There remains a growing need for counselor educators in the field of substance use disorder counseling to seek scholarship in teaching and learning involving the best practices for teaching addiction counseling courses. The anticipated outcome of more suitable pedagogical practices will evolve into the catalyst for providing equal recovery treatment for family members who are impacted by drug addictions within the family system. The implementation of project-based learning, specifically in the field of counselor education, allows instructors the ability to teach students how to apply theoretical understanding of a specific content area in counseling into professional competency as an intentional teaching method in a classroom setting.The Family Systems: Families and Addictions course was grounded in a project-based learning approach. Students were required to submit at the end of the semester, a final project in which they were expected to use a combination of their course assignments (comprised of didactic classroom instruction, experiential learning, and self-reflection) to design a comprehensive Family Recovery Program Curriculum Guide. The purpose of this planned project was for students to provide practical application of the concepts and overall group topics and activities comprised of the essential psychoeducational topical areas of awareness and discussion for families in need of treatment due to the impact substance use disorder has on the family system. Additionally, the aim of this project-based learning pedagogical course design was for students to further expand upon their knowledge of substance use disorder counseling, into a more practical and new context with hopes that their curriculum guides will be used in their future work as professionals in the field of addictions counseling