WORKING WITH SUBSTANCE USE LINKED TO COMMON EMOTIONAL DISORDERS
Tim Meynen & Luke Mitcheson
24th June 2010
Clients who present for treatment for emotional problems may be relying on drugs or alcohol to improve their mood states or as a way of coping with perceived difficult life events. Unfortunately, this drug and alcohol use may help maintain the difficult emotions states that they are trying to get rid of and may undermine their own self-efficacy in dealing with distressing events. Co-existing mental health problems and drug and alcohol use can often appear complex and overwhelming for therapist, especially where the therapist perceives that they do not have the skills necessary to deal with the substance use. In such cases, clients can often find themselves waiting for referrals to specialist drug and alcohol services and worst still being bounced between services unable to decide the primary disorder.
This workshop is intended for those who wish to explore ways to help their clients understand their drug and alcohol use in context to management of their emotional problems and help them to break the cycle.
Key learning objectives:
• Participants will be given a historical, theoretical and empirical context for CBT treatment of substance misuse
• Participants will learn how to formulate the origins and maintenance of substance use in context to common emotional disorders. This will also include guidance as to how the therapist might collaboratively conceptualise the substance use with clients who are ambivalent about changing their use.
• Participants will learn and have experience of using some basic techniques which focus on helping clients develop alternative ways of regulating mood and dealing with unwanted cognitive events without relying on substance use.
• Participants will also learn how to overcome challenges to the therapeutic alliance presented by substance use.
The workshop will be interactive and include both experiential and didactic teaching. Participants will be encouraged to discuss their own cases.
Recommended Readings:
Beck, A.T., Wright, F.D., Newman, C.F. and Liese, B.S. (Eds.) (1993) Cognitive Therapy of Substance Abuse. New York: Guilford press.
Liese B & Franz R (1996). Treating Substance Use Disorders with Cognitive Therapy. In P Salkovskis (ed) Frontiers of Cognitive Therapy. Guildord Press.
Carroll, K. M. (1998). A Cognitive-Behavioural Approach: Treating Cocaine Addiction. Therapy Manuals for Drug Addiction. National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Mitcheson, L., Hill, R., Maslin, J., Meynen, T., Morrison, T., and Wanigaratne, S. (In press). Applied Cognitive and Behavioural Approaches to the Treatment of Addiction: A Practical Treatment Guide. To be published by Wiley in 2010.
Level: Intermediate
Cost: £125
