Help For Youths With Alcohol Dependency

Resources For Those Working With Young People Suffering Alcohol And Or Drug Problems

PRESS RELEASE
24 APRIL 2007

Two new resources to help community groups working with young people with alcohol and drug problems are being launched in Auckland today.

The Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC) has produced the Community Presentation Kit for Bewildered while the Community Alcohol and Drug Services (CADS) at Waitemata District Health Board in Auckland has launched a new on-line Family and Friends support group.

ALAC Chief Executive Officer Gerard Vaughan says Bewildered is a flagship resource for ALAC.

“It is a documentary DVD and workbook intervention for parents of teenagers that are abusing alcohol or other drugs. It focuses on the stories of the parents and young people on the DVD and on their process of change,” he says. “The aim of the resource is to help other parents facing similar issues see they are not alone and that change is possible.

The development of the Bewildered resource came out of consultation with the Alcohol Drug Helpline – who identified that a large percentage of callers are concerned, and often desperate parents of teenagers, and that there are very few intervention tools available for this group.

“The community presentation pack that we are launching today includes a shortened version of Bewildered DVD and a PowerPoint presentation that can be presented in community settings to promote the Bewildered resource to parents, guidance counsellors, youth workers, and others working in communities as well as providing a way for struggling parents to identify and support each other.”

Mr Vaughan says the CADSonline Family and Friends Support Group is the perfect complementary resource for people who would use Bewildered.
“CADS have recognised the value of working with the whole family rather than focusing solely on the individual with problems. Their free, four-week online support group is a first for New Zealand.”

Regional Manager of CADS, Robert Steenhuisen, says that while online support is commonly available in other countries, such support is unique in New Zealand.

“CADSonline is currently based around adults wanting to abstain from alcohol and other drugs, which is delivered – as it says – online and live with a qualified counselor leading the group,” says Robert.

“The Family and Friends Support group is an extension of this online offering and is aimed at family, friends and even employees who are themselves affected by someone’s abuse of drugs or alcohol.

“We sometimes forget that for every person suffering from an alcohol or drug dependency there are approximately four people directly associated and/ or impacted by this,” says Robert.

The online group setting is a treatment option that enables people to be in a group setting without leaving home, through the autonomy, privacy and flexibility of their computer.

All participants log on to the session, where they can hear each other and see the counsellor or facilitator of the group. As discussion ranges, a powerpoint presentation on participants’ screens focuses the topic. Feedback is sought via ticks, texts and using the screen as a whiteboard – as well as verbally through microphones. All information can be sent back by participants privately to the counsellor, or shared with all. Even applause and laughter can be sent by participants to the group.

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