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Obituary
REMEMBERING DARREN WALTERS
Colleagues pay tribute to a worker who used his experience to help those in trouble
TRIBUTES HAVE BEEN PAID to charity worker Darren Walters, who died in
May aged 44 following a heart attack. Darren turned his life around
following issues with drugs, and contributed to shaping the future of
prison healthcare in Lancashire.
Darren, from Accrington, spent 20 years in and out of prison for a
variety of offences after becoming involved with drugs at the age of 15.
After linking up with Red Rose Recovery, a charity that helps people deal
with substance misuse issues, he managed to start a new life.
Through his work with the charity, Darren came into contact with the
NHS where he was able to advise on the way healthcare in prisons should
be delivered. NHS England’s health justice commissioning manager for
the North (North West), Simon Smith, said: ‘Darren has first-hand
experience of the delivery of prison health services. He was able to use his
unique perspective and bring a sense of realism to how we develop these
health services.’
Darren brought the benefit of a service user perspective to a multiagency panel, reviewing tenders alongside doctors, nurses and other
health professionals, and stakeholders such as local authorities and the
National Offender Management Service.
Speaking at the time, he said: ‘If my input makes a change for all the
right reasons, I can take great satisfaction from that.’
resOurces cOrner
The essential skills
From the many books on
addiction, George Allan selects
a guide that makes a worthy
handbook for both students
and experienced workers
FROM CONFESSIONAL MEMOIRS to
detailed analyses of complex research,
substance issues have an extensive and
diverse literature with plenty of books
describing ‘treatment’ options in broad
terms. There are, however, remarkably
few that take an in-depth approach to
examining how interventions are
actually applied in practice: one such
book is Treatment Approaches for
Alcohol and Drug Dependence: An
Introductory Guide.
The authors eschew preliminaries,
such as methods of social control and
theories as to why problems develop,
and dive straight into the practicalities
12 | drinkanddrugsnews | November 2016
of working with people. After
addressing general skills, assessment,
goal setting and motivational interviewing, they lead the reader through
all the well-evidenced interventions.
Cognitive therapy, behavioural selfmanagement, relapse prevention and
pharmacotherapy are explored, along
with brief interventions, assertiveness
skills and the other components of an
holistic approach; self-help groups, dual
diagnosis and case management are
also addressed. There is a liberal
sprinkling of tools and handouts for
service users, and the writing style is
characterised by clarity and accessibility.
There are weaknesses: more is
needed on working with relatives in
their own right and there is little on the
implications of parental use for
children. Nevertheless, this text was
right at the top of my reading lists for
students; it was the bar that I set for
myself when I sat down to write a text
book of my own. Although it is
described as an ‘introductory guide’,
experienced workers will find much in it
to help them refresh their practice.
Of course, reading is no substitute
for hands-on work under skilled
supervision, but just as the Highway
Code is a prerequisite for competent
driving, so a detailed guide to applying
interventions is the essential starting
point. This book provides the necessary
knowledge.
The authors are Australians but the
UK shares with Australia similar
assumptions regarding the nature of
problematic substance use and how to
address it, so any differences are
marginal. The past decade has seen the
emergence of the recovery agenda and
the rise of a plethora of different
‘There are
remarkably few
[books] that take an
in-depth approach
to examining how
interventions are
actually applied
in practice.’
psychoactive substances so it is hoped
that a third edition of this book is in
the offing.
Jarvis, T., Tebbutt, J., Mattick, R. and
Shand, F. (2005), Treatment Approaches
for Alcohol and Drug Dependence: An
Introductory Guide is published by Wiley.
George Allan is chair of the Scottish
Drugs Forum. He is the author of ‘Working
with Substance Users: a Guide to Effective
Interventions’ (2014; Palgrave).
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