Supporting families with substance misuse issues in East Lancashire

2013-05-29 News

An exciting partnership between CRI’s Inspire service in East Lancashire and the NHS Children & Families Services Emotional Health Team is providing extra support for families affected by substance misuse.

Families who use the Inspire service can now get specialist, targeted support from the Emotional Health Team (EHT) run by Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust.

The EHT holistically assesses the needs of each individual family and identifies suitable interventions, using therapeutic skills and tools, role play and one-to-one meetings, and individual care planning to address the needs of parents and children.

These initiatives enable parents to understand the impact their substance misuse is having on their children. This makes families closer and empowers parents to make positive changes, which in turn makes children feel more secure.

Lyndsey Allen, from EHT, said: “My aim is to strengthen and enhance relationships within the family. There is no time-limit placed on any of the cases that I work on; it is important that I really get to know the family and build a trusting relationship so that I can help them prioritise and address their issues.  It takes a lot of hard work and dedication but seeing a family do well makes it really worthwhile.”

EHT works in partnership with Inspire to help families function better and become more resilient. This means parents are able to cope better with life’s demands and to focus on their recovery journey.

Andrea Stead, Inspire Shared Care development manager, said: “Our recovery workers really value the additional support that EHT provides. Their expertise has enabled many of our service users to improve their family relationships, which has helped sustain their commitment to tackling their substance misuse issues and changing their lives for the better.”

One service user commented: “The service met my needs, offering excellent advice and support on how to manage my anxiety and reduce my alcohol intake, which has been successful.  It helped me with many issues that I was having problems with, such as housing, finances, health and emotionally.”

Anyone living in East Lancashire with a child under five years old, or expecting a child, can be referred into the service.

Please call in to your local Inspire service: no appointment necessary.

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