Integrating Substance Misuse Specialists in a Youth Early Psychosis Service: Increasing Mental Health Clinicians' Knowledge and Confidence.
Liza HopkinsRichard WhiteheadGlenda PedwellPublished in: Community mental health journal (2023)
Substance misuse and mental health disorders are commonly occurring co-morbidities in young people. This paper reports on a pilot project to embed three specialist Alcohol and Other Drug (AoD) workers to be embedded in a youth early psychosis service to upskill mental health clinicians in managing substance misuse. Evaluation of the project used a mixed methods approach. Quantitative results showed that clinical staff members' knowledge of substance misuse, knowledge of AoD treatments and services, and overall confidence in working with young people with a substance misuse issue improved following implementation of the project. Qualitative results indicated four themes which emerged: defining the role of the AoD workers; support and upskilling of the mental health staff; openness and effective communication between the embedded workers and mental health teams; and barriers to collaboration. The results provide support for the embedding of specialist alcohol and drug workers in youth mental health services.