COVAID, WHICH STANDS FOR CONTROL OF VIOLENCE FOR ANGRY IMPULSIVE
DRINKERS, is a cognitive behavioural intervention for use with people with a
history of alcohol-related violence. It aims to give them a better awareness of how
alcohol and violence have become linked in their lives and the personalised
strategies they can use to break this connection in the future.
The programme is a joint development between ourselves – Professor Mary
McMurran of the Institute of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham and
Steve Delight, a professional trainer and director of Delight Training Services Ltd
– and is driven by collaborations with police
street crime projects and through the
national accreditation process for criminal
justice interventions.
The Correctional Services Accreditation
Panel (CSAP), which has accredited COVAID for
use in prison and probation services, is made
up of international experts in the field who
ensure that the highest possible quality of
evidence is used to maximise programme
design, delivery, and management. COVAID
runs in a number of prisons and community
probation areas in England and Wales, as well
as other jurisdictions as far afield as Australia.
There is a one-to-one version of the
programme alongside community and
custodial group versions, and a brief version
that has been trialled in an emergency
department setting.
All versions of the programme use a clear
cognitive-behavioural model that helps partici -
pants understand their risks in terms of
triggers, thoughts, feelings, behaviour and, of
course, drinking. The model explores
participants’ actual experience of alcohol-
related violence – whether it resulted in
convictions or not – and so helps them
understand what they can most usefully focus
on to reduce future risk.
Examples of control strategies include
participants who have come up with personalised alternatives to hostile ways of
thinking that led them to perceive threat where none was intended, or ways of
reducing the stresses that could make them more reactive to provocation. Other
participants have identified particular drinking venues as high risk, or particularly
risky drinking styles.
The key feature of the COVAID approach, however, is that we accept that there
is no single way to reduce risk and that all parts of the model can usefully be
tackled. COVAID emphasises that there is no prescribed way to reduce risk –
each person needs to learn what works best for them. The programme helps
Mary McMurran and Steve Delight explain about COVAID,
an intervention for people prone to drink-related violence
people to understand alcohol-related violence from an individual perspective and
supports them in devising their own action plans. In doing so, they are actively
encouraged to develop a proactive ‘personal scientist’ approach whereby they
become experts in their own behaviour and take responsibility for generating
change. This equips individuals with the skills to change their own behaviour
independently in future.
So what do participants and practitioners think about COVAID? Our research
tells us that participants find it an accessible and focused way of identifying how
they can better understand their behaviour
and identify practical change strategies.
Comments have included: ‘It’s easy to
understand and it has made me realise my
triggers in high-risk situations’ and ‘I learnt
that there are many things and ways to help
you escape getting into violence.’
We also find that practitioners like the
structured and straightforward approach to
change because it maximises the potential for
participants to understand and take respons-
ibility for their own behaviour, with comments
such as: ‘What we like about COVAID is that it
is manageable – we got great initial training
and plenty of subsequent support – very
helpful!’ and, ‘It’s good to work with. It keeps
you focused, but provides enough direction
and ideas to enable you to be flexible as well.’
Importantly, there is an increasing evidence
base in support of COVAID, with participants in
a randomised control trial reporting increased
confidence in their ability to control their
drinking and reduce their expectations of
becoming violent after drinking compared to
the control group. While COVAID offers no
magic solutions we firmly believe that it
provides the right ingredients and structure for
managers and practitioners in alcohol services
to be confident that they have important tools
to help facilitate positive change.
We recognise that COVAID falls into both substance misuse and offending
behaviour interventions, which can create confusion about which stream should
fund it. Nonetheless, we believe that it’s important to look at drinking and
violence together. Whoever takes responsibility for this treatment area, it is only
too clear in the UK today that interventions that focus on alcohol and violent
behaviour have an important role in making society safer. We believe that COVAID
has a part to play in this.
If you are interested in implementing COVAID, training is provided by Delight
Training Services. Email: admin@delight.co.uk
Alcohol |
Intervention
July 2012 |
drinkanddrugsnews
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Control
‘The key
feature of
the COVAID
approach,
however, is
that we
accept that
there is no single way to
reduce risk and that all
parts of the model can
usefully be tackled...
Each person needs to learn
what works best for them.’
Steve Delight