Copy
Registration is now OPEN for the 2013 APSAD Scientific Conference
www.apsadconference.com.au
Follow on Twitter Follow Us On Twitter
Friend on Facebook Friend Us On Facebook
Forward to Friend APSAD WEBSITE


From the President

Professor Amanda Baker
 
Hello everyone. I hope you have survived winter and are enjoying some spring sunshine. Preparations for the annual APSAD Conference in Brisbane on the 24 - 27 November are going very well, and I do hope you can join us. We have an exciting line up of international keynotes including Professors David Nutt and Alex CopelloSighseeing in Machu Picchu, and a day of workshops preceding the conference. We have worked hard to have workshops available at very low cost, so I do hope to see many of you attending these.
 
I recently attended the 7th World Congress of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies, from 22 - 25 July, in Lima, Peru. These conferences are held every three years and bring together leading clinician researchers from all over the world. A highlight for me was a pre-conference all-day workshop on Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT) for Chronic Insomnia led by Professor Charles Morin, from University Laval, Canada. Insomnia is such a common feature of alcohol and other drug problems and mental health problems. Professor Morin recommended addressing the insomnia whilst treating the co-occurring presentations, using CBT, rather than treating the ‘primary’ presentation first and waiting for improvements in sleep. He also emphasised the need to work on adherence to the CBT strategies as these can be quite challenging for clients. 
 
Australian alcohol and other drug (AOD) research was well represented at the conference with Associate Professor Leanne Hides (co-convener of this year’s Brisbane conference) convening a symposium on “Brief motivational interviewing (MI) interventions for primary and comorbid substance use disorders; How do they compare to CBT and can the impact of brief MIs be enhanced?” Speakers within the symposium included Professor David Kavanagh, Dr Angela White and myself. Dr Jennifer Connolly from QUT also presented papers at the conference.
 
I am frequently struck by the strength of Australian AOD research and the skills of our clinicians whenever I attend major international conferences. It is a privilege to be part of an organisation like APSAD and, during my 2-year presidency, to help shape the upcoming conferences.  Australia’s multidisciplinary and balanced approach to AOD research, policy and health care delivery is something we can be proud of and which we must continue to strive for. Our annual conference provides us with the opportunity to communicate across disciplines and subject areas, with world class presenters. I realise many of us are being asked to do more with less and life is getting more and more busier. I encourage you to step aside from these pressures each year and take time to reflect, re-acquaint yourself with colleagues, and be stimulated by the outstanding presentations and workshops at the APSAD Conference.
 
See you in Brisbane!


Associate Professor Simon Adamson, Dr Frances Kay-Lambkin (NDARC, UNSW) and Prof Amanda Baker visit Turning Point for a tour and to discuss possible Trans-Tasman research.
(L to R)		  

   



IN THIS ISSUE

Click on the headings listed below to go directly to the article of interest.

 

Adelaide Convention Centre
APSAD 2014 Conference
9 - 12 November | Adelaide Convention Centre
Organisation is well on the way for APSAD 2014 conference with three international keynote speakers already confirmed!
Click on names to view 2014 Keynotes biography 

 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Mr Peter Athanasos -  APSAD South Australian state representative, and the 2014  Adelaide Conference Convener

Peter is a researcher and registered mental health nurse working in Adelaide. Peter's main area of research interest is the effect of substance use on co‑existing disorders such as mental health, pain and other pathophysiology. He has published a number of chapters and articles in these areas. Peter enjoys writing and teaching, and also the process of breaking down complex ideas into concepts easily understood by students (and himself). 

Peter highlighted some of the challenges with working in addiction and mental health like keeping up with the findings that are being published and incorporating these into one’s framework of understanding and then communicating this to others.
 		 Mr Peter Athanasos
Peter’s spare time is not spent gardening, but he does enjoy ‘tending’ to his ever growing library of books and films. His favourite thing is spending time with his partner and their family. For the past 6 years he has been studying and coaching his children in karate.

Read bio 

APSAD Awards 

Time is running out to nominate a colleague for an APSAD Award!  
Nominations close on 20th September

APSAD offers three Awards
Early Career Award | Senior Scientist Award | First People’s Award
The APSAD Awards for Excellence in Science and Research are now in its 9th year.
The Annual APSAD Award for Excellence in Science and Research are designed to:

  •      Acknowledge significant contributions to AOD science;
  •      Recognise and support young scientists with exceptional potential; and
  •      Provide role models for the future generations of Australian AOD scientists

The Award recipients will be announced at this year’s Annual Conference Dinner being held in Brisbane.
For further information and to download a nomination form visit the APSAD website

Awards Page

Drug and Alcohol Review Update

by Dr Rebecca McKetin Executive Editor

Drug and Alcohol Review’s latest impact factor has risen to 2.017, placing it 8th out of 30 substance use journals for 2012 (Social Science ISI Journal Citation Reports ©). We hope to capitalise on this substantial increase in the impact factor to attract more high quality papers to the journal in the coming years.
 
We are pleased to announce that average time to receive a first decision on a paper is now 31 days (based on the 2012/2013 financial year) and that papers are being published within six months of acceptance (prior to which time they are available on Wiley’s “Early View” online library,  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291465-3362/earlyview).

 Virtual online issues are being compiled to bring readers content in particular thematic areas. Two recent virtual issues have been compiled on “pharmaceutical misuse” and “alcohol screening and brief interventions”. These virtual issues are available on the front page of the Drug and Alcohol Review website, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291465-3362. They will complement our traditional commissioned special issues, such as the 2012 special issue on  “Tackling Tobacco Use in Socially Disadvantaged Groups”.

