Substance Misuse and Young People : Critical Issues

Substance Misuse and Young People: Critical Issues is a comprehensive source of information on young people’s requirements for assessment, treatment and other interventions because of their misuse of substances. It highlights approaches that enhance understanding of the routes that lead young people to substance misuse and also the routes away from it. The emergence of new substances and methods of misuse makes this ever more relevant. The authors are international experts in the fields of psychiatry, paediatrics, medicine, psychology, genetics, resilience, neuropharmacology and epidemiology.

This book acknowledges how widespread both substance misuse and psychiatric disorders are and explores the complex, challenging links between co-occurring conditions. Use of substances is associated with illness and premature mortality, and more so for people who have combined disorders. The authors critically assess the vital need for intervention during adolescence and early adulthood. They provide detailed clinical views of the psychosocial interventions and medications currently available and illustrate them with case studies that emphasise adolescents’ experiences and thoughtful lifestyle-specific interventions.

This book provides theoretical knowledge and indicates the practical skills that practitioners require for work with young people who misuse substances. It is highly applicable to medical practitioners, psychologists, pharmacists, social workers, police officers, probation officers, educationalists and related social and healthcare professionals.

Ilana B. Crome is Emeritus Professor of Addiction Psychiatry at Keele University. She is an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and an Honorary Professor at St George’s, University of London.

Richard Williams is Emeritus Professor of Mental Health Strategy in the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care at the University of South Wales. He was a child and adolescent psychiatrist until 2014. Now, he is directing a project to improve care for staff who work in emergencies for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.