Family experience of Dual Diagnosis
We are grateful for the generous support provided by the Sir Halley Stewart Trust over a four year period up to 2022 which enabled Adfam to deliver a project which focused on the impact of co-occurring mental ill health and substance use conditions (dual diagnosis) on families.
This project had multiple elements and its outputs included:
- A monthly peer support and advocacy group for family members affected by a loved one’s dual diagnosis, initially meeting face-to-face in London, and then remotely via Zoom. The group was professionally facilitated and provided a safe space for families to meet and share with others with similar experiences, whilst learning about ways to support their loved one and improve their wellbeing. The advocacy element of the group included a range of activities from sharing experiences with Government officials, speaking at events, and co-producing the information toolkits and training developed as part of the project.
- An extensive research report seeking to understand the experiences of family members affected by a loved one’s dual diagnosis. Download:
- Families, substance use and mental health: Supporting families affected by the co-occurring mental ill health and substance misuse (dual diagnosis) of a loved one – Executive Summary (pdf)
- Families, substance use and mental health: Supporting families affected by the co-occurring mental ill health and substance misuse (dual diagnosis) of a loved one – Full report (pdf)
- Two toolkits providing information and guidance for family members affected by this issue (1) and for practitioners (2) on how best to work with and support these families. Both toolkits were co-designed with input provided by the members of the project’s family support group:
- Toolkit for those affected by someone else’s co-occurring mental ill health and substance use conditions (Dual Diagnosis) (pdf)
- Toolkit for practitioners supporting families affected by someone else’s co-occurring mental ill-health and substance use conditions (Dual Diagnosis) (pdf)
- A training package, which was developed and delivered to practitioners working in either mental health or substance misuse and family support services, how best to work collaboratively in supporting families affected by this issue. The programme was co-designed with input provided by the members of the project’s family support group. Visit our training page for more information about Adfam’s training packages.