PsyCheck

A leading Victorian drug expert says that drug use problems could be significantly reduced if treatment services implemented a new screening tool, PsyCheck, that addresses mental health illness among alcohol and drug users.
'Drug use and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are closely linked,' says Dr Nicole Lee, clinical psychologist and academic. 'We know that people with both issues, which is very common, often relapse to drug use when their depression or anxiety gets worse."
Dr Lee, who is Head of Research at Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre and Senior Research Fellow at Monash University's School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, says that the PsyCheck program is based upon the best available research on what works for people with both mental health and substance use problems.
'We have developed this program over a number of years and are now rolling it out across the country,' says Kieran Connolly, who heads up the Education and Training area at Turning Point. 'If every alcohol and drug clinician was trained in and used this screening tool, we could see a significant reduction in relapse rates and undetected mental health problems.'
According to Dr Tiffany Reichert, clinical psychologist and Head of Psychosocial Services at Turning Point: 'Everyone wins when alcohol and drug workers are better equipped to recognise and address both substance use and mental health problems.'
Turning Point is currently offering training to experienced clinicians and trainers who will then in turn train drug treatment workers across Australia in the PsyCheck program.
‘We'd like to see all alcohol and drug workers have the opportunity to use a resource like PsyCheck, which has the potential to have a big impact in reducing drug use and drug related problems,' says Sandra Roeg, Senior PsyCheck Trainer.
For more information about PsyCheck, contact Dr Nicole Lee on 0403 958 803 or Kieran Connolly on 03 8413 8704 or visit the website: www.psycheck.org.au

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