Addiction and the Family International Network

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Addiction and the Family International Network (AFINet) Webinar Series

AFINet is a free-to-join Network, providing a platform which: brings together researchers, policy-makers and practitioners; promotes the well-being of family members, friends and colleagues who are affected by or concerned about another person’s problems with or addiction to alcohol, drugs or gambling; and develops research, policy and practice in the field. AFINet Membership (free) is by application: www.afinetwork.info/members/apply-for-membership AFINet’s first Webinar was given by Professor Richard Velleman on 20th October 2020. The topic of this Webinar was “In Their Own Right: Family Members Affected by Alcohol and other Drug Misuse or Gambling”. [To view this Webinar, see below.] Professor Velleman examined the evidence-base showing that family members of people with alcohol...

08-10-2020

Notice of Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Notice of Annual General Meeting (AGM) Preceded by a Webinar about Family Members Affected by Alcohol, other Drug Misuse and Gambling Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 AFINet AGM will be held online via Microsoft Teams (Microsoft). Prior to the AGM, a 1.5-hour Webinar (50 minutes talk, plus 40 minutes discussion), open to everyone will be held by Richard Velleman on one approach to ‘family members affected by alcohol, other drug misuse and gambling’: “The Stress-Strain-Coping-Support-Model and the 5-Step Method”. For registration (mandatory), please use the following link: webropol.com/s/afinet Date and time Webinar: 2:00 pm UK time,Tuesday October 20th AGM: 3:30 pm UK time, Tuesday October 20th AGM AND WEBINAR DETAILS (PDF) AGM AND WEBINAR DETAILS (JPG) AGM AND WEBINAR DETAILS...

05-10-2020

The 5-Step Method via Zoom

Family Drug Support in New Zealand are using the 5-Step Method remotely, holding videoconferencing sessions with Affected Family Members over Zoom. Pauline Stewart FDS’s Executive Officer, has written a manual explaining how to deliver the 5-Step Method using videoconferencing and has made it freely available to all AFINet members. In FDS, all practitioners who deliver the 5-Step Method have gained or are working towards Accreditation in the Method, and this is recommended for all 5-Step Method practitioners. The manual can be downloaded from the AFINet website. DOWNLOAD...

23-05-2020

Medications for Opioid Use Disorder report added to website

A new report (“Medications for Opioid Use Disorder”) has been put onto the website under Country Reports. It is published by SAMHSA, the USA’s ‘Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’, and is aimed at Healthcare and Addiction Professionals, Policymakers, Patients, and Families. It explains the variety of medications which might be prescribed to someone with an Opioid problem, and therefore will be of use to both AFMs (to better understand the medications their using relative may be on) and professionals who might need to explain these medications to AFMs with whom they are working. VIEW REPORT

23-05-2020

Contributions required for the next AFINet newsletter

The next AFINet Newsletter is due to come out at the end of June, and there is a call to all members for contributions to go into it. Any relevant news (about research or policy or practice, or about how Covid-19 is affecting your country) will be greatly appreciated. Please contact the Newsletter Editors if there is anything you would like to discuss in relation to the Newsletter content, and please send your contributions to efarrar200@aol.com by the 12th of June.

23-05-2020

AFINet Newsletter December 2019 (issue 10) published

Welcome to the 10th issue of the AFINet newsletter! As you may recall, we have adjusted the format of the newsletter to reflect the growing diversity of our membership (which now includes researchers, practitioners, service managers, and policymakers from many countries around the world). VIEW NEWSLETTERS (Members only)

17-12-2019

AFINet-related scientific papers added to website

AFINet Trustee Richard Velleman has added a list of AFINet-related scientific papers published from 2017 onwards. Download it here. He updates this list when he learns of new relevant papers. If other AFINet members come across papers which are NOT on the list, please let him know (r.d.b.velleman@bath.ac.uk) and he will add them. That way, we will start to get a more comprehensive list of who is publishing what in our area.

