Glossary
The definitions have been taken from the Children Act, key national documents and policy guidance. This will help to ensure a common understanding for services and provide a consistent approach to working with young people and others on substance related issues:
| A | B | C | D | L | M | |||||||
| T | V |
Please contact us with suggestions to add to this list.
A
Assessment
The purpose of a drug and alcohol assessment is to identify the needs directly or indirectly associated with drug or alcohol misuse. These needs will, in turn determine what type of intervention should be provided. Young people experiencing drug misuse often have complex needs (HAS 1996) and a high level of intervention may be required. A through assessment should be taken undertaken following a referral to a drug treatment service. And a referral should only be made following the identification of substance related needs.
B
Brief Intervention
Interventions, which consist of brief advice supported by self-help materials, condensed cognitive behavioural therapy or motivational interviewing, or sessions of motivational enhancement. They are usually delivered in short timeframes in community settings. Brief interventions can be delivered by non-drug specialists on a one-to-one basis(HAS 2001).
C
Children, adolescents and young people
The term children' refers to all those individuals who are under the age of 18, in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).
D
Depressants
Depressants are drugs which slows down the central nervous system to suppress neural activity in the brain. Alcohol, heroin and tranquillisers are depressants and sometimes called 'downers'. Large quantities make people feel sleepy, and can sometimes lead to fatal overdose where breathing is slowed so much that it stops.
Drug
The term `drug' is used to refer to any psychotropic substance, which includes illegal drugs, alcohol, illicit prescription drugs, volatile substances and tobacco (HAS 2001).
Drug taking
Drug taking is the consumption of any legal or illegal drug (SCODA/Children's Legal Centre 1999).
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
LGBT is an abbreviation used as a collective term to refer to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people. It is an adaptation of the abbreviation LGB. It is considered less controversial than the term queer and is more comprehensive and inclusive than homosexual or LGB.
Low threshold interventions
This refers to providing a point of contact for the young person, which may be minimal and will not be care planned. The purpose of such interventions is to gain the trust of a young person and to provide education and advice. Under no circumstances should this relationship develop further into the provision of treatment, for example counselling or needle exchange, without first completing an assessment and consent being gained.
M
Misuse
The term misuse in this document refers to the illegal or illicit drug taking or alcohol consumption which leads a person to experience social, psychological, physical or legal problems related to intoxication or regular excessive consumption and/or dependence. Drug misuse is therefore drug taking which causes harm to the individual, their significant others or the wider community. By definition those requiring drug treatment are drug misusers.
N
O
P
Q
R
S
Screening
Screening is a process to identify gaps in knowledge of drug, alcohol and solvents, whether drug and alcohol use occurs, if there is any related harm and whether and intervention is required. The process can be formal such as part of an assessment process or short interview, or informal such as observation and discussion (SCODA/Children's Legal Centre 1999). Many areas of the country are developing their approaches to identifying need, with more areas adopting a discussion based process.
Substance
Young people's drug taking is often inextricably linked to the consumption of alcohol. Therefore the term substance refers to both drugs and alcohol.
Substance misuse
Substance misuse is therefore drug and/or alcohol taking which causes harm to the individual, their significant others or the wider community. By definition those requiring drug or alcohol treatment are substance misusers.
T
Treatment
Treatment is defined as an intervention which is intended to remedy an identified problem or condition in relation to an individuals physical, behavioural, and psychological well being. Treating a young person for drug misuse will require a full assessment and the treatment will be delivered within a plan, according to the agreed procedures for case management (SCODA/Children's Legal Centre 1999).
U
V
Vulnerable young people
Drug and alcohol use and misuse is described by the HAS report (2001) as not being uniformly distributed amongst young people. Lloyd (1998) identified as being vulnerable include; looked after children, the homeless, young offenders, prostitutes, truants or school excludes, young people with mental health or behavioural problems, and those in families where there is drug and or alcohol misuse.
W
X
Y
Z
The majority of these definitions are consistent with previous definitions adopted by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD 1982, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1998 and 2000) and the Health Advisory Service (HAS 1996).