| New guidance on co-occurring substance use and mental disorders The most important development of the last couple of months has been the publication of the Government’s co-occurring mental health and substance use delivery framework. It states that: Drug, alcohol and mental health problems are often co-occurring rather than separate problems to be addressed independently. People with co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions can find it hard to engage with support, and services too often fail to meet their needs. This must change. It identifies four priority areas for delivery: Strategic leadership and service model design: Effective strategic leadership, across all levels of the health system, and quality service model designs are both vital to delivering integrated, patient-centred care. Data and monitoring: Improving data collection, quality and monitoring is essential to improving services. It enhances our understanding of local population needs, service access and outcomes, as well as informing continuous improvement. Workforce and training: All staff working with people with co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions should be trained to have the basic competencies needed to provide effective support and respond to people’s needs. Commissioning and incentives: What commissioners plan, performance manage, include in service specifications and incentivise has a significant impact on the quality and effectiveness of care, as well as guiding the populations and specific needs that services focus on. Importantly, it says that: The Department of Health and Social Care will produce statutory duty-to-cooperate guidance issued under the Health and Care Act 2012. This guidance will define how local authorities and NHS bodies should work together to achieve positive health outcomes for people with co-occurring drug and alcohol use and mental health conditions. Practically, clinical and service leaders should take several actions, including: developing multidisciplinary teams to encourage collaborative case management establishing joint working protocols between drug and alcohol services and mental health services establishing and recruiting to roles that lead on co-occurring mental health and substance use, to implement service and practice improvement programmes that better connect drug and alcohol treatment and mental health services promoting closer working relationships between mental health and drug and alcohol teams to allow effective communication and better continuity of care for patients between these services avoiding focusing on or identifying a primary diagnosis (substance use or mental health conditions) or on a pre-determined sequence of care developing practice that is focused on people’s individual needs and their experience of care in a coordinated and integrated way monitoring access, treatment quality and outcomes for people with co-occurring substance use and mental health needs to identify areas that need to be improved and developed emphasising the importance of harm reduction interventions for crisis management and suicide prevention for people using drugs and alcohol It is hoped that this new framework will drive much-needed change in this area. |
| Reminder: The second edition of the Blue Light Approach guidance for practitioners is now available A quick reminder that the second edition of the Blue Light Approach guidance is now available, offering a practical, system‑focused resource for those supporting people with entrenched alcohol dependency and complex needs. Grounded in evidence and frontline experience, it promotes shared ownership, joint planning and consistent, dignity‑focused approaches that reduce risk and improve outcomes. |
| Online training sessions by Alcohol Change UK Alcohol, drugs and young people webinar 19 February 2026, 10 am to 12 pm This webinar provides a foundational overview of key issues related to substance use among young people. It explores common signs and symptoms of use and examines the specific impacts certain substances can have on adolescents, including effects on brain development. Menopause and perimenopause awareness training for substance use services 5 March 2026, 1 pm to 3:30 pm This CPD-accredited half-day training course explores how perimenopause and menopause symptoms interact with substance use and recovery, promotes menopause-informed good practice, and highlights practical resources to support people through this stage of life. |
| The impact of memory training on abstinence among individuals with alcohol use disorder The Blue Light Approach has highlighted the importance of considering the impact of cognitive damage with dependent drinkers. An article in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry reported research into whether memory training could positively influence memory function and long-term abstinence in individuals with alcohol use disorder undergoing detoxification. It concluded that: Memory training appears to be a promising supplementary therapy for withdrawal treatment of patients with AUD, resulting in improved memory and long-term abstinence. Future research into the effectiveness of cognitive training should be conducted in other treatment settings and for other substance use disorders. |
| New Book – The Role of Food in Resettlement and Rehabilitation Another theme of the Blue Light Approach has been the importance of food and nutrition. Julie Parsons and Kevin Wong have written a new book, The Role of Food in Resettlement and Rehabilitation | Good Food and Go. Although this is essentially about the prison population, it is not a huge leap to see the applicability of this to the Blue Light group. The book examines the tangible ways in which growing food, cooking, and eating together has the potential to be both transformative and… (facilitate) desistance journeys for people with convictions. |
| Our Feeding Recovery Handbook is also a good resource for anyone interested in this area. It’s a practical guide to helping local services run effective cooking and eating activities. Feeding Recovery looks beyond alcohol and addresses the poor nutrition and social isolation that often accompany alcohol problems, and shows how connecting over food can support wellbeing and reduce harm. The approach is relevant for anyone supporting people facing a range of challenges, not just alcohol-related issues. |
| Contingency management Contingency management (CM) is another technique advocated in the Blue Light Approach. This is using incentives to encourage engagement with treatment. A recent article in the journal Addiction provides an overview of its use. Importantly, the article reports that: Clinical effectiveness was supported in most studies, particularly for promoting abstinence and medication adherence. However, it concludes that there are several barriers to CM adoption, including resource limitations, concerns about its impact on therapeutic relationships and ethical issues regarding manipulation and fairness. It also points to the need for adapting CM protocols to fit UK treatment philosophies, particularly aligning with harm reduction approaches. CM’s success depends on multi-level support, including policy, training and integration with existing systems. Recommendations include: strengthening research on CM’s long-term impact, ensuring fidelity to core principles, and investing in digital tools to reduce administrative burden. |
| Reminder – Dignity and choice: Ensuring better end-of-life care for alcohol-dependent people An Alcohol Change UK online learning event Thursday 12 March 2026 10.00 to 12.20 All of us working to support people facing alcohol problems are focused on reducing harm and promoting recovery. It is an uncomfortable truth, however, that, in some cases, recovery is unlikely and a person’s health will continue to worsen. It’s something we all need to be more prepared for, so that we can recognise when someone is dying, and respond appropriately; and so that more people can have a dignified death, in a location of their choosing, with the people they want around them. Join us on 12 March to learn more about how we can all deal with death better. We’ll be looking at how to raise end-of-life issues with people with severe alcohol dependency and their loved ones; how to make appropriate preparations for death; and how to manage alcohol use during the end-of-life period. Speakers include: Gill Taylor on why poor end-of-life care hurts everyone Mary McKenna and Mark Holmes discussing how to care for people dying of alcohol-related liver disease Gemma Yarwood looking at what makes good end-of-life care for people who use substances Anthony Vaughan on delivering end-of-life support in homelessness settings |
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 at training@alcoholchange.org.uk