Substance Use Screening and Referral Skills Training Course

Overview

Substance use screening and referral skills form a one-week foundation course for healthcare, community health and social-care personnel who need a substance-use screening and referral pathway. The course addresses missed risk signals through non-stigmatizing communication, ASSIST screening, brief intervention, harm reduction, withdrawal warning signs, safeguarding and recovery-oriented care coordination. Agile Leaders Training Center places substance use screening and referral within safe non-specialist practice.

Who Should Attend

• Teams responsible for patient contact and early recognition of substance-use concerns
• Personnel responsible for community outreach and health-support conversations
• Functions responsible for social-care assessment and safeguarding
• Teams responsible for care coordination and referral follow-up
• Managers responsible for service pathways and staff role boundaries

The course assumes participants already interact with people who may have substance-use concerns and leaves out independent diagnosis, prescribing, psychotherapy and specialist addiction treatment.

Departments and Industries

The course supports departments and services that identify concerns, provide an initial response or coordinate access to further care.

• Hospitals and primary healthcare services
• Community health and outreach services
• Social care and safeguarding functions
• Employee health and occupational support services
• Nonprofit and humanitarian support organizations
• Care coordination and patient-navigation teams

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply non-stigmatizing language and role-boundary principles
• Use ASSIST screening and structured risk prompts
• Analyze intoxication, withdrawal and safeguarding warning signs
• Build a brief-intervention and referral conversation
• Prioritize harm-reduction, escalation and care-coordination actions
• Evaluate documentation, follow-up and relapse-support pathways

Course Agenda

Day 1: Substance-Use Recognition and Safe Practice

• Substance-Use Risk and Protective-Factor Map
• Non-Stigmatizing Communication Language Guide
• Professional Role Boundary Matrix
• Consent Privacy and Information-Sharing Checklist
• Recovery-Oriented Practice Principles Map

Day 2: Screening and Risk Identification

• WHO ASSIST Screening Workflow
• AUDIT Alcohol Screening Decision Guide
• Structured Substance-Use Conversation Template
• Intoxication and Withdrawal Warning-Sign Checklist
• Immediate Risk and Safeguarding Triage Matrix

Day 3: Brief Response and Harm Reduction

• SBIRT Brief-Intervention Pathway
• Motivational Communication Question Framework
• Readiness and Ambivalence Conversation Map
• Harm-Reduction Action Planning Sheet
• Urgent Escalation and Emergency Response Guide

Day 4: Referral and Coordinated Support

• Stepped Referral Pathway Design
• Warm Handoff Communication Template
• Co-Occurring Needs Coordination Map
• Follow-Up and Engagement Tracking Log
• Relapse-Support and Recovery Resource Plan

Day 5: Screening and Referral Practice

• Suggested Exercise: Non-Stigmatizing First Conversation
• Suggested Exercise: ASSIST Screening and Risk Review
• Suggested Exercise: Brief Intervention and Harm-Reduction Plan
• Suggested Exercise: Safeguarding Escalation and Warm Handoff
• Capstone Exercise: Substance-Use Screening and Referral Pathway

Practical Exercises

The course uses suggested activities based on healthcare, community outreach and social-care situations.

• Suggested activity: conduct a role-bound screening conversation and record the identified risks.
• Suggested activity: distinguish routine referral from urgent withdrawal or safeguarding escalation.
• Suggested activity: prepare a brief intervention, harm-reduction action and warm handoff.
• Suggested activity: audit a referral record for consent, follow-up and continuity gaps.

FAQs

Who does the substance use screening and referral course suit, and what does it assume?

The course suits non-specialist health and social-care personnel who encounter substance-use concerns and assumes they already hold a role involving patient, service-user or community contact.

How does substance use screening and referral differ from specialist addiction treatment training?

Substance use screening and referral focuses on recognition, structured screening, brief response, harm reduction and connection to qualified services rather than diagnosis, prescribing, psychotherapy or specialist treatment.

What is the purpose of substance-use screening in non-specialist services?

Substance-use screening supports early identification of risk, a proportionate initial response and timely referral while keeping decisions within the participant's professional role.

When should substance-use concerns be escalated urgently?

Urgent escalation applies when warning signs indicate immediate medical risk, severe withdrawal, danger to self or others, safeguarding concerns or needs beyond the staff member's competence.

How does a warm referral support addiction recovery pathways?

A warm referral uses agreed information sharing, direct service connection and planned follow-up to reduce gaps between identification and continued support.

Conclusion

Participants leave with a Substance-Use Screening and Referral Pathway containing communication prompts, screening tools, risk triage, brief-intervention steps, escalation criteria and follow-up records. The pathway makes non-specialist decisions and handoffs more consistent. It supports coordination across healthcare, community and social-care services without extending staff beyond their roles.