Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2008) 14: 469-476. doi: 10.1192/apt.bp.105.002063
© 2008 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Brief alcohol interventions – everybody’s business

Billy Boland, Colin Drummond and Eileen Kaner

Billy Boland is a specialist registrar in general adult psychiatry on the St George’s rotation, London Deanery (South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, Cheam CMHT, Cheam Resource Centre, 669–671 London Road, North Cheam SM3 9DL, UK. Email: billyboland{at}doctors.org.uk). He is currently the Specialist Registrar Chair for the Faculty of Addictions at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Colin Drummond is Professor of Addiction Psychiatry in the National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, London, and an honorary consultant in addiction psychiatry at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Eileen Kaner is Professor of Public Health Research in the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University.

Heavy drinking poses a significant risk to public health in the UK. Opportunistic screening and brief interventions offer a cost-effective method of reducing the harm related to excessive alcohol consumption at both an individual and a public health level. Given the high prevalence of alcohol misuse among patients attending mental health services and its impact on behaviour and health, professionals need to be skilled in identifying and treating these problems in all areas of mental health. There is also a need for effective joint working between mental health and specialist addiction services. This article describes the principles and evidence base for brief alcohol interventions, and methods of implementation in health settings.




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Alcohol referrals are also everybody’s business
Yasir Abbasi, et al.
Advances Online, 18 Nov 2008 [Full text]