About the course: This course is designed to equip participants with the information and skills needed to deliver evidence-based brief interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm, whether you work with young people, adults or older people. Past participants have found it helped them become more confident in raising and responding to alcohol issues in a straightforward and effective way. The course includes an overview of alcohol related problems, ways of identifying alcohol users who may benefit from a brief intervention, an introduction to the AUDIT screening tool, an opportunity to practice delivering both simple advice and more extended brief interventions and to consider how to apply alcohol brief interventions in your role and with your client group. There is a significant body of evidence supporting the effectiveness of alcohol brief interventions; this identifies that for every eight people who receive simple alcohol advice, one will reduce their drinking to within lower-risk levels. Course Audience: Alcohol brief intervention is an evidence based intervention directed at people drinking at increasing and higher risk levels who are not typically seeking help for an alcohol problem. It is an opportunistic and cost effective intervention that can be delivered in a wide range of health, social care and criminal justice settings including: primary care, youth and community projects, family services, sexual health clinics, pharmacies, housing and homelessness services, and mental health services. Being able to deliver alcohol brief interventions is a core skill for anyone working with people; beyond this there are more options to help you develop your skills to deliver early drug and alcohol interventions with people. See the section on What next? Course aim: To equip participants with information, skills and tools to help individuals adopt lower risk drinking behaviour. Course objectives: By the end of the course participants will have had opportunities to: Recognise the risks alcohol can present to an individual s health and wellbeing Understand units as a way of measuring alcohol content Recognise different types of drinking problem, including dependency Identify alcohol users who may benefit from brief interventions Practice and become familiar with three brief intervention tools, enabling them to screen, provide simple advice and deliver an extended motivational intervention
Identify appropriate advice on changing drinking behaviour to improve health, wellbeing and personal safety Discuss how to put Alcohol brief interventions into practice Course length: This is a one day course. It runs from 9.30am to 4.30pm. To make a prompt start in the morning participants are asked to arrive by 9.15am. Maximum group size: 18 people Mapped to DANOS unit: AH10 About the trainer: The trainer for this course is Dr Chris Johnstone. Chris has worked as a trainer and practitioner in the alcohol field for over twenty years, running courses on brief intervention for alcohol problems since the mid- 1990s. He worked for 17 years as a doctor with the Bristol Specialist Alcohol Service; before this he was a GP in Bristol. Over the last three years he has worked closely with the Training Exchange in delivering alcohol brief intervention training, running courses for hundreds of people throughout the South-West of England. He is the author of two books and many articles on the psychology of change, is a popular keynote speaker and now also runs courses online. Refreshments Refreshments (tea, coffee, water) are available on the training courses but lunch is not provided. You will need to either bring your own packed lunch with you or buy something to eat from local facilities either at or near the venue.
Agenda Time Session Content Methods 9.30am Introductions, training agreement and domestics Large group discussion 9.45am How often do you see people who drink at risky or Exercise in pairs harmful levels? 10.00am 10.20am 11.00am Break 11.15am Understanding people s drinking The risks and harms of alcohol use Recognising different types of alcohol problem Delivering brief interventions the evidence Thoughtstorm 11.30am 11.45am The stages of a brief intervention Step 1: Raising the issue Discussion 12.10pm Step 2: Screen and give feedback Understanding units and AUDIT case studies 12.40pm Lunch break 1.30pm Step 3: Listen for readiness to change Introducing the stages of change exercise and discussion 2.00pm 2.35pm 3.15pm 3.30pm 4.00pm 4.15pm Step 4: Choose a suitable approach : information & advice, enhancing motivation, menu of options, building confidence, coping strategies Tools practice Break Signposting and local resources How will you put Alcohol brief interventions into practice? Evaluation and round up exercises exercises Discussion 4.30pm Close
What next? Set out below are a number of pathways to help you develop your skills and knowledge to delivery effective early drug and alcohol interventions to make every contact count. Training pathway for those working with Adults If you work in a role where you are able to undertake 1-to-1 work over a period of time and offer 45 minute sessions, you may also benefit from Motivational interviewing training to support delivery of extended brief interventions Step 1 this course Step 2 optional Motivational Interviewing for Training pathway for drug and alcohol work with Young People at Tier 1 Drug and alcohol work at Tier 1 means it is delivered by universal services whose work brings them into contact with young people who may be using drugs and/or alcohol but where drug and alcohol issues are part of a broader range of issues they deal with. It means you will be in a role where you only have the time and relationship with a young person to screen and offer advice and information about drugs and alcohol and refer to other services as appropriate. Step 1 this course Step 2 - optional Awareness Screening Tool
Training pathway for drug and alcohol work with Young People at Tier 2 Drug and alcohol work with young people at Tier 2 (targeted) means that it is delivered by youth orientated services with some drug/alcohol experience and youth specialist knowledge. People attending any Young People Tier 2 training need to be in a role where they are able to develop a relationship with a young person and undertake 1-to-1 work over a period of time. Step 1 Drug and alcohol Awareness Screening Tool Step 2 Step 3 Young People s Drug and Alcohol Assessment Tool Motivational Interviewing for Young People s Drug and Alcohol Assessment Step 3 - optional Relapse prevention with young people Controlled drinking approaches with young people