Drugs, Alcohol, and how to make a difference: A Youth Workers Perspective / Francis McGregor
I am Francis McGregor the son of a Folk singing Postman father, and activist social worker mother, a 29 Year old Dyslexic Pākehā Youth Worker, Counsellor, Addiction and mental health practitioner working in a Tauiwi service using aspects of Tikanga Maori, trying to make change in young peoples lives so they can have a better future.
I want to start by saying New Zealand does have a huge problem with Addictions and Mental health. In my current role I regularly see young people who started using Methamphetamine, Cannabis, Alcohol or other drugs at the age of 10 or 11. This is not ok. I also see young people who have fallen through the cracks of a mental health system, which broken, overwhelmed and not working, leads to self medicating (Using AOD), offending behaviors and the Youth Justice system.
On the ground I feel positive for the future. Despite under funding and low salaries there are some awesome people doing amazing Mahi for the betterment of our youth and the approach we now take when dealing with Mental Health and Addictions has come along way from the horror stories of which I have heard from back in the day.
Now days we treat addictions and mental health as co-existing health problems (CEP) which in simple terms means we treat them as one issues. Working with both along side each other, which leads to all the young peoples needs being met. The other big shift is away from abstinence based interventions. In simple terms that means we no longer tell young people "you are never going to use drugs or alcohol again in your life" moving to an approach of harm minimization where use is limited and or done in a way which is as safe as possible for the young person. The way I explain this is with a big mac. We all like a big mac. But, if we eat three a day, every day, then this is going to lead to some major health problems. If we only eat one big mac on occasion then that is ok. I feel this method is much more successful because if you tell a young person straight away they can not do something then they are most likely to do the opposite. This does have its challenges because with some drugs there is no way to use safely.
Another key part is focusing on the future they want. I like to use aspects of narrative therapy and motivational interview in this part of my practice. This is about telling their story and that they have a chance to write the next chapter. It’s about not focusing on the mistakes of the past but the things they want for their future and what needs to change to get there. Most people no matter what will have something they want for the future, which is seen as a positive. As a practitioner some of your role is to hold the hope for this future and create the motivation to change now, so getting there can be possibility.
My process when working with any Young person starts with whakawhanaungatanga which in Pākehā terms mean establishing a relationship or connection with the young person and their wider Whanau (Key People in there lives) . This is the most important part of any intervention. When I introduce myself I always mention that my great grandfather was one of the builders of the Victoria park market chimney, if you have no connection to anything I have said during my introduction, odds are if you live or have been to Auckland you have driven past this chimney and from this a connection is formed.
At the end of the day there is no easy fix to New Zealand’s Issues around mental health and addictions. The only thing we can all do is promote that it is ok to get help and show aroha and support to those around us so they can have hope for a better tomorrow\
Francis McGregor