11-05-2018

First AFINet International Conference at The Discovery Museum, in Newcastle, UK, November 2018

Conference Programme and Pack AFINET CONFERENCE PROGRAMME AFINET ABSTRACTS AFINET DELEGATES AND INTERESTS NEWCASTLE MAP Conference Evaluation CONFERENCE EVALUATION NOTES Summary Programme Discussion Points SESSION 1 KEY POINTS SESSION 2 KEY POINTS SESSION 3 KEY POINTS SESSION 4 KEY POINTS SESSION 5 KEY POINTS SESSION 6 KEY POINTS SESSION 7 KEY POINTS SESSION 8 KEY POINTS Conference Powerpoint Presentations and Abstracts Session I JAMES ORFORD ABSTRACT JAMES ORFORD POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BRIONY ENSER ABSTRACT BRIONY ENSER POWERPOINT PRESENTATION JAN LIGON ABSTRACT MANUSCRIPT JAN LIGON POWERPOINT PRESENTATION TUULI PITKANEN POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (PDF) TUULI PITKANEN POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (PPTX) Session 2 TORKEL RICHERT ABSTRACT TORKEL RICHERT POWERPOINT PRESENTATION CANDICE GROENEWALD ABSTRACT CANDICE GROENEWALD POWERPOINT PRESENTATION HANNAH CARVER ABSTRACT HANNAH CARVER POWERPOINT PRESENTATION Session 3 GALLUS BISCHOF ABSTRACT GALLUS BISCHOF POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ANJA BISCHOF ABSTRACT ANJA BISCHOF POWERPOINT PRESENTATION NOMCEBO DLAMINI...

30-04-2018

AFINet member Urvita Bhatia presents Poster and gives Twitter interview at the Wellcome Trust / Department of BioTechnology, India Fellowship meeting in Hyderabad. The poster (see the photo) was about the SAFE Trial being undertaken in Goa, India, as described in the June 2017 Newsletter; and the video of the interview can be listened to here: https://twitter.com/India_Alliance/status/866537498624667648, More information from urvita.bhatia@sangath.in

27-06-2017

AFINet members publish a systematic review of “Psychosocial interventions for addiction-affected families in Low and Middle Income Countries

AFINet members Anil Rane, Urvita Bhatia, Jim Orford, Richard Velleman and Abhijit Nadkarni recently published a systematic review titled: “Psychosocial interventions for addiction-affected families in Low and Middle Income Countries”, a copy of which is stored on the website. The reference is: Addictive Behaviors, 74 (2017) 1–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.05.015

23-06-2017

Matua Raki (the national addiction workforce development centre in New Zealand) has been working closely with AFINet (Richard and Gill Velleman) to implement the 5- Step Method throughout the addiction sector in New Zealand. There are a number of components to the implementation strategy and the full accreditation process has three main parts: Train and accredit addiction practitioners in the 5-Step Method. Train these accredited 5-Step practitioners to deliver training to other practitioners in the 5-Step Method, and accredit them as trainers. Train them to become accredited assessors. Matua Raki will continue to support the ongoing process and implementation and are very hopeful that...

23-06-2017

5-Step Method training in Australia

As part of the ‘Checkmate’ programme (reported elsewhere in this newsletter) , Gill and Richard Velleman undertook a 2-day 5-Step Method training course for the Checkmate staff (Frances Kay-Lambkin, Jenny Geddes and Sally Hunt) and 12 researchers and clinicians working at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) based at the University of Sydney. The course was very well rated, with representative comments including: “The training was well organised, extremely educational. I particularly liked the role plays between Gill and Richard”; “LOVED your role plays- gave insight into how we could apply the steps”; and “the presenters are engaging and...

23-06-2017

Article supporting our 5 Step intervention in DNN Magazine

Great to see an article in support of our 5-Step intervention for family members in the Feb '17 issue of @DDNMagazine (https://drinkanddrugsnews.com/ddn-february-2017/ - see p18)".

23-02-2017

Training near London in the 5-Step Method is announced

Save the Date! On 1st & 2nd November 2016, Richard and Gill Velleman will be running a 2-day training course in the 5-Step Method for helping affected family members, in Maidenhead (near London). Exact details nearer the time, but if you want training in the 5-Step Method, book these days out in your diary. The cost for the 2 days will be about £350.

11-08-2016

What I’ve been reading this month (July 2016), from Jim Orford

I have just read two articles which come from countries which, as far as I know, have not produced research findings of these kinds before. Each of them adds to the accumulation of evidence that living with a close relative who is using substances heavily or excessively has a negative impact on the health and well-being of family members. The first comes from a group at the School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. Their study involved 120 ‘informal caregivers of drug and/or alcohol addicts… recruited from therapeutic communities...

