A word with Christina Schadt

On 14 February, the RundfunkchorLounge »Zum Wohl?« will take place at Heimathafen Neukölln. This evening will be dedicated to the topic of alcohol – the role it plays in our society and the special relationship between intoxication and art. Christiana Schadt from the Berlin Addiction Prevention Centre is one of our guests. She will give us an insight into her work in an interview beforehand.

Berlin is known for being a city of intoxication and excess. Is addiction prevention particularly important in a city like Berlin?

Berlin is a city with many facets – rich and poor, different cultural backgrounds, young and old, single people and families, different neighbourhoods and challenges. People in Berlin consume substances such as alcohol, nicotine, cannabis and other illegal substances with varying degrees of intensity and for different reasons. Intoxication is just one facet of this. In any case, Berlin needs a strong and effective addiction prevention programme that offers services to people in their respective life situations and makes the approach of strengthening people in their consumption skills publicly visible. The Berlin Addiction Prevention Centre has been doing this successfully for 18 years together with partners.

Is the topic of addiction not addressed enough in daily discourse these days?

In everyday discourse, we often fail to recognise the connection between problem situations and risky consumption patterns. And we often only react when the ‘child has fallen into the well’. Yet we now know quite clearly that comprehensive prevention work reduces the consequential costs of addiction. This is why addiction prevention in Berlin needs more emphasis – both politically and socially. It is a lifelong issue from birth to old age – we are bringing this model of the prevention chain into the daily discourse. And it is important to realise that risky consumer behaviour is not the sole responsibility of the individual, but has social dimensions, so that dealing with risky consumption and addiction is not the sole responsibility of each individual, but that the environment and society must also take responsibility.

What goals has the Addiction Prevention Centre set itself and how does it work to achieve them?

The Addiction Prevention Centre has been working for many years to reduce the consumption of addictive substances and risky behaviour in Berlin and to promote a risk-competent approach to consumption. As a central competence centre, we develop and coordinate addiction prevention services in Berlin, bundle information and knowledge and pass this on to various people and institutions in Berlin through a range of counselling services, numerous further training courses, comprehensive networking and public relations work. We work together with partners to ensure that addiction prevention is implemented sustainably and effectively, is based on quality standards and is given political weight. We address current issues and publicise them. We focus on particularly vulnerable target groups and provide services to counter risky substance use of alcohol, nicotine, medication, cannabis and other illegal drugs and risky behaviour such as risky media use and online gambling. In all our activities, it is important to us that we focus on people and their needs, value what they bring to the table and promote development on this basis.

What developments have you experienced, particularly in recent years? Have the numbers of people affected increased?

We have seen that alcohol, nicotine and drug consumption have been the highest for many years, even if this is not always recognised in the public debate. Cannabis is by far the most consumed illegal drug. In recent years, cocaine has also increased in Berlin. Not all consumption is problematic, but if consumption behaviour is conspicuous, it should be a sign to take a closer look. It is important to consider the different areas of life and age groups, as the increase and decrease in the number of people affected differs here. For example, alcohol consumption among young people has decreased, while nicotine consumption is increasing again for the first time in many years and cannabis consumption remains at a persistently high level.

Some people associate addiction prevention with things that are perhaps not so pleasant. What are the aspects that you like about your job and are there perhaps also positive developments?

I like the fact that we can empower people in Berlin to deal more competently with consumer behaviour – be it teachers and social education workers who become more confident in dealing with the consumer behaviour of their young people, parents who become more confident in dealing with their children or the people themselves who we reach with our direct target group work, e.g. people with a history of flight or children and families with (addiction) problems. We give addiction prevention a positive image, as it is essentially about enabling people to lead independent lives. It is great when people write to us to say that the content of a training course helps them in their professional practice, that the counselling supports them in dealing better with their own or their child’s consumer behaviour. It is also inspiring when young people tell us that the workshops with us are fun and motivate them to take a more critical look at their own consumer behaviour. Or when clients realise that the projects and measures we implement are of a high professional quality and more than achieve their goals. We are passionate about what we do and have been committed to positive addiction prevention for many years.

The upcoming Rundfunkchor Lounge is now focussing on the topic of addiction. Does art, and music in particular, have a connection with addiction and alcohol? Especially in relation to many important musicians?

We know of numerous important musicians and artists who have consumed substances and created special works of art and composed pieces of music under the influence of these substances. At the same time, the fame that artists experience often influences their work and often creates pressure that is countered with the help of risky alcohol or drug consumption. This means that there is a connection between consumer behaviour and art/music on very different levels – e.g. as a creative driver, but also as a way of coping with difficult life situations – in a very human way. Quite a few musicians process personal experiences and emotions in music and art…emotions are also at the centre of addiction prevention. It’s about the reasons for consumption and finding strategies to deal with them. Music and art can also be good coping tools here – as we can see, there is a multifaceted connection.