Mark has either worked in the drug and alcohol field, or been closely associated with it, for over 30 years and has conducted original research, delivered papers at national and international conferences, produced teaching kits and other resources, and delivered programs to a wide variety of audiences. The following is just a glimpse.
Conducted original research and wrote & delivered papers at conferences including …
‘Controls on the physical availability of alcohol. A report prepared for NZ Police in relation to a proposed alcohol-free zone’ 2003 by Spooner C, McPherson M.
‘In what ways do police contribute to the prevention and management of alcohol-related problems in NSW? An overview.’ Spooner C, McPherson M. (NDARC Technical Report No. 123). Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, 2001.
’10 mistakes that are causing the failure of school-based drug education’. Paper resented at the National Winter School In The Sun (National Drug education Conference), 1991, Brisbane.
‘Pooling Your Wisdom – Behaviour Rehearsals made easy.’ Paper presented at the National Drug Educators Workshop, 1990, Melbourne.
‘A model for the production of drug education programs’. Paper presented at the National Drug Education Seminar, 1990, Melbourne.
‘Using quantitative and qualitative research to produce a skills-based teaching package aimed a reducing passive smoking.’ Presented at World Tobacco and Health Conference, 1990, Perth.
‘An evaluation of an alcohol education program.’ Mark McPherson and Martin Palin. The Office of Public Management used this project as an example of a quality evaluation project and a paper was presented at their annual conference in 1990.
‘How to give your drug education program the best chance of success: A needs assessment procedure.’ McPherson, M. & Palin, M. Drug Education Journal of Australia, Vol 3, No 3, 1989.
‘Guiding principles for the development of drug education curricula.’ Wheller R, McPherson M. Sydney: NSW TAFE in-house publication series, 1988.
‘Are we wasting the taxpayer’s money?’ Presented at National Drug Educator’s Workshop, 1988, Perth.
‘Guiding principles for the development of drug education curricula.’ Mark McPherson and Roger Wheller. National Drug Educator’s Workshop, 1987, Canberra.
Plus: Mark was part of a team that conducted both qualitative and quantitative research on teenagers students to determine: Levels of use of alcohol and illicit drugs by the students; Context of use; Motivations for using and from refraining from use; and Strategies employed to attempt to keep to an intended limit – and their success and failures.
Produced teaching kits, curriculum packages & other resources including …
‘Drug use – from myth to reality. A Group Leader’s Guide.’ McPherson M.A. Sydney: NSW TAFE in-house publication series, 1990.
‘Help a student in my class is on drugs! – A Teacher’s Guide.’ and ‘Help a student in my class is on drugs! – A Group Leader’s Manual.’ McPherson M.A. and Dwyer P. Sydney: NSW TAFE in-house publication series, 1989.
‘Party Without Pain. The use of Real Life Rehearsals to help teenagers control their drinking.’ (2007) Price: $45.00 plus GST. This 35-page document provides teachers with details of each of the 10-steps in Real Life Rehearsals as applied to helping teenagers resist the pressure to drink.
‘I’d rather you didn’t.’ (Participants learn strategies to avoid, and deal with, passive smoking.) Hamilton, H, McPherson M.A., and Wheller, R. (1990) NSW TAFE in-house publication series. 1990.
‘No thanks I don’t smoke.’ (Teenagers learn the art of refusing the offer of a cigarette. Given to Life Education Centres Australia to use it as they required.) 1989.
‘The Fatal Mix: A Set of Lessons.’ (This package incorporates a specially produced video of ‘triggers’.) McPherson M. A. and Wheller R. (1989) Sydney: NSW TAFE in-house publication series.
‘Pooling Your Wisdom: A Method for Generating Role-Plays.’ McPherson, M.A. (1988) Sydney: NSW TAFE in-house publication series.
‘Alcohol Without Tears: A Set of Lessons.’ McPherson, M.A., Palin M.N., and Wheller, R. (1988) Alcohol Without Tears: A Set of Lessons. Sydney: NSW TAFE in-house publication series.
‘Have a Drug-Free Pregnancy: A Set of Lessons.’ Sunderland, G., McPherson M.A., and Wheller, R. (1988) Sydney: NSW TAFE in-house publication series.
