Home > Alcohol Matrix cell B1: Practitioners - screening and brief intervention.

The Alcohol Treatment Matrix is concerned with the treatment of alcohol-related problems among adults (another deals with drug-related problems). It maps the treatment universe and for each sub-territory (a cell) lists the most important UK-relevant research and guidance. Across the top, columns move from specific interventions through how their impacts are affected by the widening contexts of practitioners, management, the organisation, and whole local area treatment systems. Down the rows are the major intervention types implemented at these levels. Inside each cell is our pick of the most important documents relevant to the impact of that intervention type at that contextual level.

What is cell B1 about?

As described more fully in the cell A1 bite, screening and brief interventions are usually seen as public health measures, aiming to reduce alcohol-related harm across a population of drinkers rather than focusing on dependent individuals seeking treatment. Screening programmes aim to identify people at risk of or experiencing substance use problems who are not seeking help. Many are not at the stage where treatment is appropriate or desired, so the typical response is brief advice – the 'brief intervention'. This cell is however not about the content of the intervention (for which see cell A1), but whether its impact depends on the interpersonal style and other features of the person doing the advising – a much less commonly researched topic.