Working with family members in specialist drug and alcohol services: Findings from a feasibility study

Abstract

Background: Family members can be affected by a relative's substance misuse, but service provision is limited. A brief intervention in primary care has been shown to be effective. The application of such an intervention in other settings requires investigation.

Aims: To assess the feasibility of the development and implementation of a brief intervention for family members of substance misusers, within Specialist Drug and Alcohol Services.

Method: A before and after mixed methodology design.

Findings: Thirteen staff, from seven teams across one Mental Health NHS Trust area, worked with twenty family members. It was shown that it was feasible to: adapt the intervention for use within a specialist setting; recruit and train specialist service staff to deliver the intervention; have these staff recruit and work with family members; and for this intervention to be seen by both staff and family members as a positive and useful addition to service delivery. However, although feasible, there are still difficulties in integrating this work into routine clinical practice.

Conclusions: It is feasible, and beneficial, for specialist drug and alcohol services to deliver a brief intervention to family members. However, organizational and commissioning issues mean that routine delivery of such an intervention may not yet be possible, until full recognition is given to the view that addiction problems are best dealt with in a more holistic way that takes into account the family context within which most people live.

Notes

Notes

[1]  A family member decides for themselves who they define as the substance misuser in their family, with inclusion criteria for our intervention studies stating only that the family member and relative must live under the same roof, or have done so at some point in the previous six months, and that the relative must have misused substances in the previous six months. Furthermore, family members are recruited because they see themselves as negatively affected by the substance misuse of a relative, and not necessarily because their relative has been diagnosed as having an addiction or substance-use problem.

[2]  For further detail on the other findings, including a more detailed analysis of the quantitative results, please see the final research report (Templeton et al., 2004), available from the authors (or at http://www.bath.ac.uk/mhrdu).