The results of the recent Drug and Alcohol Review survey are now available. The implications of our large online readership and the lack of funding available to Australian researchers to pay for open access online publishing are discussed in the September editorial of Drug and Alcohol Review. This editorial and an online link to the survey results are available on Friday 6 September on the Wiley Drug and Alcohol Review website: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291465-3362. 

We wish to thank APSAD members for their participation in the survey.

Drug and Alcohol Review 'Call for Papers'

Special Issue: Understanding alcohol and other drug use during the event
Guest Editors: Emmanuel Kuntsche, Paul Dietze & Rebecca Jenkinson

Studies of the night‐time economy along with recent population‐level increases in risky single occasion drinking and polydrug use have renewed interest in studying alcohol and other drug use in the event. Traditional methods of capturing information on alcohol and other drug use in the event have recently been enhanced through the development of new technologies and the refinement of existing methods. A special issue of Drug and Alcohol Review is being produced to document some of the key developments and their implications for understanding alcohol and other drug use in populations.

Download  for further information

Contemporary Drug Problems Conference -  Denmark
Review by Dr Kate Seear, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Social Studies of Addiction Concepts Program, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University (Melbourne office).

The international journal Contemporary Drug Problems (CDP) held its second bi-annual conference from 21 - 23 August, 2013, with the theme Complexity: Researching alcohol and other drugs in a multiple world. 

The main themes of the conference included: Managing and doing justice to the complexities of alcohol and other drugs (AOD); Affect – the place of emotions in AOD; The contribution of Science and Technology Studies theory to AOD research.

This followed the CDP journal’s inaugural conference held in 2011, in Prato, Italy, where a three-day forum focussed on the theme of ‘problematisation’, or the ways drug use is ‘problematised’ in different ways for different political and social purposes.

The inaugural CDP conference was designed to encourage more critical thinking about the implications of problematising drugs, including the way that practices and policies associated with drug consumption frame people who consume drugs, the ‘effects’ of drugs, drug treatment possibilities and a range of other issues.

The Prato conference was a resounding success, and led to discussions between the editors of the CDP journal and researchers at the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research (CADR) at Aarhus University about a potential follow-up conference. Myself and the many other attendees were delighted that the editors of the CDP journal and staff at CADR were able to bring this to fruition, in conjunction with Australia’s National Drug Research Institute (which receives core funding from the Australian Department of Health and Ageing) and The Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Australia.
 Conference delegates were treated to three outstanding keynote addresses. The first was given by  Professor Nancy Campbell (of New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute),whose presentation entitled ‘Lexicons of complexity in drug science, policy and culture’ examined the history of addiction science and medicine. Professor Campbell argued that there has been a longstanding tendency in scientific research to describe addiction as a ‘complex’ disease, arguing that claims about ‘complexity’ are often a signifier for science’s inability to understand ‘addiction’. She considered some of the social, political and cultural implications of talking about addiction as ‘complex’ and multi-faceted. 

Read More 

Turning Point’s Public Seminar Series 

SUICIDAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE AUSTRALIAN GENERAL POPULATION: First findings from an internationally unique timely surveillance system 
Wed 18 September 

Dr Belinda Lloyd, Senior Research Fellow, Monash University, Program Leader,
Population Health Research, Turning Point Alcohol & Drug Centre, Eastern Health

THE IMPACT OF CANNABIS USE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING AND BRAIN STRUCTURE: Implications for understanding the neural basis of psychosis 

Wednesday 23 October 
Professor Murat Yücel, Director, Monash Clinical & Imaging Neuroscience,
Department of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, Australia

for further information visit their website 

QU Centre for Clinical Research 

NEUROETHICS Down-Under 2013 - Neuroscience, ethics and public policy in Australia — Stimulating connections
Friday 4 October 

The Neuroethics Group, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, led by Professor Wayne Hall will be hosting a one-day conference exploring the ethical, social, legal and policy implications of neurobiological research on mental illness and addiction.

for further information visit their website 

Australasian Therapeutic Communities National Conference
Mercure Gold Coast, 14 – 18 October 2013

The theme for our 2013 ATCA Conference: Building Communities, invites and challenges us to engage in a wide ranging dialogue around the phenomenon of community. One that courageously explores the options and implications of moving beyond a restricted and limiting conceptualisation of the term. Keynote speakers including Rowdy Yates, Senior Research Fellow, University of Stirling, A/Prof David Best, Turning Point Alcohol & Drug Centre and Kate Carnell, CEO, beyondblue.

for further information visit their website

Brain and Mind Research Institute  

NICOTINE ADDICTION & SMOKING CESSATION 3-DAY TRAINING COURSE

11 - 13 November 
Gain in-depth knowledge and skills in nicotine addiction and smoking cessation to work in primary and allied healthcare as a tobacco treatment and smoking cessation specialist.

The course is brought to you by A/Prof Renée Bittoun from the Smoking Research Program, Brain & Mind Research Institute, and Editor-in Chief of The Journal of Smoking Cessation.

for further information visit their website 

Prevention and management of HCV among PWID: New recommendations released 

Available to Download “Prevention and Management of Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among People Who Inject Drugs: Moving the Agenda Forward”, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

© Copyright 2013 Australasian Professional Scciety on Alcohol and other Drugs All rights reserved.

Phone: General Office/DAR +61 2 9252 2281		 Our mailing address: PO Box R1014 Royal Exchange  NSW  1225