SUBSTANCES

View all of our Substances training courses below

To find out more about any of the listed courses, or to book, please hit the button below.

Drug Awareness inc. Novel Psychoactive Substances

The course will provide you with up-to-date information regarding commonly used drugs, their effects and risks, and provide an opportunity to explore our attitudes towards them and those that use the. The nature of drug use is changing. Increasingly, new synthetic substances are replacing the traditional ‘organic’ drugs, and this training day provides and introduction to what they are and how they work.

The European Council for the Misuse of Drugs estimate that a new drug is being released ‘onto the streets’ every week. Some of these drugs have been abandoned in community medical practice due to their potency. As pharmacologists learn more about the workings of the nervous system, drugs are now being manufactured to have multiple effects, with a third of users not knowing the effect of the substance they acquire, not trusting the source. This course examines the know risks associated with these drugs, and the parallel developments of on-line resources.

Alcohol Awareness

The course aims to raise awareness of the effects and consequences of misusing alcohol across various sectors of the public, to examine the impact of alcohol misuse in areas of society and to point to avenues of help and support. Also included in the training is a detailed examination of the psychological effects of alcohol and the physical process of tolerance, dependence and withdrawal.

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

FASD is an umbrella term used to describe the range of birth defects (including Foetal Alcohol Syndrome-FAS) which can occur in a child whose mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy. Currently in the UK, information and resources for supporting children affected by FASD, are limited. This course aims to raise awareness and promote better understanding of FAS/FASD. It will therefore provide basic advice and knowledge that can be implemented in a professional or voluntary setting.

Teenagers, Mental Health and Substance Use

This course is for interested teenagers or anyone caring for or working with teenagers. It is designed to explore the neurological developments occurring during teenage years and how these will affect personality, risk taking and substance use. With increased understanding of the teenage mind, we then explore the myths, stereotypes and evidence of drug and alcohol use and investigate how best to discuss this often tricky subject, with the aim of assisting young people navigate the dangerous waters of drug exposure and experimentation.

What happens to the brain during teenage years – understanding pruning and personality development? Explanation for the increased emotions, impulses, aggression and instinctive behaviours – understanding the amygdala. The many roles and risks of substance use during these years. Ways of talking about drugs and alcohol that will not encourage use, nor create a barrier to communication. Which current drugs are teenagers most likely to be exposed to and what are the effects … good and bad? Explore the differences between experimentation, problematic use and dependency, physical and psychological. How to help build a healthy teenage brain and not worry too much.

NPS (Novel Psychoactive Substances)

By the end of the course participants will be able to :

Discuss how attitudes and behaviour within society, including common myths, relate to substance use

Describe the potential physical, psychological and social consequences of substance use

Identify different categories of substances and common patterns of use

Be aware of agencies available for support

Describe some of the stereotypes regarding substance use that can act as barriers for people seeking support

The Impact of Substance Misuse on the Family (Hidden Harm)

Developing family relationships are a key component to achieving and sustaining recovery. However, traditionally services have responded to the substance user in isolation. This course serves as an introduction to family work, and provides models which can help family members understand the roles they play- which can make problems better or worse.

When a family member develops a substance dependence, the remaining members may adapt by taking new responsibilities, and develop new communication patterns, which, if the alcohol/drug dependent person begins to recover, can create new challenges for the family members to re-configure and/or give up these new roles – which can present a new, often hidden dynamic within the family as a whole.