Dual Diagnosis

Practitioners can often feel very overwhelmed when faced with clients who present with complex and multiple needs. This course offers participants to understand the key concepts in dual diagnosis. It begins by offering a clear insight into the differences and overlap between substance misuse and mental health problems. This explains why dual diagnosis rapidly becomes bigger than the sum of its parts. The course then demonstrates different sub-types of dual diagnosis clients who present with different challenges to services whether it is primary mental health, poor impulse control or substance misuse led. The course offers practitioners key psycho-social skills in abating common mental health symptoms to allow client to focus on recovery process.

Who is This Course For?

The programme is suitable for anyone working with complex needs including housing teams, substance misuse teams, criminal justice team and wider services.

Course Aims & Objectives:

The aim of the course is to increase practitioner’s confidence and ability to work with dually diagnosed clients. By the end of the course participants will have had opportunities to:
• Describe the interactions between substance misuse and mental health.
• Identify core sub-groups of dual diagnosis clients
• Practice core skills in helping symptom management.

About the Trainer:

Phil Harris has worked with complex needs for over 37 years as a practitioner, trainer and manager. He has extensive experience across the field frontline substance misuse, homelessness, and mental health services. He has managed teams including family, young people, dual diagnosis & personality disorders and substance misuse. And designed a wide range of services from large scale multi-county treatment systems to specialist programmes for groups with complex needs. Phil is a visiting lecturer at Bristol University Social Policy Unit, advisor to the US BICEP programme and World Health Organisation in the Balkans region. He has written over 20 scholarly articles on effective practice and has published five books on substance misuse, treatment effectiveness, family and young people with complex needs. Visit www.philharris.online for more information.