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Addictions Research Group

About 

The Addictions Research Group (ARG) is co-led by Professor Bev John and Professor Gareth Roderique-Davies, both HCPC-Registered Health Psychologists. The group’s work, membership and impact has gathered significant momentum since its inception in 2015. 


Aims

  • Produce world class research that has consistent impact at an international level across the Addictions spectrum (prevention and early intervention; diagnosis and treatment development; identifying and preventing relapse)
  • Conduct high quality applied research that has immediate impact in real world settings; specifically, in influencing public health policy and ameliorating public health harms from substance and behavioural addictions. 
  • Train the next generation of addiction psychologists in both applied research and in treatment/intervention development
  • Develop an evidence-based training and service/treatment evaluation service for treatment providers, policy makers and other key stakeholders in the Addictions field.


Collaboration and contribution to the research base and policy development

Prof Bev John and Prof Gareth Roderique-Davies are co-authors of the Substance Misuse Treatment Framework for Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD) in Wales (Public Health Wales / Welsh Government), alongside leading clinicians in Addiction Psychiatry. 

We are working in collaboration with The Pobl Group, funded by Welsh Government’s European Social Fund, on projects that are improving the understanding of the prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of ARBD; and identifying key predictors of substance use relapse for adults involved in drug and alcohol treatment services. 

We have also received funding to undertake research into the social impact of gambling in Wales from the personal research budgets of six Members of Senedd Cymru Welsh Parliament. We have recently completed two reports for Alcohol Concern (now Alcohol Change UK) looking at the relationship between alcohol consumption and gambling behaviour. 

We are invited observers of the Cross-Party Group on Gambling-related Harm at Welsh Government, and sit on the Beat the Odds steering group that is run by the Welsh charity Cais.

We are part of the management team for the Gambling Research, Education and Treatment (GREAT) Network Wales.