Richard Velleman

Background

I took a first degree in Experimental Psychology at the University of Sussex, and then trained in clinical psychology and obtained my PhD at the University of Exeter before moving to Bath where I worked in a number of related positions within both the University of Bath and the National Health Service mental health services. I have researched and written extensively about alcohol and drug problems, with a special interest on the impact of addiction problems on the family and the development of methods for helping and supporting affected family members. With colleagues in the Alcohol, Drugs and the Family (ADF) Research Group UK I have helped pioneer the development of the Stress-Strain-Coping-Support model of understanding the impact of addiction problems on families; the 5-Step Method to help affected family members in their own right; and the ideas of protection and resilience in children affected by family substance misuse problems. I am a Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

International Work

My international work in relation to addiction and families began with my collaboration, with Jim Orford and others in the ADF Group, with Guillermina Natera and colleagues at the Mexican Institute of Psychiatry. This continued with our work with the Living with Alcohol Program in the Northern Territory, Australia in the 1990s and early 2000s, and then with work with Caterina Arcidiacono in Naples, Italy, both in looking at the impact of addiction in families in Italy and in utilising the 5-Step Method there. At the same time (the late 1990s and early 2000s) I became involved with setting up and developing ENCARE (http://www.encare.info), an EU-wide network concerned with developing resources to assist professionals across the EU to improve the help they offer to children in families affected by substance misuse. More recently this work has involved work with colleagues in several other countries including Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Nigeria and South Africa. I am also a Senior Research Consultant in India [with the Sangath Community Health NGO, Goa, India - http://www.sangath.com] where I am developing and researching the use of community lay health workers to deliver psychological interventions to people with severe depression or serious alcohol problems; a member of the 15-strong Scientific Committee for the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) (http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/about/sc) - this is the only pan-EU expert scientific committee related to substance misuse, and is appointed to via major competition; and a member of the EU project ‘Minimum Quality Standards in Drug Demand Reduction - EQUS’ which has recently reported. Along with work in England, the work in Mexico and Australia resulted in the book, Coping with Alcohol and Drug Problems.

Recent Books Include

• Chowdhary, N., Dabholkar, H., Velleman, R., Dimidjian, S., Fairburn, C. and Patel, V. (2014) The PREMIUM Counselling Relationship Manual. Porvorim, Goa, India: Sangath.
  
• Dabholkar, H., Nadkarni, A., Velleman, R. and Patel, V. (2014) Counselling for Alcohol Problems (CAP). Porvorim, Goa, India: Sangath.
  
• Velleman, R. (2011) Counselling For Alcohol Problems, 3rd Edition. London; Sage (Counselling in Practice Series).
• Velleman, R. and Aris, S. (2010) Counselling and Helping: Psychology in Action. London: Wiley Blackwell / British Psychological Society.
• Arcidiacono, C., Velleman, R. Procentese, F., Albanese, C. (Eds) (2009) Famiglie Sotto Stress: Con-vivere Con Chi Abusa di Alcol e Droga. Milano, Italy: Edizioni Unicopli.
• Velleman, R., Davis, E., Smith, G. and Drage, M. (Eds) (2007) Changing Outcomes in Psychosis: Collaborative Cases from Users, Carers and Practitioners. Oxford: Blackwell.
• Baker, A. and Velleman, R. (Eds) (2007) Clinical Handbook of Co-existing Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Problems. London: Bruner Routledge.
• Velleman, R., Copello, A. and Maslin, J. (Reissued Edition, 2007) Living with Drink: Women who live with problem drinkers. London: Pearson Education.
• Orford, J., Natera, G., Copello, A., Atkinson, C., Mora, J., Velleman, R., Crundall, I., Tiburcio, M., Templeton, L. and Walley, G. (2005). Coping with Alcohol and Drug Problems: The Experiences of Family Members in Three Contrasting Cultures, London: Brunner-Routledge.