Case Studies - EDP Drug & Alcohol Services

Family Support Testimonial

Dear Sirs 

We would like to make you aware of the support and guidance the counsellors at EDP have offered and given our family, particularly, our son in law, grandchildren and also my wife and I.  The last three years have been severely traumatic for us and I sincerely believe that without the support of EDP counsellors from the Weymouth branch we may not have managed to cope. The sincere and ongoing support of the counsellors, Christine in particular, both at the group meetings and in one to one sessions, as well as being available to us outside of these times during periods of extreme anxiety, have potentially prevented serious  breakdowns in family relations caused by the stress of the situations. There seems to be plenty of help for substance users who wish to get help, but little for families. We feel there is certainly a need for family support groups at EDP. 

If I may explain the circumstances surrounding our situation. 

Our daughter has had an alcohol problem for a long time, possibly as much as 20 years. As she and our son-in-law lived away we had little realisation of the extent of her dependency.  In the year 2000 our first grandchild was born so we began to see more of them, in 2005 our second grand child was born and about 18 months after we were made aware of how serious the problem was, with huge debts and major family problems.  We tried to get her to seek help by going up to visit and taking her to doctors and to help centres but she was in denial that there was a problem and that it was affecting the children and the rest of the family. 

In 2007 they moved as a family back to Dorset mainly for the sake of the children and to clear their debts.  They lived with us for 4+ months to try and help her and the family to sort themselves out. After buying their own house, the drinking gradually got more out of control and we were constantly going around to pick the children up from playgroup or school. Our granddaughter had become the carer of her little brother.  In June 2009 our daughter was admitted to hospital for a long stay with liver and kidney problems; other complications arose later and she was in there for about 6 months on and off. 

After leaving hospital  she had a short time dry, but then took to drinking again, firstly in a controlled way(weekends only) then it gradually got worse.  She had a 6 day detox in 2010 but it proved unhelpful and when she tried to take her own life social services became involved. She had several accidents where an ambulance was called (falling over), we desperately tried to help her and CADAS recommended EDP Weymouth for family support.  

On contacting EDP a meeting was arranged immediately and on going to our first one-to-one, it was a relief to unload our fears, emotions and lots of tears - it was great to talk to someone who really understood.  Our one-to-ones and group meetings have helped us to handle the situation and erase a lot of the friction that had been created over the years.  Our son-in-law has also received a lot of help from EDP which he has found most beneficial in handling the situation at home.  Through EDP our daughter, son-in –law and grandchildren have been on an MPACT (Moving Parents and Children Together) course which has been instrumental in getting our daughter into in-house treatment in Clouds House and Hope House. 

We as a family, particularly the children, cannot thank Christine and EDP enough for the amount of work, effort and time that has been spent on our family.  We realise there is still a long way to go, but without EDP I am sure we would be looking at a very much bleaker picture.

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