Recent bulletins from the Findings drug and alcohol bank:
Alcohol harm reduction education gains credibility in UK
Trialled in schools in Northern Ireland and Scotland, an alcohol harm reduction curriculum for secondary schools plus a parental component led to fewer pupils drinking heavily at a single sitting. Bolstered by this study, school programmes aiming to reduce harm rather than prevent drinking per se now have a limited but relatively good research record in the UK.
A new strategy for Scotland: ‘rights, respect and recovery’
Already credited with being the most closely aligned of UK nations with evidence-based recommendations, Scotland’s new strategy on alcohol and other drugs isn’t afraid to stray into value-driven territory. Eschewing messages about ‘personal responsibility’ in favour of respect and dignity, the Scottish Government frames substance use as an urgent human rights and public health issue.
Good personal relationships strongly linked to good therapy outcomes
Findings amalgamated for the American Psychological Association indicate that patient progress is strongly related to the strength of the personal (‘real’) relationship between client and therapist – more strongly than the working relationship focused on the therapy. Showing that you like, value and care for someone seems therapeutic.
‘Time to develop interventions that meet the needs of the transgender community’
Part review, part ‘call to action’, this review highlights what has been known for several decades – transgender people have been neglected in substance use intervention research. The importance of services being culturally sensitive and affirming their clients’ gender identities cannot be understated. Without this, services will be perceived to be exclusive, and prevent transgender clients from focusing on their substance use problems.
Recent bulletins looking at research on treatment and recovery include:
- Evidence that affirming the client promotes recovery
- Managing multiple relationships in couple and family therapies
- Therapist empathy more closely related to outcomes than therapy type
- The client–therapist relationship
- Resolving therapist-client tensions may promote recovery
- Can a harm reduction ethos restore drug education’s effectiveness credentials?
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