Author Archives: James

Jobs: ATOD Coordinator – Queensland

Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Coordinator

APS 6 – Townsville, QLD

Salary $76,023 – $86,844(plus super)

The North Queensland Regional Mental Health Team is seeking a highly motivated mental health professional who enjoys challenging and rewarding work.

The Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Coordinator will be a university qualified health professional who will coordinate and deliver psycho-education and treatment programs for Army, Navy and Air Force personnel, provide up-skilling training for NQ Defence employees, and provide clinical advice for complex ATODS related matters.

If interested please review the job information pack at Defence Careers.

For further information please contact Karen Green on (07) 4411 2102.

Applications must be received by no later than 11:30pm, Wednesday 17 July 2013.

New resources from the NDARC Education Trust (NET)

The NDARC Education Trust (NET) is a separate arm of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) that provides education, resources and training to a variety of audiences. Drawing on NDARC’s vast expertise in the field, NET has developed and distributed a large number of resources. We have two new resources available now that may be of interest to subscribers of this list.

1. HALLUCIOGENS: an updated resource examining various hallucinogenic drugs and their effects.

2. ALCOHOL & THE DEVELOPING BRAIN: a landmark new resource informed by cutting-edge research at NDARC exploring the use of alcohol on adolescent brain development.

3. ON ICE: an updated resource providing information on the harms associated with use of the crystalline form of methamphetamine.

These resources, and many more, can be viewed online or ordered in a hardcopy format via the NET website: http://neteducate.org/index.php?p=2

Prevention Research Seminar on Leveraging Social Media (Health Promotion)

The Australian Drug Foundation is pleased to invite you to our next free Prevention Research Seminar, Leveraging Social Media, to be held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, on Tuesday 16 July 2013 – 9.30am – 1.00pm (registration from 9.00am)

The rise of communication technologies and social media has changed the way we interact. Alcohol companies have been quick to capitalise on these new ways of communicating, supporting Australia’s drinking culture that is increasingly being curated online. Social media therefore acts as both an imperative and a solution for health promoters who want to curb alcohol and other drug-related harm.

This seminar will examine a number of best practice social media case studies-both from alcohol companies and health promoters. Covering topics such as app development, community moderation and free analytics tools, the seminar will be useful for anyone who uses or is interested in using new communication technologies.

Seminar presenters
Dr Nicholas Carah-University of Queensland Sophie Buchanan-VicHealth Pete Saunders-ProjectProject (http://projectproject.com.au/) Ben Leong-Quiip (http://quiip.com.au/)

Attending the seminar
Date: Tuesday, 16 July
Time: Registration from 9:00 am. Seminar from 9:30 am-1.00 pm
Venue: Melbourne Exhibition Centre (Clarendon Room, Level 2), 2 Clarendon Street, Melbourne

Register early. Places are limited. (http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=52533)

Hepatitis Australia: Hepatitis Health Promotion Conference

Call for abstracts & registration now open

Hepatitis Australia is pleased to invite you to Sydney for the 2013 National Hepatitis Health Promotion Conference to be held at the ParkRoyal, Darling Harbour on 14-15 November. The conference will bring together a diverse range of speakers, researchers and community and health sector workers from across Australia.

The theme for the 2013 conference isBreaking through the Barriers. The conference will explore the many barriers faced by those working in the viral hepatitis health promotion sector and demonstrate programs, projects and practices that have addressed these barriers and delivered successful health promotion projects.

With the call for abstracts and registration now open, Hepatitis Australia welcomes you to our ‘new look’ website.

Please follow the links below for more information on the conference:

Click here to submit an abstract

Click here to register for the conference

National opioid pharmacotherapy statistics annual data collection

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released a new report today:

National opioid pharmacotherapy statistics annual data collection 2012

Click on the link to view the report and media release.

What’s it all about?

People who have become dependent on opioid drugs (such as heroin, morphine or codeine) may receive a replacement oral pharmacotherapy drug (such as methadone or buprenorphine) as part of their treatment. This report presents statistics from the National Opioid Pharmacotherapy Statistics Annual Data (NOPSAD) collection and includes information about opioid pharmacotherapy clients, prescribers and dosing points.

What does it show?

The report shows that on a snapshot day in June 2012 almost 47,000 Australians received pharmacotherapy treatment for their opioid dependence.