‘Playing Safe with Tranquillisers: A Set of Lessons.’ McPherson, M.A. and Wheller, R. (1988) Playing Safe with Tranquillisers: A Set of Lessons. Sydney: NSW TAFE in-house publication series.
‘Babies don’t need drugs.’ (A slide and sound teaching package with notes for the teacher). Health Education Unit, Sydney University, 1985.
Designed and delivered programs to a wide variety of audiences including …
Youth
Mark has delivered numerous presentations and programs to young people. In some of his roles, presenting to youth was an integral part of his work, where as in other roles he delivered programs because of special requests. For example, as a:
school teacher of Science, Personal Development and Health, Mark designed and delivered numerous programs to students;
Senior Education Officer in TAFE Drug and Alcohol Studies Unit, Mark produced teaching packages and other resources for use by teachers across Australia and delivered programs to students across NSW;
Senior Health Promotion Officer in Health, Mark delivered presentations on topics as wide ranging as ‘taking care in the sun’, HIV/AIDS, infection control, how to play safe with alcohol, the problems with tobacco, nutrition and sexual health; and
consultant, Mark has: designed and delivered programs to QANTAS apprentices; and designed and delivered programs to school students to: Ingelburn High School, NSW: Condell Park High School, NSW: The Talent Development High School, NSW: Marist College, Emerald, Qld: Scots PGC College, Warwick, Qld: Rochedale High School, Qld; Kempsey High School NSW; and Forbes Red Bend Catholic College, NSW.
Teachers & parents
Mark has presented to teachers as part of their professional learning at events organised by schools, by professional associations and by Departments of Education. For example:
‘Conducting Behaviour Rehearsals’ and ‘Getting Drunk, Getting Stoned, Getting Home Safely. Can it be done?’ presented at the National Drug Educators Workshop, 1989, Adelaide:
‘How to use Real Life Rehearsals to teach any social skill you like, right across the curriculum.’ presented at Scots PGC College, Warwick and included first hand demonstrations of Real Life Rehearsals applied to: how to handle sexual harassment; how to deal with rude colleagues; how to refuse the offer of a drink but still be part of the ‘in crowd’; and how handle a difficult and grueling job interview; and how tom refuse a lift with a drunk driver.
Mark has also presented to parents such as at Marist College, Emerald, Qld ’7 things parents can do now to help their children learn how to handle alcohol’, and produced resources for parents.
In addition, Mark designed and delivered a program on research-based drug education to teachers, counsellors, youth workers, etc. The courses ran for 18 weeks at 2 hours per week (36 hours) and the knowledge and skills of the participants were examined by formal examinations.
Police
Mark first delivered programs to Police in the late 1980s as part of the first ever intensive residential program for police on ‘how to design and deliver drug and alcohol education programs to youth and the community.’ Since then he has delivered many presentations to police on a variety of topics. For example:
when working in the health sector, Mark delivered programs on drug and alcohol issues, infection control procedures, and how to handle drug affected people.
while Manager, Drug Programs Coordination Unit, NSW Police, designed and delivered numerous programs on the law, policy, prevention and intervention strategies, education program design, the Cannabis Cautioning Scheme, ‘move along’ legislation, etc, and co-designed and delivered more than 11 times, the fully accredited 7-day program for police ‘Minimisation of Alcohol-Related Crime.’
Community
Mark has delivered many programs to the general public and to community groups. These have usually been in addition to his work roles and they have usually been delivered in his own time. He has, for example, presented on topics such the nature of drug use, sexual health, how to talk to your teenagers about sex and drugs, and how to help your teenagers handle the pressure to drink. Mark has also produced information cards and pamphlets, and produced material for the internet.
Clients of Drug and Alcohol Services
One of Mark’s specialities is ‘How to control your drinking and still be part of the in group’ and he has a long history of helping organisations help employees develop strategies to control their drinking, reduce irresponsible behaviour and cut down on lost productivity due to alcohol. Mark has designed numerous ‘controlled drinking’ programs and also delivered these to clients of Drug and Alcohol Services. These programs have focussed on: identifying factors which trigger alcohol consumption; identifying and dealing with ‘self talk’ and limiting beliefs; developing personal strategies to reduce alcohol consumption; developing strategies to overcome the real world obstacles to reducing alcohol consumption; and developing personalised social communication skills to overcome pressures to exceed limits.