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Category: Substance Use Harm and Complex Needs

Harm reduction vs abstinence, managing co-occurring trauma and addiction, and multi-agency support for individuals with multiple disadvantage.

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Other Categories:Criminal Justice and Exploitation (4)Mental Health & Wellbeing (4)Professional Practice and Leadership (13)Safeguarding and Risk (3)Substance Use Harm and Complex Needs (5)Trauma Informed Practice (5)

Articles exploring evidence-based harm reduction, addiction recovery dynamics, and person-centred engagement for individuals experiencing overlapping homelessness, mental health challenges, and substance dependency.

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Ketamine Isn't Just a Party Drug: What Professionals Need to Know About Young People and Ketamine

Substance Use, Harm and Complex Needs

5 min read

Ketamine Isn't Just a Party Drug: What Professionals Need to Know About Young People and Ketamine

Ketamine use among young people is becoming an increasing concern in the UK. This article explores the physical and psychological harms, the links between ketamine, trauma, mental health and exploitation, and what professionals need to recognise when supporting children and young people. It takes a trauma-informed, safeguarding-focused approach to understanding what may sit behind substance use.

#Ketamine#Young People#Substance Use

By Fiona PalmerRead Article

Harm Reduction vs Abstinence: A Trauma-Informed Perspective

Substance Use, Harm and Complex Needs

6 min read

Harm Reduction vs Abstinence: A Trauma-Informed Perspective

Debates around harm reduction versus abstinence have shaped substance use services for decades. These approaches are often presented as opposites one seen as permissive, the other as rigorous or m...

By Fiona PalmerRead Article

What Are Complex Needs? Understanding Overlapping Trauma, Substance Use and Mental Health

Substance Use, Harm and Complex Needs

5 min read

What Are Complex Needs? Understanding Overlapping Trauma, Substance Use and Mental Health

The term “complex needs” is widely used across health, housing, social care, safeguarding, and criminal justice services. Yet it is often misunderstood, inconsistently applied, or used as shorthan...

By Fiona PalmerRead Article

Substance Use, Harm Reduction and Complex Needs: A Trauma-Informed Approach

Substance Use, Harm and Complex Needs

6 min read

Substance Use, Harm Reduction and Complex Needs: A Trauma-Informed Approach

People experiencing substance use, homelessness, mental ill-health, offending, or repeated crisis involvement are often described as having complex needs. In reality, these needs are not inherentl...

By Fiona PalmerRead Article

Trauma and Substance Use: Understanding the Link and Building Better Support

Substance Use, Harm and Complex Needs

10 min read

Trauma and Substance Use: Understanding the Link and Building Better Support

When working with individuals affected by substance use, one pattern shows up again and again: a history of trauma. Whether we’re talking about childhood abuse, neglect, domestic violence, homeles...

By Fiona PalmerRead Article

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