Interventions for substance use disorders: A review of the evidence

The seminar will provide a brief overview of an umbrella review that collated information on substance use interventions and a website developed to disseminate that information.

About the speakers:

Associate Professor Rebecca McKetin (BSc(Psychol)Hons. PhD) leads a research program into stimulant use epidemiology and interventions at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW. Her current research involves the online delivery of psychological help for people who use stimulants (Breaking the Ice), the trialling of new pharmacotherapy options for methamphetamine dependence (the Tina Trial, the N-ICE trial; the LiMA study) and the development of novel responses to methamphetamine use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities (NIMAC). She has been chief investigator $28 million in research funding and has over 200 publications, is a senior editor for Addiction and an NHMRC panel assessor. Her ambition is to make available effective treatment options for people with a dependent on methamphetamine.

Dr Tayla Degan is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), University of New South Wales. She is also a registered clinical psychologist working in private practice. She is currently involved in stimulant research at NDARC and is working on projects which include the Tina Trial. She has expertise in working with people accessing substance use disorder treatment and mental health services. She has experience in working across multiple research trials and projects, including a NSW Health funded randomised controlled trial- the Continuing Care Project, which examined the effectiveness of a telephone-based continuing care intervention for people discharged from residential substance use disorder treatment services. She also has experience in evaluating health services such as residential rehabilitation. Her PhD focused on the health literacy of people accessing specialist mental health and substance use disorder treatment services. She has previously worked as a clinical psychologist for Corrective Services NSW. In this role, she specialised in the assessment and treatment of people in custody who experienced serious mental health such as schizophrenia and psychosis. She has previously conducted lectures in psychology for the University of Wollongong and Charles Darwin University.