Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

W ith recent news in the UK of a down-turn in the number of people misusing drugs, it is timely to take stock of the evolution of addictions services in the UK. This paper will look at the development of services in the UK from the establishment of the first UK National Health Service Drug clinic established at the Maudsley by Phillip Connell in the late 1960s, through the hey- day of rehabilitation approaches and then to community facing paradigm of harm-minimization. Drawing on personal clinical experiences (working with Griffith Edwards, Phillip Connell and colleagues from 1981 onwards) and key witness accounts (not previously published) this paper will unfold the story of addiction treatment against the back drop of government policy. Popular and cultural representations of addiction from films to high profile casualties, including the deaths of a number of Members of Parliaments children, will provide a context to the way in which health and social services have responded. The phases in the evolution of drug addiction treatment will be mapped to the question of effectiveness. It will be argued that the failure to curb the rise of addiction might point to an iatrogenic effect, possibly exacerbated by drifts in intervention paradigms. In accounting for the more recent changes in the drug habits of young people, what can history tell us This paper will offer some speculations on implications for services, and the role of preventative education programs

Biography

Gary Winship has worked in the addictions field since 1981 when he began working on the in-patient unit at the Bethlem Royal Hospital which was led by Phillip Connell and as a trainee he worked on Griffith Edwards in-patient ward for alcoholics at the Maudsely. He later took charge of one of the in-patient drug addiction treatment wards where he developed an innovative democratic therapeutic community programme. He also worked at the Maudsley as a full-time clinical research with Mike Gossop and John Strang. He co-authored the treatment protocols for the first dedicated methadone maintenance clinic at the Maudsley. As an out-patient NHS psychotherapist in Berkshire, as well as continuing to see patient with addictive and compulsive disorders, he worked as a consultant to a number of secure services treating offenders with addiction problems including Broadmoor Hospital. He has also supported the work of East-West detox arranging for people from Europe to enter treatment at the Thamkrabok Monastery in Thailand. He has acted as policy feed advisor to government (1997) and most recently with the current administration. He has published over 100 papers and his book The Spike & the Moon-Why People Take Drugs (2012) offers a front-line account of encountering drug users in psychotherapy and was described by the comedienne Jo Brand as a fascinating read.