Supporting People with Alcohol and Drug Problems: Making a Difference (Social Work in Practice Series) (Policy Press - Social Work in Practice)

Social workers and other social care professionals regularly face the challenges of working with people with alcohol and other drug problems. Yet many receive little, if any, training for working with these issues. As substance use and its social impact on communities and families rises up the political agenda, this book offers a timely support for social workers and other social care staff working in this area.

Supporting people with alcohol and drug problems addresses the current gap in social work and social care education. It provides a combination of research evidence, policy frameworks, and practical hints and tips for good social work practice. Based around practice examples supplied by social workers from both adults' and children's social care, it combines knowledge with action. It also provides an important introduction to the evidence base on assessment, intervention and partnership working with specialist substance use colleagues. This book is for all those working in children's and adults' social work and social care settings who are working with people who use, or have problems with, alcohol and other drugs. 

Sarah Galvani is Professor of Social Research and Substance Use at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has an international reputation for her research and practice development work. In particular, her early work around alcohol and domestic violence remains a significant contributor to the field of substance use research and theory development, as well as her subsequent work focussed on substance use in social work education and practice. Currently, her work focusses on research with groups of people using substances who are further marginalised. This has included work with particular ethnic communities, older people, and currently work on palliative and end of life care for people using substances. She has published over 100 outputs including peer reviewed articles, blogs, books, and book chapters.