Psychologist joins county-wide partnership treating substance use

A clinical psychologist has joined an Essex County Council-funded initiative to help ensure services for people affected by substance use are based on the latest research evidence.

Dr Katie Peterson joins the research collaboration between the Council and the University of Essex’s Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing.

She will help ensure that the latest research on psychosocial and rights-based interventions for alcohol and substance use are embedded in the Council’s approach and services.

Psychosocial interventions include psychological therapies which can help people overcome addictions, as well as interventions aimed at social change including support with food, accommodation, employment and social connections.

Recent research shows that psychosocial approaches promote long-term recovery, especially where patients are engaged over a longer period of time.

However, despite rapid strides in the development of effective psychosocial interventions, these have not yet been widely translated into routine practice due to under-funding of drug and alcohol services.

The partnership will provide the Essex County Council-commissioned drug and alcohol service partnership with vital research support as they seek to extend their psychosocial and rights-based support for people affected by substance use.

Dr Peterson said: “The collaboration between Essex County Council and the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing allows a creative approach to ensuring evidence-based and effective psychosocial support within the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery system, locally. By fostering links between local services and academic partners the project will provide valuable collaborations, building research capacity in services to enhance our understanding of how best to support people who use(d) substances.”

Dr Peterson will work with the local drug and alcohol treatment providers to review current provision, assess staff capability, develop effective training, and make proposals for implementing evidence-based interventions and programmes.

The academic team supporting Dr Peterson includes Julie Hannah, of the University’s Human Rights Centre, who is an expert in harm-reduction approaches to substance use, and Professor Susan McPherson, a mental health researcher and Deputy Director of the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing.

Speaking about the collaboration, Professor McPherson said: “Working in partnership with Essex County Council is a core part of our mission in the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing to co-produce scientific evidence to support decision-making processes, inform policies for promoting health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities across our region.”

Ben Hughes, Head of Wellbeing and Public Health: Marginalised Groups Wellbeing, Public Health and Communities at Essex County Council, added: “Recent recommendations focus on the need to improve the quality of treatment, increase the number of professionally qualified staff working in the sector and build greater capacity for research. Nationally the treatment sector has struggled to recruit and retain psychologists and other therapists, and we are no exception in Essex.

“The creation of this post will support a number of our priorities and is already bearing fruit in relation to the workforce development agenda in Essex. We are also working on a number of opportunities to conduct relevant and much-needed research into what works to support the development of an ever more successful treatment system across Essex which will also contribute to the national agenda.”