FDS 2023 Annual Report

16 Support the Family – Improve the Outcome… Family Drug Support (FDS) has developed a highly successful model for supporting families affected by someone's substance use. Support the Family Workshops are aimed at providing professionals and services with an understanding of what the family is going through and how supporting families can improve the outcome for the person using. The workshops are interactive with group exercises to challenge ideas and concepts. Workshop Outcomes: o 'Models of Change' for supporting families affected by someone’s drug issues o Identifying the 5 stages that families experience and effective ways to respond o How to communicate more effectively with families in a work and/or professional situation o Understanding and skills to assist families to build resilience and improve the outcome for both the person using drugs or alcohol and the family o Recognising the importance of psycho-social education for a family, in relation to the significant barriers they may face The Workshop can be run over a half day, full day or two days to suit the needs of the organisation. Nationally 5 workshops were run with over 69 participants in attendance from families and AOD workplaces .