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Working on the frontline in a drugs and alcohol service

"we are a lot more than just admin"

In any organisation, reception staff are the public face that either welcomes prospective customers or excludes them. Often health reception staff have a traditional image of being rather alarming and fierce and this may prevent clients approaching a service.

This may arise because reception staff are often last in the queue for training relevant to their roles..
In a small agency, such staff may be very vulnerable as they may be left by themselves and have to respond to people in a crisis or who are very distressed. . This may take place over the phone or in a face-to-face situation
This two-day course looks at the essence of what is expected of workers and equips them with the key tools to handle difficult situations, pass prospective clients on to people who can help and use available sources of support.

Course objectives:

On completion of the course participants will be able to:

• Describe the kinds of pressures clients may face when they contact the agency
• Communicate in a clear and assertive way with clients face to face or over the phone.
• Chose appropriate ways to respond to a client a client who is angry or upset
• Respond appropriately to clients who are in a crisis
• Suggest relevant emergency services to a client and how a client may contact them
• Get support during or after an incident from a fellow member of staff

Duration: one day
Who will benefit from this course : reception staff in drug and alcohol agencies.

image credit MorgueFile

This course is designed and delivered in association with DrugScope

DrugScope is the UK's leading independent centre of expertise on drugs and the national membership organisation for the drug field. Our aim is to inform policy development and reduce drug-related harms - to individuals, families and communities. We provide quality drug information, promote effective responses to drug taking, undertake research, advise on policy-making, encourage informed debate - particularly in the media - and speak for our member organisations working on the ground.

Please note
All our courses are commissioned for groups and organisations. If you have more than three people who would benefit from working together on this topic, use the link at the the bottom of the page to contact me, or click here to find out more about getting us to deliver a programme.

We regret that we do not have an open access programme