In-depth clinical learning on a key area of practice, guided by leading experts.
Event overview:
Alcohol use is one of the most normalised and least explored dynamics in therapy. It can sit quietly as social reliance, or present as dependency, secrecy and relational rupture. Often it functions as self medication, affect regulation and trauma management, embedded within identity and nervous system dysregulation.
This 2 hour clinical webinar explores alcohol use through psychological, relational and neurobiological lenses, equipping you to work with greater clarity, confidence and containment.
We will examine:
- Alcohol use on a continuum from social reliance to dependency
- The role of trauma, shame and emotional regulation in drinking patterns
- How alcohol functions within the nervous system and attachment system
- Repetitive cycles that keep clients stuck
- The relational and family impact of problematic drinking
We’ll look at alcohol use through a neurodiversity‑informed lens, including why adults with ADHD are at significantly higher risk of alcohol and substance misuse.
Examples will include clients who use alcohol to manage sensory overload, social anxiety or chronic masking, particularly in autistic and ADHD presentations.
Clinical Takeaway
By the end of this session, you will be able to:
- Confidently assess alcohol use without minimising or moralising
- Recognise when drinking is functioning as regulation rather than recreation
- Formulate drinking cycles within trauma and attachment frameworks
- Map risk patterns and plan for high risk situations
- Work ethically with safeguarding concerns and know when referral is required
- Intervene actively in session rather than remaining in reflective exploration
This webinar forms part of The Addiction Series
The Addiction Series is a five‑part Grove Series CPD course on addiction across porn and sex, alcohol, social media and screens, drugs and work. You can book this event on its own for £30, choose a select few, or purchase all 5 webinars together for £120. (Prices inclusive of VAT).
Dates and Times
All Wednesdays, 17:30–19:30 (UK time)
