Moving the goalposts a non-punitive, non-abstinence approach to alcohol use
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Moving the goalposts a non-punitive, non-abstinence approach to alcohol use
April 21 @ 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
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Presented by Dr Dean Membrey and Andrea Fischer
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Since the legislative and societal shift from addressing public intoxication with a law-enforcement response to a health response, cohealth and other providers have been providing both outreach and temporary sobering-up services to people displaying intoxication in public places.
In this presentation, Dean and Andrea will reflect on the learnings from operating this service. Dean will also look at the current treatment approach to alcohol use disorder and review the evidence for adopting a more harm reduction-focused paradigm. Andrea will discuss how public intoxication services operate as an entry point for those requiring assistance to manage their use of alcohol.
Dr Dean Membrey is a general practitioner and addiction medicine specialist who has over a decade of experience providing health care to people experiencing substance use disorders. He is passionate about providing holistic, patient-centred care in community settings to understand the social, cultural and psychological influences on their presentation. He currently works at cohealth Innerspace and provides outreach services in the Melbourne CBD to people experiencing homelessness.
Andrea Fischer is the Director of Community-based Drug and Alcohol Responses at Cohealth. Andrea has a long career in Public Health, having worked for the Burnet and Doherty Institutes. She specialises in managing large-scale public health activities in Victoria and overseas. Her passion is working with people who use alcohol and other drugs, with an emphasis on infectious diseases prevention, testing and treatment.
Connect & Learn webinar series addresses a wide range of practice-relevant topics presented by local expert clinicians. The webinars aim to enhance the capabilities of Victorian AOD and MH workers in responding to substance use and addiction issues among their clients and consumers.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This webinar is funded by the Victorian Department of Health and is only available for Victorians to register
Date: Tuesday 21st April 2026
Time: 1pm to 1:45pm AEDT
Register Here
Enquiries: tp@turningpoint.org.au
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We at VAADA acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People as the traditional owners of the land on which we reside and pay respect to elders past, present and emerging. We also acknowledge that this land was never ceded.