Addictions & Substance Abuse — Level 3
"Personal Recovery, Resilience and Prevention — from inner healing to community action."
About Addictions & Substance Abuse — Level 3
Addiction touches almost every South African family. Whether you are trying to understand what is happening to someone you love, navigating your own recovery, or building the skills to support people affected by substance use in your community or profession — this programme meets you where you are.
The Short Learning Programme (SLP) in Addictions and Substance Abuse is a comprehensive 20-week, 17-module online programme delivered by VARSITORIUM. It is grounded in the science of addiction, informed by the South African context — tik, nyaope, alcohol, the dop system, the role of Ubuntu in healing — and built for real people navigating real situations.
The programme is structured across four levels, each with its own focus and audience.
Foundation and Level 1 are for everyone.
Level 2 is for family members and supporters.
Level 3 is for people navigating their own recovery and those who want to contribute to prevention and advocacy in their communities.
Modules
What recovery actually means · Recovery as non-linear · Recovery capital · Twelve-step, SMART Recovery, harm reduction and Ubuntu-centred approaches · Stages of Change · Ambivalence and motivation · Structural barriers to change in South Africa
Internal and external trigger management · Coping strategies for craving · Sleep, nutrition and exercise in recovery · Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) · The HALT framework · Building a personal relapse prevention plan
Depression, anxiety and addiction · Dual diagnosis and integrated care · ADHD and PTSD in recovery · ACEs and historical trauma · The South African mental health landscape · Medication in recovery · Advocating for your care
Making amends · Rebuilding intimate relationships and family systems · Grief and forgiveness · Employment and financial recovery · Housing stability · Recovery identity and purpose · Ubuntu and community belonging
Primary and secondary prevention · FASD prevention · Harm reduction as community practice · Talking to young people · Sharing your recovery story · Stigma reduction · South African policy landscape · Your personal community action plan
Is this programme right for you?
Level 3 is for people in their own recovery or preparing to enter it, and for those who want to contribute to prevention and advocacy in their communities. It covers the inner landscape of recovery — relapse prevention, mental health, identity, and purpose — and extends outward to community action, stigma reduction, and policy advocacy. Level 3 can be taken after Level 2 or concurrently with it.
Who you will learn from
Ready to take the next step?
Secure your place in the next intake or request a full programme information pack before you commit.