What works?
take home tasks
Take-home tasks have been shown to be one of the most important vehicles for change. Service users can do take-home tasks in their own time and in their choice of place, however, getting into the take-home habit may take a few attempts. If a take-home task has not been done between sessions then follow-up on why not and do the take-home in the therapy session. Take-home sessions are equally helpful for staff training and CPD.
About take-home tasks
It is a good idea to finish every therapy session with a discussion of what to do before next time. Practising a new behaviour or finding something out from the RESULT website are typical examples of homework tasks. Before giving take-home tasks make sure that your service user has easy access to the website (read the mobiles and posters page for instructions on saving RESULT as an app).
Educational topics…
Addiction & Treatment menu
What is addiction? (20 minutes)
How do drugs work? (40 minutes)
Why are drugs addictive? (25 minutes)
What is treatment? (35 minutes)
What is recovery? (25 minutes)
Addiction & Treatment menu
How good is treatment for...
alcohol? (20 minutes)
opioids? (20 minutes)
stimulants? (20 minutes)
cannabis? (20 minutes)
Statistics menu
UK alcohol statistics (browse website)
UK drug statistics (browse website)
European alcohol and drug statistics (browse report)
UK treatment statistics (browse website)
Global drugs survey (browse website)
About Helping menu
Trusted people (20 minutes)
‘Take a Test’ - self-assessments…
Is my drinking or drug taking a problem?
There are two tests. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT: 10 items) and the Drug Use Disorder Identification Test (DUDIT: 11 items). Both have a similar structure and are designed as screening tests.
Questions cover drinking or drug use, dependence, and problems. Note that because these are screening tests the scores are weighted towards less problematic use and so these measures are not ideal as an outcome for people with an addiction problem.
Am I addicted to alcohol or other drugs?
The Leeds Dependence Questionnaire (LDQ: 10 items) is a well validated scale that measures the construct dependence. The LDQ is based on a psychological understanding of dependence. It is valid for people who are abstinent.
Dependence tends to reduce quickly in treatment and this is a good core outcome measure.
How well is my recovery going?
The Addiction Recovery Questionnaire (ARQ: 12 items) is essentially a quality of life measure, however, it is tailored to people in recovery from an addiction. It has three sub-scales: everyday activities, involvement with drinking or drugs, and the future.
The ARQ is ideal as a primary outcome measure. Note that it can be used as a high level treatment planning tool.
Am I psychologically unwell?
The Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE10: 10 items) is a well validated measure of psychological distress and can also be used as a screening tool for mental illness. It is important that all items are checked after completion to be aware of and act on any intention of self-harm.
Psychological distress reduces more slowly than dependence and is a good core outcome measure.
Am I unduly depressed or anxious?
Am I suffering from traumatic events?
Am I suffering from psychosis?
These scales can be used both to screen for the stated, specific mental health problem and also to monitor recovery from the problem.
⚠️ Be aware that these tests are not diagnostic. A diagnosis must be made by a suitably qualified practitioner
How well am I getting on with my therapist?
The Working Alliance Inventory (WAI: 10/12 items) is an important part of governance. The questionnaire can be completed by the service user alone or, ideally, at the same time as the therapist completes the questionnaire. It is a measure of collaborative working, which is an indicator of an effective therapist.
Use this measure frequently to help inform supervision.
You can try all of the questionnaires used for self-assessments from Take-a-Test
Five recovery tasks
Changing Substance Use
Getting control of substance use, which may mean an abstinence goal, is essential to making lifestyle changes. This task aims to stimulate change in substance use...
① Building motivation to change
② Setting goals
③ Identifying relapse risks
Building a Network
At the heart of iSBNT is the idea of getting support to make lifestyle changes from family and friends. This task aims to help identify network members...
① What kind of help is wanted?
② Who is there that might help?
③ Who should be avoided?
Daily Routines
Daily routines, such as housework, personal care, eating a healthy diet, often fall away in the face of addiction. This task aims to set an activity to improve...
① Choose priority activities
② Set goals to achieve priorities
③ Strategies to maintain activities
Nice Things to Do
Successful recovery from addiction means having a happy and rewarding life without drink or drugs. This task aims to find alternatives to substance use...
① Choose nice things to do
② Set goals for doing nice things
③ Strategies for keeping up doing nice things
Medication Watch
Psychoactive medications, usually tranquillisors or substitute drugs, often prolong addiction. This task aims to help thinking about the uasefulness of medication...
① What kinds of medication are being taken
②The pros and cons of the medication
③ The appropriateness of taking each medication
You can try all of the tasks for recovery from Take-a-Test
