Fran

    Interesting up-to-date well delivered with enough new information to keep me interested. I think that the information re memory will help me in my practice considerably.

  36. Joan

    I really enjoyed this course and the information given on it. But the section on ‘the brain’ was not as clear as it could have been because the diagram on the white board was not clear on the video, I was very interested that there were two amygdalae etc but could not see it in picture form. The rest of the course is excellent and has helped me explain addiction to a client I am seeing who now tells people she is teetotal, the information I got from this course was instrumental to her understanding of why she may not be able to drink alcohol again, her decision not mine.

    • In reply to Joan – HG College

      Thank you for your valuable feedback, we will look into this and see if we can add additional material to improve it – there is also a diagram in the accompanying notes.

  37. Richard

    An incredible amount of information presented in a simple and easy to understand course

  38. Caroline

    This course was the best course/training/lecture etc on addiction I have had…by some margin. Thank you.

  39. Sally

    Excellent course. Many lightbulb moments as I have dealt with my own addictions. Feel confident to overcome the triggers by changing my environment and so happy and confident that as I move forward I will be able to help others overcome their addictions. Joe is such an inspirational speaker. Clear speaking with a great sense of humour. Eager to start my next online course in the weeks to come towards the Human Givens Diploma. Thank you Joe. The Human Givens model talks to me and makes sense. Wish I had known about it 20 years ago!

  40. Marie

    Thank-you for this clear practical course. I am indeed a disciple now of HG

  41. Dawn

    This course I found enjoyable and easy to follow. I purchased the book and have read along side to reinforce the learning. it has left me with a wanting to continue with further courses. I love the easy way that Joe Griffin is able to impart information or tell as story, keeping me alert and interested. Thank you

  42. Mandy

    This was very good, informative and not too technical.

  43. Anne-Marie

    Very clear and useful. Lots of vitally important ideas about how to think about addiction in new ways, such that recovery is more likely.

  44. Rob

    Definitely recommend this course. Why people get addicted never really made sense before, this made it very clear and gives huge hope for recovery.

Write a review

Your review will be sent for moderation and published at the discretion of Human Givens. We do not guarantee to publish every review we receive. Your email address will not be published.

Please complete all fields.

tackling addiction online course - mouse trap and cheese
Understanding and Treating Addictions
£119.25
Back to top