Brief Intervention Tool

Some substance use becomes fairly common at late adolescence, mainly cannabis and alcohol.

Any drug outside this should be looked as a potential problem.

Cannabis and alcohol use should not be dismissed, as some young people will develop problems with these substances. A holistic assessment would look at the substance use in the context of other things you know about the young person.

Do you feel that the young person’s life style/circumstances indicate they are more vulnerable to substance misuse (refer to risk factors). Are they generally doing well or are they troubled and having problems. This might indicate whether their drug taking will be a passing phase or become a significant part of a young person’s life.

Any Class A use or solvents identified could trigger a referral to Drug Sense or any score over 20 on the screening tool. The Brief Intervention Tool covers alcohol and cannabis and includes facilitators notes to support the workbook.

It would be useful to record numbers of young people who have received screening and a brief intervention and outcomes as this will help develop future service planning and to monitor national government drugs strategy targets.