Substance misuse education in social work practice

A study of substance misuse education in social work is described. Social work courses do not always address substance misuse education, even though there have been many attempts to highlight the importance of social workers being equipped to deal with issues relating to alcohol or other drug use. This paper describes the importance of the inclusion of substance misuse in social workers' education and describes the development of a substance misuse module on the MSc, Diploma in Social Work programme at the University of Wales Swansea. The module is evaluated in three stages: (1) from the conclusion of the module; (2) at the end of the second social work practice placement; and (3) 9 months after the commencement of practice. The conclusions emphasize the students' use of the contents of the course, and their positive attitudes towards intervention. Suggestions for future research are included.