Working with Drug Misusing Offenders

Date/Location: A date and location for this course is currently being planned. If you would like to be added to the waiting list and informed of relevant location and date, please email enquiries@therightroute.co.uk.

This one day course is open to anyone who is interested in or has experience of working with offenders and young people at risk of offending as a result of over indulgence in alcohol or drugs. No previous experience is necessary. However a willingness to actively explore new methods of working is an essential requirement.

Who Should Attend

Youth Workers, Social Workers, Doctors, CPN’s, Health Visitors, Drugs Workers, CARAT Workers, Probation, Police, Resettlement Officers, Managers and anyone who comes into contact with the aforementioned client group.

The Course

The course will invite participants to experience and practise a variety of methods for use in groupwork. The focus will be on exploring some of the basic principles when working with offenders, offering workers effective and widely applicable techniques in order to:

• Cross over the ‘wall’ and explore with the offender their experience of the world
• Assist the offender in identifying patterns of behaviour and exploring new strategies for change
• Identify and assist in the development of interpersonal skills
• Create an environment where safe and relevant experiential learning can take place

Particular attention will be paid to how workers might integrate drama based methods into a cognitive behavioural approach, in accordance with current evidence based practice. Participants will learn and practise:

• How to conduct active exercises which can help to build group cohesion and raise discussion around key issues of offending behaviour
• How to facilitate the creation of frozen images and simple role plays which can be used to examine thoughts, feelings and behaviour
• How to use exercises and scene work to facilitate skills training related to themes such as: victim awareness, conflict resolution and problem solving
• Rapport building including; basic questioning techniques, encouraging participation and working with resistance

Participants will have the opportunity to try out for themselves the techniques they have been exploring and to practise integrating them into their own skills base.

This course is mapped to the relevant DANOS units. To enrol for this course, please fill in and return the TRR Booking Form.