Category: Treatment & therapies

Alcohol

Harm reduction

Treatment & therapies

23/09/2020 (27/09/2020)

Prescription of alcohol in emergency homeless hotel accommodation during the COVID-19 lockdown

by Dr Emmert Roberts and Dr Emily Finch During the COVID-19 lockdown in London, a number of people experiencing rough sleeping were temporarily housed in emergency hotel accommodation across the capital. As part of the city-wide substance misuse approach, individuals at risk of unplanned alcohol withdrawal were prescribed, provided with and purchased alcohol as a

Drugs

Research

Treatment & therapies

18/09/2020 (27/09/2020)

Flashback Friday: Stephen Pilling on Contingency management

It’s Friday again. This week we’re heading back to last year’s SSA conference to hear Professor Stephen Pilling summarise the research on contingency management. From incentives to complete hepatitis B vaccination, to incentives to attend addiction treatment and to reduce drug use. This week I attended the SRNT-E online conference and was reminded how energising

Cannabis

Research

Treatment & therapies

26/08/2020 (26/08/2020)

CBD as a treatment for cannabis use disorder: a randomised controlled trial

by Ryan Turner, a Laidlaw & Dr Gerald Swyer Scholar and a UCL Medical Student Cannabis use disorder and CBD Cannabis use disorder currently affects 22 million people worldwide,1 a number which is on the rise.2 Cannabis use disorder is primarily caused by the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC – the chemical in the plant that

Gambling

Policy

Treatment & therapies

04/08/2020

Gambling in the UK: A summary of the Lords Gambling Industry Committee Report

By Steve Sharman In July 2020, the Lords Gambling Industry Committee published its report, Gambling Harm – Time for Action. Recommendations from the report are bold and leave no doubt that the Committee believes that regulation of the gambling industry is due a long-awaited overhaul. If implemented, the recommendations from the report would have far

Researchers

Treatment & therapies

19/06/2020

Flashback Friday: Dr Albert Garcia-Romeu talks about therapeutic uses of psilocybin

This week we cast back to 2017. Dr Albert Garcia-Romeu talks about his research using psychedelic drugs for therapeutic purposes. He discusses the meaningful experiences that people can have when using psilocybin and how these might be used to treat depression and addictive disorders. If you can get your head around a video from the

Gambling

Interview

Researchers

Treatment & therapies

12/06/2020

Flashback Friday video: meta-cognitive therapy with Professor Marcantonio Spada

This week we head back to last year’s Lisbon Addictions conference. Professor Marcantonio Spada talks about how metacognitive techniques work to change our relationship with negative thoughts. In this case about problematic gambling, but with all the extra time we have spent with our thoughts recently, this has never been more relevant. So, minimise your

Blog

Drug and alcohol workers

Treatment & therapies

30/04/2020

The view from the trenches: how COVID-19 has affected day-to-day drug treatment operations

Ben Houghton   “As a psychosocial therapist, I am now advising the opposite of everything I have been advocating for the last ten years”   Group work programmes, structured assessments and drop-in support; blood borne virus screening and on-site treatment and recovery options; needle exchange and sexual health services; peer mentor programmes and service forums…

Featured posts

News

Treatment & therapies

09/04/2020 (30/04/2020)

COVID-19 and addiction treatment delivery: Oliver Standing of Collective Voice talks to the SSA

SSA: How has the addiction treatment sector responded to COVID-19? OS: “The response in the field has been absolutely fantastic. We’ve seen a truly unprecedented level of collaboration, with things happening in days that that would normally take months. We’ve seen voluntary sector and NHS providers working together really well but also in close partnership

Research

Treatment & therapies

Videos

25/03/2020

SSA tea-break videos: Contingency management

Over the next few weeks we will regularly post videos from addiction conferences in 2019. Many of you now working from home will be missing those conversations that happen by chance in kitchens, stairwells or over coffee, where you get a glimpse into other people’s research. These conversations help us feel connected to the wider

Harm reduction

News

Treatment & therapies

23/03/2020

Safeguarding OST and needle exchange services amidst the COVID-19 outbreak

Last week the Scottish Drugs Forum published new guidance aiming to raise awareness of potential problems with substance use service provision during the COVID-19 outbreak, and offering suggestions as to how such challenges might be mitigated. In a sense, any guidance published at the outset of a novel viral outbreak could be ‘out of date’