Validating and de-stigmatising: A case study of online support for affected family members

A recent collaboration between SHARC, Turning Point, and Monash University examined the impact of group-based education and support for affected family members of people experiencing addiction.

BreakThrough: Families Understanding Addiction has been delivering education and support to families, friends and partners of people who use AOD since 2015, and in 2021, trialled an online fortnightly support group as an adjunct to its weekly education session.

This presentation will showcase the BreakThrough program and online support group, and describe:

• the process of developing and delivering an online support group to meet the needs of family members
• the evaluation process and key findings in terms of the effectiveness of BreakThrough in improving family members’ skills and confidence in coping and responding to a relative with addiction
• key success factors for planning and facilitating online groups for affected family members

Presenters: Dr Annette and Robert Campbell