TREATING ADDICTION

A 12-module certificate training.

Designed for therapists and clinicians treating addictions and compulsions.

Explore the Training → See the 12 Modules

Certificate on completion·Watch at your own pace·Taught by Dr. Andrew Tatarsky

What Clinicians & Institutions Have To Say

Trusted by therapists, clinics, and academic programs committed to ethical, effective care.

Certification

An official certification, not just a course

The program is taught by Dr. Andrew Tatarsky and includes testing and an official Harm Reduction Psychotherapy for Addiction & Compulsions certification.

Filmed modules

Testing

Included in the program

Available for licensed clinicians

Who is this training for?

Choose the path that fits you — the training adapts to your setting.

For You

Individual Clinicians

Solo practitioners and therapists building their harm-reduction skills, at their own pace.

Explore →

For Programs

Schools & Universities

Training programs preparing students for real clinical work with substance use.

Explore →

For Teams

Clinics & Group Practices

Teams adopting a shared, contemporary clinical approach to substance use.

Explore →

"This training will breathe fresh air into the way clinicians and program staff typically think about working with clients who struggle with substance use."
Stephanie Briody, Co-Founder & CEO, Behavioral Health Innovators, Chatham, MA

"This could really shift our therapists. Clinicians often see substance use disorder as 'another animal' and have not given themselves or potential patients the chance to experience what good work they have to offer."
Colgen Tyler, M.S.W., Co-Founder, Mandala House, Louisville, KY

"Having worked in the addictions field for ten years in the UK, I've found the material both resonant and refreshing. Andrew Tatarsky is a captivating presenter — thoughtful, engaging, and genuinely inspiring."
Kylie Innocente, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, Sydney, Australia

Course Overview

Harm Reduction Psychotherapy

This course focuses on substance use as it actually appears in therapy — quiet, ambivalent, often hidden, and bound up with shame. Learn from Dr. Andrew Tatarsky, author of Harm Reduction Psychotherapy and originator of Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy, to work with clients wherever they are, without requiring abstinence first.

Also included: 12 professionally filmed modules covering risk, urges, ambivalence, moderation, and grief — with real clinical examples throughout.

A Complete Clinical Approach

A practical framework for treating substance use inside ordinary psychotherapy — from building trust and assessing risk to lasting change.

Meet Your Instructor

Andrew Tatarsky, PhD

Dr. Andrew Tatarsky is one of the world's leading innovators in addiction treatment and the pioneering force behind harm reduction psychotherapy. In 1998, he authored the groundbreaking book Harm Reduction Psychotherapy: A New Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Problems, and went on to develop Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy (IHRP)—a model that has transformed how clinicians understand and treat substance use, compulsive behaviors, and emotional suffering.

Across three decades, Andrew has become the field's most influential voice challenging the limits of abstinence-only care and reshaping the global conversation about addiction. His thinking integrates psychoanalysis, mindfulness, and cutting-edge behavioral science into a coherent, humane, and radically effective clinical approach.

He is the Founder and Director of The Harm Reduction Therapy Training Center, and previously founded and directed The Center for Optimal Living. He is a Senior Advisor at Silver Hill New York and also serves on the Medical and Clinical Advisory Panels for the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Support. Andrew holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the City University of New York and a Certificate in Psychoanalysis from New York University's Postdoctoral Program and is a Professor of Professional Practice at The New School.

12 Core Lessons & Skills You'll Master

Through real clinical examples and clear frameworks, learn to engage clients with empathy, curiosity, and evidence-based strategies across 12 comprehensive modules. Learn a complete clinical approach to substance use—from building trust and assessing risk to working with urges, ambivalence, moderation, and lasting change.

Harm Reduction

Reframe addiction as a learned coping strategy that can be helped in normal psychotherapy, not a disease.

Meeting The Patient

Start with non-stigmatizing language and collaborative agenda-setting so clients feel safe.

The Relationship

Treat the therapeutic alliance as the primary mechanism of change with clear boundaries and warmth.

Abstinence

Frame abstinence as one valid harm-reduction pathway chosen by the client, not a mandate.

Risk

Triage risk with practical tools—overdose prevention, safer-use education, and crisis contacts.

Using In Session

Address patients who are not sober with calm containment, safety checks, and clear therapeutic limits.

Microanalysis

Map triggers, thoughts, and body cues moment-by-moment to identify tiny decision points.

The Ideal Use Plan

Translate intentions into concrete steps with implementation intentions and coping-ahead plans.

Urge Surfing

Teach the physiology of urges as waves that rise, crest, and fall with guided practice.

Unwrapping the Urge

Get curious about what the urge is trying to accomplish—relief, connection, or regulation.

Ambivalence

Use MI techniques to elicit change talk without argument and help values lead, not pressure.

Grief

Acknowledge losses tied to substance use and change with grief-informed practices.

Short Clinical Workshops

Designed for professionals and individuals working with, or impacted by, substance use and compulsive behaviors.

Pot, Phones, and Porn

Practical treatment strategies for working with compulsive behaviors such as cannabis use, pornography, and phone use—when “just stop” isn’t everyone’s goal and abstinence isn’t always realistic.

Streaming access: $100

Watch Trailer

When Risk Enters The Room

Practical guidance for assessing risk when a client admits active substance use and abstinence doesn’t feel realistic. It helps clinicians respond ethically, reduce panic, and support safer, more effective care.

Streaming access: $100

Watch Trailer

Friends, Family, Self

Friends, Family, Self is a short film that focuses on practical language and treatment strategies outside of the abstinence-only model for navigating substance use with friends, partners, family, and oneself.

Streaming access: $25

Watch Trailer

Stay Updated on New Courses

Join the mailing list to see new courses when published