This article reports on the introduction of sessions on mental health, mental illness and stress management into the personal and social education programme of a lower sixth form. The mental health component aimed at giving a short historical perspective, insights into early psychological development and into the relationship between life events and vulnerability to mental illness, and information on the structure of the National Health Service and the voluntary sector with emphasis on the patient as consumer. The stress management part sought to offer strategies for coping with the changes arising characteristically in the 17–21 age group, namely autonomy, experimentation, setting one's own goals and dealing with one's own problems and disappointments. Questionnaires were used to record changes in knowledge and attitudes before and after the course, and the students also evaluated the effectiveness of the way in which the talks were delivered. Throughout the sessions, the importance of prevention, where possible, was highlighted.
CONSUMO, DEPENDÊNCIA E CARACTERIZAÇÃO DE USUÁRIOS DE ÁLCOOL EM UM CENTRO DE ATENÇÃO PSICOSSOCIAL DE ÁLCOOL E DROGAS