28-07-2016

Further findings from the UK bereavement through substance use study published

Another paper from this recently completed 3 year study in the UK, which focuses on a subset of interviews where the death involved a fatal drugs overdose, has been published in Drugs: education, prevention and policy. AFINet members Lorna Templeton and Richard Velleman were some of the authors of ths study. The reference to the article is below, along with the abstract. You can also find out more about the study, including details of the practice guidelines and othe publications here: http://www.bath.ac.uk/research/news/2015/06/23/bereavement-guidelines/ Templeton L...

23-03-2016

Core findings paper from UK bereavement through substance use study published

A paper outlining the main findings from a recently completed UK study in to bereavement through substance use has just been published in Addiction Research & Theory. AFINet members Lorna Templeton and Richard Velleman were involved with this important study. The reference to the article is below, along with the abstract. You can also find out more about the study, including details of the practice guidelines and othe publications here - http://www.bath.ac.uk/research/news/2015/06/23/bereavement-guidelines/ Templeton L et al. (2016). Bereavement through substance use: findings...

15-03-2016

AFINet 1st AGM, Birmingham, UK on Wednesday July 15th 2015

AFINet 1st AGM Birmingham Wednesday July 15th 2015 Winterbourne Gardens, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, England AFINet– the Addiction and the Family International Network – is now officially a ‘small charity’ or what is more generally referred to as a Non-Government Organisation or NGO! We held the first Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday 15th July 2015 in Birmingham, England. The venue was the Ruskin Room at Winterbourne, a restored Arts and Crafts house set in seven acres of botanic gardens close to the University of Birmingham. Programme 11.00 Arrival...

26-06-2015

Final event of a major 3 year study in to 'bereavement through substance use'

In June 2015 AFINet members, Lorna Templeton and Richard Velleman, attended the final event of a major 3 year study in to 'bereavement through substance use' that they have been involved with over the last 3 years. One of the study's main outputs, a set of practice guidelines to help a wide range of practitioners and organisations support those who have been bereaved in this way, was launched at this event. You can find out more and access the guidelines here and you can also read this article from Project...

26-06-2015

5-Step Method training in Hong Kong & new book with contributions from AFINet members published

Following the delivery by Richard Velleman and Gracemary Leung of a 2-day 5-Step Method training in Hong Kong in April 2014, Richard and Gill Velleman travelled to Hong Kong in May 2015 and delivered (again with Gracemary Leung) a further 2-day 5-Step Method training to a further 42 participants drawn from Hong Kong and Macau (with a few also attending from Australia, Malaysia and other Asian countries). Richard then also gave a keynote Talk at the 4th Asian Pacific Problem Gambling and Addiction Conference,...

28-05-2015

The Parenting Support and Drug Use Study:

The following papers may be of interest to AFINet members. They report findings from a two year longitudinal qualitative study conducted in Scotland which explored accounts of parenting support during the antenatal and postnatal period from the perspective of drug dependent parents (mothers and fathers) and healthcare professionals. Whittaker A. Williams N. Chandler A. Cunningham-Burley S. McGorm K. Matthews G. (2015) The burden of care: a focus group study of healthcare practitioners in Scotland talking about parental drug misuse, Health and Social Care in the...

21-05-2015

Family members affected by a relative's substance misuse looking for social support: Who are they?

Brazilian AFINet colleagues, Helen Sakiyama et al. have had a paper describing their research in Sao Paolo published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The research describes 500 adult family members who were seeking help through mutual self-help groups. Futher details can be found by clicking here

24-02-2015

Iran’s first research about family members affected by addiction

Iran’s first research about family members affected by addiction has been published! In fact we think this may be the first such work undertaken in any predominantly Muslim country. It is been a great pleasure to work together, helping prepare a report on this work for an English-language journal. We are pleased to say that it has been accepted for publication in Addiction Research and Theory and is already available online. The report is entitled: ‘What is it like to be the wife of an addicted man in Iran? A qualitative study’. This video clip prepared by Zhila's colleagues is an...

15-10-2014

Conflict and dilemma in experiences of adult family members caring for a problem-drinking parent.

“How do I tell my children about what my mum's like?” Conflict and dilemma in experiences of adult family members caring for a problem-drinking parent. A recent study by Mandi Hodges and Alex Copello explored the experiences of adult family members affected by the alcohol use of their parents. Previous research on the effects of alcohol abuse on family members has primarily focused on spouses, parents or young children of problem drinkers. This recent study explored the experiences of adults with children who were also providing care for a problem-drinking...

