December 2011 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 23
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Training
Advertising feature
The International Treatment Effectiveness Project
(ITEP) began as a collaboration between the Institute
of Behavioural Research in Texas, the NTA and six
service providers in both the North-West of England
and London, including Blenheim CDP.
It was found that ITEP gave service users an accessible platform from which they
could begin to explore and express their needs. With guidance from skilled workers
it was found that service users were able, perhaps for the first time, to witness
connections and impacts on resultant behaviour in a visual way. Workers have
reported that these interventions sit comfortably within their existing skill set, and
stated that with continued practice it became a fluid creative exercise that took the
focus away from the worker providing ‘the answer’. Due to its visual nature,
barriers to communication such as literacy and poor concentration are broken
down, allowing service users to move from a more ‘passive’ stance toward fully
engaging in their own treatment/recovery process. As a result, research has shown
that service users feel more positive about their treatment (
Collier, Czuchry,
Dansereau & Pitre, 2001; Knight, Kalling, Dansereau, Donald, Joe, Simpson 1994
).
Since initial involvement in the ITEP two-year pilot in 2006, Blenheim CDP have
continued to embrace ITEP within the core of their organisation. These demonstrably
effective psychosocial interventions promote collaborative working between worker
and service user in supporting informed choice and capacity to change.
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The Blenheim CDP ITEP team have travelled the length and breadth of the
country delivering quality training to a diverse audience that includes GPs,
psychologists, prison officers and drugs workers. The team facilitate an interactive
two day training programme that is designed to leave delegates fully grounded in the
underpinning theories of mapping, the ability to implement these with their client
group, and an understanding of its wider applications and benefits.
In response to requests from delegates and commissioners the ITEP team are
now delivering bespoke one-day refresher trainings. These have been developed
to focus on implementation in specific areas such as ETE, community services, day
programmes etc. This provides a dedicated space for teams to reflect upon and
sharpen their mapping skills to develop an action plan for further skill
enhancement. The ITEP team consult with individual organisations to ensure
successful implementation and embedding of the learning.
The ITEP team at Blenheim CDP have now accredited the two-day course with
OCNLR which goes live in 2012. This training programme is the first of its kind in
the country and provides delegates with the opportunity to become accredited
ITEP practitioners. They are currently developing further ITEP training specific to
young people, contingency management and the use of maps in supervision.
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Tony Margetts – Substance Misuse Commissioning Manager from ‘Safe
Communities’ in East Riding said of the training:
‘The East Riding of Yorkshire has used Blenheim CDP to provide training
across staff from several agencies working with drug users in both
community and prison settings for the last three years. We have always had
excellent feedback from this training, both regarding the usefulness of ITEP
as an approach and the quality of the training.’
Lucy O'Hare – ‘HIT’ Training Manager , Liverpool also said:
‘We are extremely pleased with how the training has gone. The standout
comment was that the trainers were really engaging, and also that the
training was very interactive. The process from start to finish went very
smoothly, and I wouldn’t hesitate for a second in commissioning Blenheim
CDP to come back to Liverpool to deliver more courses!’
However, the most powerful endorsement of ITEP and its benefits in the
therapeutic setting has to come from the service users themselves regarding their
own experiences:
‘I love the action plan map. With my worker we make a simple plan that
keeps me on track between sessions. I can tick things off, which makes me
feel good.’
Blenheim CDP Service User
‘Because I get to keep a copy of my maps I can remember what we were
talking about and I can add to them if I want to!’
Blenheim CDP Service User
Kim Maouhoub is the ITEP Co-ordinator for the organisation and can be contacted
on k.maouhoub@blenheimcdp.org.uk. For further information about ITEP training
and consultancy please email Sharon Burke at s.burke@blenheimcdp.org.uk
References:
Collier CR, Czuchry M, Dansereau DF & Pitre U
, (2001). The Use of Node-link
Mapping in the Chemical Dependency Treatment of Adolescents.
Journal of Drug
Education
, 31 (3), 305-317
Knight, Kalling D, Dansereau DF, Donald F, Joe GW, Simpson DD
, (1994); The
role of Node-Link Mapping in Individual and Group Counselling.
American Journal
of Drug & Alcohol Abuse
, 94 (4), 517-527
COLLABORATION FOR QUALITY TRAINING
On the first two-day course of its kind, Blenheim CDP can now offer
practitioners ITEP accreditation in effective psychosocial interventions