Bulletin 104 – New Podcast on the Blue Light approach
The Alcohol ‘Problem’ Podcast – featuring the Blue Light approach
In the latest Alcohol ‘Problem’ Podcast, Dr James Morris talks to Mark Holmes and me, Mike Ward, about the Blue Light approach where we dispel the myths behind ‘change resistant drinkers’, and explore the approaches and strategies that are most effective when working with people with severe alcohol problems who are not currently engaging in alcohol treatment or other support.
Listen to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/change-resistant-drinkers-the-blue-light-approach/id1538480510?i=1000703912203 You can access the full series of podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-alcohol-problem-podcast/id1538480510
You may also be interested to note that James has contributed to an article on The language of alcohol: Similarities and differences in how drinkers and policymakers frame alcohol consumption in the Journal Drug and Alcohol Review. You can read the article at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.14056.
Alcohol Awareness Week
This year’s Alcohol Awareness Week will be taking place from 7-13 July on the theme of ‘Alcohol and work’.
The week will be looking at how alcohol affects our health and wellbeing and how this can show up at work, and how the pressures from work can cause us to drink more than we’d like.
We’ll be sharing helpful tips and advice on the signs to watch out for, in ourselves and others, if we’re struggling with our drinking and some changes we can make to improve our health, productivity and happiness.
We’ll also be looking at the benefits of creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplace cultures in all types of industries and sectors that are fully inclusive and work for us all. Discover more about this year’s theme
Alcohol assertive outreach treatment
Our colleagues in Hull have published an important article about the effectiveness of assertive outreach with dependent drinkers. This provides a good overview of the use of this approach and its implementation in the city. It concludes that: Alcohol Assertive Outreach Treatment (AAOT) is a valuable care option for people with alcohol dependence and physical co-morbidities, who are frequently admitted and who often don’t engage with traditional alcohol support. A mixed-methods evaluation of AAOT in Hull shows evidence of reductions in alcohol consumption, improvements to quality of life, and less hospital service use. There was an estimated net saving of £7,765 per service-user in hospital costs in the first year. Qualitative research consistently found high quality AAOT was effective in supporting individuals’ recovery, through assertive advocacy and cultivating hope. Read the report
Online training sessions by Alcohol Change UK
Introduction to Motivational Interviewing
09:30 to 16:00, Friday 20 June 2025
Practitioners on this course will be trained to use a guiding style to empower the people who use alcohol to make changes to their consumption. There is a strong focus on the practitioner and the clients working in collaboration in moving towards change.
Blue Light training
09:30 to 16:00, Thursday 04 September 2025 This training is vital for professionals in alcohol services and those in health, social care, housing, homelessness, and criminal justice who regularly encounter individuals with problematic drinking. Participants will learn to identify and support clients, understand alcohol’s impact, assess barriers to change, apply intervention techniques, and use legal tools effectively. Book your place
Alcohol and cognition
Three recent articles have highlighted the impact of alcohol on cognition. This has been a constant theme of our work and these reports reinforce messages about the centrality of this issue. Alcohol’s lasting impact: Study reveals how heavy drinking damages cognition American Academy of Neurology: Neurology Resources | AAN – How heavy drinking affects the brain. STIGMA SERIES: Stigma and Alcohol-Related Brain Damage (ARBD) – In this blog, two Scottish clinicians share their experiences of working with alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) patients and the various ways these service users can be stigmatised through their treatment journeys.
Trends in alcohol-specific deaths in England, 2001–22
An article in the Lancet explores recent trends in alcohol-specific deaths. It notes that following the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries saw large increases in rates of alcohol-specific deaths, including England.
The study aimed to examine whether there have been changes in the characteristics of those dying by specific cause of death, age, sex, and area-level deprivation. It concludes that policies should aim to reduce rates of alcohol consumption at the population level. Substantial investment is also required to facilitate early detection of liver disease and effective treatment. Read the article
Alcohol Change UK training
We can deliver our award-winning Blue Light course, our safeguarding vulnerable dependent drinkers course and our cognitive impairment online along with a host of other courses either in-person or online, depending on your needs. If you think that would be of use to your workforce or local area, do contact us. Get in touch