08-07-2014

Involving family members in drug treatment: A pilot study of a social network intervention for heroin users in opiate substitution treatment

This multi-site randomised controlled trial aims to test the feasibility of implementing and evaluating brief social behaviour and network therapy (B-SBNT) for clients in opiate substitution treatment (OST). The project builds upon earlier SBNT work conducted as part of the UK Alcohol Treatment Trial (1 & 2) and is being run by researchers from the University of Birmingham, England, in collaboration with colleagues from Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (BSMHFT). The study is being conducted at three NHS community drug teams in the West Midlands (South...

23-06-2014

Testing the short questionnaire for family members affected by addiction: help required

The short questionnaire for family members (affected by addiction) – the SQFM(AA) – is starting to prove popular! It is a 33-item questionnaire covering each of the four main building blocks of the stress-strain-coping-support (SSCS) model of addiction and the family – impact (2 subscales), coping (4 subscales), symptoms (2 subscales) and social support (3 subscales). Each subscale has 3 items carefully selected from the longer impact, coping, symptom and support scales. Several of the subscales can be summed to create a Total Family Pressure index. There are two versions of the...

18-06-2014

First AFINet Newsletter published

This is the first AFINet Newsletter so a big welcome to all AFINet members and to others of you who have expressed an interest in receiving newsletters. We launched AFINet in February 2014 and we have been delighted with the interest and response from across the globe. After three months we have 48 members (plus the five core members of the UK ADF Group) from 14 different countries, spread across all regions and continents. Members represent a range of organisations and professions, and there is diversity in how they work with families affected by addiction. This is very much the mix of countries and interests which we hoped for, and we hope membership will continue to increase. Read Full Newsletter

16-05-2014

Results from the first English Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC)

A team at the Centre for Child and Youth Research at Brunel University, London, led by Professor Judith Harwin, has recently produced the final report of their evaluation of the first family drug and alcohol Court (FDAC) to operate in England. Jim Orford provided some research advice. The FDAC is an alternative to the usual court procedure which operates when a Local Authority applies to the court for an order to take a child into care because of the parent’s, usually the mother’s, drug or alcohol misuse. FDAC is different because intensive work is done with the parent for up to...

16-05-2014

A recent article raises interesting questions for AFINet about cultural differences

Although this interesting qualitative study by Maria Fotopoulou, of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow, did not involve family members at all – the participants were 40 drug users undergoing treatment in two state drug agencies in Thessaloniki, Greece – its central idea seems to me to be very relevant to our interests. Asked about their motives for change, the interviewees frequently mentioned the concept of filotimo, sometimes translated as ‘sense of honour’, but which is, according to the author, actually a more flexible idea covering such things as ‘integrity and moral uprightness, adherence...

08-04-2014

Is a child, harmed by the mother’s drinking during pregnancy, entitled to compensation

Is a child, harmed by the mother’s drinking during pregnancy, entitled to compensation, and what are the implications for harmed family members more generally? The following is taken, slightly adapted, from the BBC News website 5th March 2014. A council – which cannot be named for legal reasons but is located somewhere in the north-west of England – is set to argue that a child who was born with serious health defects as a result of her mother's drinking habits should be given a compensation payout for being the victim of a crime. The child, who also cannot be named,...

08-04-2014

Bereavement through substance misuse
The first phase of this UK 3 year study (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council) has been completed. In total, 100 in-depth qualitative interviews were undertaken (in Scotland…
Supporting young people affected by parental alcohol misuse in Northern Ireland
A major 4 year project is underway in Northern Ireland. Building on previous work (further information can be found elsewhere on this website, or from the Alcohol Research UK website…
2-day Workshop on The 5-Step Method: Supporting Family Members of People with Drug, Alcohol and Gambling Problems
Richard Velleman, a founder AFINet member, is travelling to Hong Kong in April to co-run (with Grace Leung, also an AFINet member) some initial 5-Step training for practitioners there. The…

When Older Adult Substance Abuse Affects Others: What Helps and What Doesn’t?
Jan Ligon, PhD, LCSW Georgia State University The abuse of alcohol and other drugs in the older adult population, which includes the aging “baby boomers,” is escalating. It is anticipated that…
Addiction in context: The influence of families and wider social networks, theory and practice
During November 2013 Alex Copello was invited to give one of the keynote addresses at the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol & other Drugs (APSAD) annual…
The Forgotten Carers: Support for adult family members affected by a relative’s drug problems reports
This work builds on the first phase of UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC) family research, with a study investigating the extent and nature of support provided …