Key findings include

  • Fewer Australians under 30 are receiving pharmacotherapy treatment for dependence on opioid drugs: the proportion of clients aged less than 30 halved compared with the proportion in 2006—down from 28% to 13%—while the proportion of clients aged 50 and over doubled—from 8% to 18%,
  • The overall number of clients receiving pharmacotherapy has doubled since 1998—up from around 25,000 people to almost 47,000 in 2012.
  • Around two-thirds (65%) of clients receiving pharmacotherapy in June 2012 were male.
  • Almost 1 in 10 (9%) clients identified as Indigenous, almost 3 times their representation in the population as a whole.
  • Methadone continues to be the pharmacotherapy drug most commonly prescribed (68%), followed by buprenorphine (32%).
  • In 2012, there were 1,768 prescribers of opioid pharmacotherapy in Australia, an increase of 14% from 2011.

Where can I get it?

Electronic copies of all AIHW publications are available on the AIHW website. Printed copies can be purchased.

New website launched by Professor David Clark: Recovery Stories

Professor David Clark has launched Recovery Stories, a new website that is focused on helping individuals and families recover from substance use problems. The website will feature the ‘voice’ of recovering people. Who better to teach us about recovery and how it can be achieved than people who have taken the journey? And what better way to be inspired to find recovery than by reading or watching a Recovery Story?

David is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology who now resides in Perth, Western Australia. He previously lived in the UK where he had set up the Wired In initiative to empower people to tackle substance use problems and the online recovery community Wired In To Recovery. David will be blogging regularly on his website. And check out his first blog describing the website.

Jobs: Manager, Therapeutic Community – Melbourne

Manager, Therapeutic Community

• This is a rare opportunity within the sector not to be missed!

• Join a collegial and motivated executive team

• Scope for further service development and growth

Windana aim to empower people whose lives have been affected by drug or alcohol misuse

by providing a holistic service approach to assist individuals recover and achieve greater

quality of life.

Joining the Windana executive team you will embody the philosophy that change and

growth is possible in all individuals as long as they so choose and you will acknowledge

diversity in the nature of individuals and diversity in all aspects of their life. Windana believe

growth is an ongoing learning process and that is will be sustained through providing a safe,

caring environment where new behaviour and ideas can be freely experienced.

Reporting to the CEO, the Manager Therapeutic Community will provide inspirational

leadership to a dedicated staff group who facilitate adult residential rehabilitation at

Windana’s 40 acre property on the outskirts of Melbourne. Essential for this role is prior

experience gained from working with the Therapeutic Community model of treatment as

well as prior leadership experience at a senior management level.

The successful candidate will be responsible for staff development and ensuring quality

service delivery and case management plans are achieved. You will present with strong

interpersonal skills and the ability to engage (and negotiate) with residents and staff in a

positive way.

This is an exceptional opportunity to join a highly reputable provider in a role where there is

great scope for future service development, networking and social enterprise. For a

confidential enquiry please contact Jessica Inteman on 03 96992880 or send your resume in

WORD format to careers .

Close date; 20th of May, 2013.

(however please note we will be actioning applications as soon as they present)

Healing the Scars Conference 20-21 August, Batemans Bay

On the 20th and 21st of August Wandarma will be hosting the “Healing the Scars” Aboriginal Rural and Remote Drug and Alcohol Conference in Batemans Bay on the South Coast of NSW.

“Healing the Scars” is the first national rural and remote Aboriginal drug and alcohol conference and it is the aim that all special guests and presenters will be Aboriginal.

The aim of the conference is to build networks and share understanding of culturally respected ways of working with Aboriginal men, women, young people and families in a holistic approach that suits rural and remote communities with limited resources.

The conference objectives are:

§ To build networks among rural and remote Aboriginal drug and alcohol service providers

§ To build on the limited knowledge basis of how to work effectively in this service delivery context

§ To support rural and remote Aboriginal service providers to analyse and present successful initiatives

§ To explore similarities and differences between desert and saltwater cultures and approaches

§ To provide rural and remote workers with access to nationally recognized experts in the field

§ To build partnerships within the sector

Please find attached the Conference Save the Date Information flyer and our Call for Abstracts. For further information please contact Precilla Boota at Wandarma on 02 64920011 or Lara McLaughlin at The Lyndon Community on 02 63612300 or email HealingtheScars.

The conference is supported by a grant from FARE.

ATOD Jobs: Queensland

QNADA POSTION VACANT:

IMPROVED SERVICES COORDINATOR

(Full-time position for a 2 year period, with possibility of extension).

The position provides a great opportunity to undertake a diverse range of activities, assisting QNADA members to implement capacity building initiatives, particularly in relation to the delivery of services to those with co-morbid AOD and mental health issues.

The successful applicant will also be involved in a range of state and national policy development activities.

Further information and the position description are available from the QNADA website.

Enquiries: Rebecca MacBean ‐ ph. 07 3023 5050 or Rebecca.MacBean

APPLICATIONS CLOSE C.O.B Monday 20th May 2013