Family Drug and Alcohol Court - Information for professionals

Interventions

The FDAC Intervention Team will put in place a range of interventions drawn from the resources in the family’s local authority of residence supplemented by intervention provided by the team.

The interventions will be matched to the needs of the individual family but are likely to involve the following:

  • Abstinence

Parents will be given support and advice on being abstinent from street drugs and alcohol and reducing on-going domestic abuse and managing the impact of domestic abuse and criminal activity (for example, community drug and alcohol programmes providing individual and group education and advice on triggers and relapse prevention).

  • Understanding & repair

Parents will be given support, advice and treatment on understanding the problems underlying any substance misuse, domestic abuse and mental health problems. Nearly all parents need help finding safer ways of dealing with the effects of trauma. Many children need help to make sense of the disruptions created by their parent’s difficulties and the intervention of the court. Some parents and children need treatment for mental health problems including anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. (For example, parents may be encouraged to attend community based intensive treatment programmes or an anxiety group.)

  • Strengthening relationships

Parents will be helped to be more sensitive and responsive with their children and strengthen parents’ relationships with each other, their children and the wider family.

  • Child centred lifestyle

Families will be helped to develop a lifestyle that prioritises children’s needs. This could include education and training that will allow parents to work.