Jim Orford speaks about gambling and family members at the Third International Multidisciplinary Symposium
Jim Orford recently made two presentations about gambling and family members at the Third International Multidisciplinary Symposium, Excessive Gambling: Prevention and Harm Reduction, which took place at…
Alcohol Focus Scotland | Unrecognised and under-reported
"1 in 3 people report having heavy drinkers in their lives" and "1 in 2 people report being harmed as a result of someone else’s drinking" says national survey commissioned…
Steps to Cope
Two projects have been completed in Northern Ireland with our AFINet partners to develop and evaluate Steps to Cope, which is an adapted version of the 5-Step Method for children…

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Addiction and the Family International Network (AFINet) Webinar Series

AFINet is a free-to-join Network, providing a platform which: brings together researchers, poli... Read more

Notice of Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Notice of Annual General Meeting (AGM) Preceded by a Webinar about Family Members Affecte... Read more

The 5-Step Method via Zoom

Family Drug Support in New Zealand are using the 5-Step Method remotely, holding videoconferencing... Read more

Medications for Opioid Use Disorder report added to website

A new report (“Medications for Opioid Use Disorder”) has been put onto the website under Country Rep... Read more

Contributions required for the next AFINet newsletter

The next AFINet Newsletter is due to come out at the end of June, and there is a call to all members... Read more

AFINet Newsletter December 2019 (issue 10) published

Welcome to the 10th issue of the AFINet newsletter! As you may recall, we have adjusted the format o... Read more

AFINet-related scientific papers added to website

AFINet Trustee Richard Velleman has added a list of AFINet-related scientific papers published from ... Read more

First AFINet International Conference at The Discovery Museum, in Newcastle, UK, November 2018

Conference Programme and Pack AFINET CONFERENCE PROGRAMME AFINET ABSTRACTS A... Read more

AFINet member Urvita Bhatia presents Poster and gives Twitter interview

AFINet member Urvita Bhatia presents Poster and gives Twitter interview at the Wellcome Trust / Depa... Read more

AFINet members publish a systematic review of “Psychosocial interventions for addiction-affected families in Low and Middle Income Countries

AFINet members Anil Rane, Urvita Bhatia, Jim Orford, Richard Velleman and Abhijit Nadkarni recently ... Read more

5-Step Method training in New Zealand

Matua Raki (the national addiction workforce development centre in New Zealand) has been working clo... Read more

5-Step Method training in Australia

As part of the ‘Checkmate’ programme (reported elsewhere in this newsletter) , Gill and Richard Vell... Read more

Article supporting our 5 Step intervention in DNN Magazine

Great to see an article in support of our 5-Step intervention for family members in the Feb '17 issu... Read more

Training near London in the 5-Step Method is announced

Save the Date! On 1st & 2nd November 2016, Richard and Gill Velleman will be running a 2-day tr... Read more

What I’ve been reading this month (July 2016), from Jim Orford

I have just read two articles which come from countries which, as far as I know, have not produced ... Read more

Further findings from the UK bereavement through substance use study published

Another paper from this recently completed 3 year study in the UK, which focuses on a subset of in... Read more

Core findings paper from UK bereavement through substance use study published

A paper outlining the main findings from a recently completed UK study in to bereavement through... Read more

AFINet 1st AGM, Birmingham, UK on Wednesday July 15th 2015

AFINet 1st AGM Birmingham Wednesday July 15th 2015 Winterbourne Gardens, Edgbaston Park Road, B... Read more

Final event of a major 3 year study in to 'bereavement through substance use'

In June 2015 AFINet members, Lorna Templeton and Richard Velleman, attended the final event of a m... Read more

5-Step Method training in Hong Kong & new book with contributions from AFINet members published

Following the delivery by Richard Velleman and Gracemary Leung of a 2-day 5-Step Method training i... Read more

The Parenting Support and Drug Use Study:

The following papers may be of interest to AFINet members. They report findings from a two year lo... Read more

Family members affected by a relative's substance misuse looking for social support: Who are they?

Brazilian AFINet colleagues, Helen Sakiyama et al. have had a paper describing their research in Sao... Read more

Iran’s first research about family members affected by addiction

Iran’s first research about family members affected by addiction has been published! In fact we thin... Read more

Conflict and dilemma in experiences of adult family members caring for a problem-drinking parent.

“How do I tell my children about what my mum's like?” Conflict and dilemma in experiences of adult... Read more

Involving family members in drug treatment: A pilot study of a social network intervention for heroin users in opiate substitution treatment

This multi-site randomised controlled trial aims to test the feasibility of implementing and evalua... Read more

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