Substance Misuse: Behaviour, Effects & Management

Substance Misuse: Behaviour, Effects & Management

This course will address the following questions (amongst others):

• How do I recognise the impact of different substances?
• How do I know if my clients are addicted?
• How do/should I work with a client whilst they're intoxicated?
• What are the risk issues?
• Why do substance users seem to be difficult to engage?
• How might substance misuse impact on my client work and how should it best be managed?

Course Outline:

9.15 Registration and refreshment
10.00 Opening Session: Expectations - why are you here? Introduction to Programme and its learning aims.
10.15 Positive and negative stereotypes: Famous Addicts - who do we know and what do we think? Group discussion re specific statements linked to drug and alcohol use.
10.55 "Drug Brainstorm": A drug is a substance which affects the way we think, feel or behave. Why people use substances?
11.15 Break
11.35 Triangle of use: Experimental, social/recreational, dependant. What is problematic? Discussion. The function of drug taking. Other ways of achieving the same ends.
11.55 Drug, Set, Setting
12.05 Individual first drug use: Outline substance, situation, age, how accessed, what you wished to gain, what was outcome, who were you with, what you learned, how affected future use.
12.45 Effects and function of substances: Overview of common substance effects. What are common indicators of use? What does substance use look like and affect on client/practitioner?
13.00 Lunch (by own arrangement)
14.00 Re-cap from morning
14.15 Historical Perspective: Time line. Development of competing models of addiction i.e. history, national / international pressures, nature/nurture, temperance.
12 steps. Addiction as a social construct.
15.30 Break
15.50 Interventions: Up to date thinking including prescribing regimes and medication
16.00 Process of assessment: Example of holistic assessment within a generic setting
16.15 Plenary
16.30 Close