Combined severe mental health and substance use problems: What are the training and support needs of staff working with this client group?

The difficulties in engaging and treating people with severe mental health problems who also use alcohol/drugs problematically have been highlighted in several studies. The present study sought to assess the training and support requirements of staff within mental health and substance misuse services who work with this client group in an inner city area of the UK. A questionnaire was completed by 136 staff members across community based services. The results showed that the majority of the staff surveyed: already had experience of working with clients with combined severe mental health and substance use problems; rated the importance to their clinical practice of issues in this area very highly; expressed a high level of interest in working with this client group; and very much felt it was part of their role to do so. However, staff identified a number of training and service needs to help them in working with these clients. The findings strongly suggest that staff within the mental health and substance misuse services need information and training about combined severe mental health and substance use problems and access to specialist support and consultation. Establishing better links between the mental health and substance misuse services was seen as essential to provide integrated care.