Alcohol and Other Drug Programme (AOD)

HMA was contracted to design and train staff from the South Australia Department of Corrective Services in the Alcohol and Other Drug Programme. The programme has an underlying emphasis on inviting participants to take personal responsibility for their behaviour and encouraging them to increase their levels of accountability to the wider community. At the same time, it recognises that different people can use alcohol and/or drugs for different reasons at different times with different behavioural outcomes.

The Alcohol and other Drug Program consists of five modules of four sessions each. The modules are titled:

1. Maintaining the decision to change
2. Linking alcohol and drug use with offending
3. Managing mood states
4. Lifestyle balance
5. Relapse prevention

The program utilises a strengths-based approach in assisting offenders to increase their ability to apply pro-social responses in their varied life circumstances. As such, it integrates solution focused questioning, cost-benefit analyses, relapse prevention planning and the use of cognitive-behavioural theory with the development of alternative pathways to offending.

It is modular in design allowing for the best match between the different presenting needs (criminogenic) of the participants and the program content areas. The program is based on the following four principles:

• Good assessment is fundamental to successful interventions
• Effective harm reduction in relation to alcohol and drug use can only be effectively achieved if users are motivated to make the decision to change for themselves
• Reducing re-offending requires raising client self-awareness of their offence process and also skill enhancement
• Best practice will be enhanced through programme facilitators regularly reflecting on their own professional practice.

We consider it important that anyone expecting to work professionally in the field of alcohol and drug use in relation to enhancing offenders’ self efficacy to be familiar with motivational interviewing approaches in their ongoing work. Therefore this programme assumes that facilitators will utilise motivational interviewing skills when presenting programme material. Motivational enhancement is the process of continually working to ensure that participants are open to new ideas and able to integrate these ideas into their behaviour.

The program integrates the principles of adult learning and therefore includes a range of teaching mediums and styles to enhance desirable programme outcomes for participants.