Substitution Treatment: Options, protocols and guidelines

A three-day training seminar for professionals

Porto, Portugal, 24 - 26 April 2003 

 

Since 1996, the European Addiction Trai­ning Institute (EATI) provides for training and education workshops on a wide range of subjects, for col­leagues working within the addiction field in all countries of the European Union.

 

 

EATI invites you to Porto

 

The staff and trainers of the European Addiction Training Institute here­by invite you and/or your colleagues to apply for participation in the three-day training course focussing on Substitution Treatment, 24 B 26 April 2003, Porto, Portugal. A maximum of 15 participants from different EU member states and EU accession countries will be admitted to this intensive and interactive workshop.

 

 

The training

 

Substitution treatment has become a major intervention in the care and treatment of drug dependence in Europe. Since 1970, methadone (maintenance) pre­scription has been the dominant form of substitution treatment. Starting off as a con­troversial option for treatment in the seventies and eighties, the prescription of methadone has now become widely accepted within and outside Europe. Apart from methadone, a range of other substitution medication is prescribed in different European countries such as buprenorfine, long acting morphine, LAAM etc.

Given this dominant development in substitution treatment, many professionals wor­king in the field of drug dependence, require specific training and guidelines on how to operate effectively in treatment settings with (opiod) dependents in need of substitution medication.

In this training seminar the state of that art of prescription practice is presented. Since substitution should be seen as part of a com­prehensive programme of care, its place in the overall network of treatment services will be described. Furthermore guidelines and protocols on substitution management will be presented.

An extra dimension of this seminar is to compare and evaluate current substitution practices as operating in the EU member states.

The training consists of a 3-days intensive seminar with brief lectures, presentations of

guidelines and materials, case presentations &

discussions and with many opportunities for

exchange experiences among the participants.

 

 

 

The participants

 

 The primary target group for this seminar are professionals with a medical, clinical or nur­sing background and a few years work ex­perience in the field of drugs.

However, other professionals such as social workers and field-workers, employed in drug services with substitution prescription, are also invited to participate.

Participants are expected to have a passive and active knowledge of the English language.

 

 

The trainers

 

Drs. Ernst Buning (49) psychologist and director of the Amsterdam based Consultancy firm Q4Q. He is the founder of Euro-Methwork and a pioneer in the international harm reduction movement

Dr. Hans-Günter Meyer-Thompson (47) medical doctor and working for 10 years in the drug field in Hamburg. He is familiar with different substitution options and published a number of articles on drug dependence treatment and substitution.

 

Venue

 

This three-day training will take place in the

Holiday Inn Garden Court Hotel in Porto.

 Porto lies along the Douro River, 2 miles (3 km) from the river’s mouth and 175 miles (280 km) north of Lisbon. World-famous for its port wine, Porto is Portugal’s second largest city, it lies chiefly on the Douro River’s north (right) bank. Sprawling outward from the older riverside district known as the Ribeira. The historic centre of Porto was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996.

 

 

Participating at minimal costs

 

Since EATI is substantially funded by the European Com­mission, professionals from one of the EU Mem­ber States or one of the accession countries can apply for participation in this training. EU funding will keep the costs for participants low. The fee for participation in the seminar is i 695,-. Included in this fee is a complete package, comprising of hotel accommodation (single occupancy, break­fast in­cluded), lunches (during workshop days), refreshments during short breaks. Hand out materials and a reader will be provided. Transportation to Porto, Portugal, will have to be arranged and paid by participants themselves. Each participant will receive an official EATI Certificate of Completion.