Mental Health and Addictions Worker

Northern College’s Mental Health and Addictions Worker program prepares students to understand and address the complex, interconnected factors contributing to mental health challenges and substance use. The program takes a multidimensional approach that integrates anti-oppressive practice with strengths-based care, enabling students to support clients through individual, group, and community-based interventions. Learners are encouraged to critically examine stigma, challenge personal biases, and develop holistic, client-centred approaches that promote healing and recovery.

The curriculum blends theoretical learning with extensive experiential training, including lab-based simulations, interactive role-play with trained actors, and applied fieldwork. Students develop practical skills in counselling, communication, and crisis intervention while learning to advocate for systemic change and improved support services. A key component of the program is a 580-hour field placement across diverse settings such as shelters, recovery homes, correctional facilities, and crisis agencies, providing real-world experience that prepares graduates for careers as counsellors, case managers, and outreach workers in high-demand social service environments.

The distance program is delivered in a synchronous format, with scheduled class times each semester that require students to attend online sessions. Courses that include lab components, along with certain other classes, require mandatory attendance and active participation to ensure successful completion of the course.

Admission Requirements

• Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent.

What You’ll Learn

• Develop counselling, communication, and crisis intervention skills to support individuals facing mental health and addiction challenges.
• Learn anti-oppressive and strengths-based approaches to understand and address complex social and personal factors.
• Build skills in advocacy, stigma reduction, and supporting systemic change in community mental health services.
• Gain hands-on experience through simulations, lab practice, and a 580-hour field placement in real service settings.