apas offer a comprehensive and well developed range of training courses centred aroung the principle of Intervention and Brief Advice (IBA).
As well as IBA, apas offer general and specific courses aimed at raising awareness on the harm that alcohol, gambling and illicit drugs can cause. 
Courses can be run for individuals, small groups and entire organisations depending on the venue. Our training is particularly well received by occupational health departments in companies looking to improve the health and wellbeing of their workforce.
What is Intervention and Brief Advice?
The process of identifying people who may have alcohol issues and then taking action has been called Identification and Brief Advice or IBA. IBA is about “having conversations about alcohol”. It’s about making it commonplace to talk about alcohol, to “ask, assist and advise and therfore raise awareness through choice”. The more we make it normal to talk about alcohol the more people will be honest about how much they drink and the support they may need to change.
“IBA can help people to recognise
those people who are at risk early on,
and hopefully prevent so many people going on to
develop serious problems through alcohol use”.
There is a large body of evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of IBA. According to research one in eight people receiving brief advice will reduce their drinking to within lower risk levels. This means that theoretically, 250,000 men and 67,500 women could reduce from higher risk to lower risk levels as a result.
IBA works effectively with people who are drinking at low, increasing and high risk levels. It helps people to look at their drinking and to consider the pros and cons, as well as suggesting tips to begin to reduce consumption. For people whose drinking is becoming more problematic, it may be a first step to them getting further support, say up to six sessions of structured support in reducing their consumption with help from a tier two alcohol service. It is NOT aimed at supporting 
the dependent drinker, who will need specialist advice and treatment, including possibly medication, in order to safely reduce.
apas have an established training course, and the associated skill and experience to deliver IBA training effectively. Training can be deliveerd to any front line staff such as GPs, nurses, health care professionals, occupational health department staff and indeed, anyone who is likely to encounter problematic drinking as opart of their everyday job. Training can be delivered one to one or to groups. Training can be delivered as a specific three hour course or as part of a wider training delivery package from one to several days.
A crucial part of the IBA training is helping people to understand it so they can themselves deliver it in, for example, their own workplace. apas can deliver a “train the trainer” course to do just that. This training can be for, amongst others, workers from primary care, acute care, mental health services, maternity services, community pharmacy services, teenage pregnancy services, sexual health clinics, the fire service, the police service, the probation service, youth services, community services, faith organisations, housing organisations and occupational health departments.
A typical one day course for alcohol would cover the topics below, but each course is tailored to the individual organisation’s needs.
- General introduction to alcohol
- An interactive quiz designed to promote open discussion and feedback
- The pervieved scale of the problem and the cost to society (and business)
- Alcohol in the workplace
- The physical effects of alcohol
- The potential cost to your health
- IBA screening tools and how to use them effectively
- Understanding alcohol units
- Understanding addiction
- Benefits and suggestions for reducing your intake
- Treatment options
- Other people affected and approaches to take if you are one of them
- What to do next and support available
