Course Overview

This course was created and provided by the Virtual Center of Excellence (VCE), a former project of the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN). Content and format will be updated in the near future to address current accessibility standards. If you are unable to access the content in this section, please contact the imp support team for assistance.

The "Substances of Abuse" course is recommended for clinicians and peer support specialists who wish to gain an understanding of common types of substance use and abuse. This would be appropriate for NBCC, QMHP.

  • Duration: 1 hour
  • Credit Hours: MCBAP-R (0.0), MCBAP-S (1.0), Mi-CEC (0.0), Nursing (0.0)

Topics Covered

Common Substances, Use, and Abuse

This course provides participants with an overview of the common substances that can be abused. This course will also provide scientific information on why substances are abused and the danger that poses to various communities. This course will also help participants develop an understanding of the differences between use and abuse, as well as how that factors into co-occurring disorders. 

Understanding Substance Abuse and Biology 

This course has been developed to provide insight into the biological side of substance abuse by communicating how the body reacts to common substances and how the body can become dependent on that substance. This course will also discuss common substance tests and provide examples of how many users attempt to beat these tests. 

Additional Considerations

Substance use disorders affect the user's brain function, both presently and permanently.


Course Objectives

  • Develop an understanding of what substances can be abused.
  • Break down each specific, common substance that can be abused and understand the danger that poses to our communities.
  • Be able to understand the biological aspects of substance abuse and how your clients' bodies react to substances.
  • Information on testing for banned substances and popular methods for falsely passing tests.

What People Are Saying

The module was very informing and gave good examples of situations and how to handle them with specific drills.

- Elissa J.