News & Research
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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 ...
23-05-2020
Read moreMedications 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...
23-05-2020
Read moreContributions 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)...
23-05-2020
Read moreAFINet 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...
17-12-2019
Read moreAFINet-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...
11-05-2018
Read moreFirst 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...
30-04-2018
Read moreAFINet member Urvita Bhatia presents Poster and gives Twitter interview
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...
27-06-2017
Read moreAFINet 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)...
23-06-2017
Read more5-Step Method training in New Zealand
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...
23-06-2017
Read more5-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...
23-06-2017
Read moreArticle 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
Read moreTraining 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...
11-08-2016
Read moreWhat 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...
28-07-2016
Read moreFurther 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...
23-03-2016
Read moreCore 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...
15-03-2016
Read moreAFINet 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...
26-06-2015
Read moreFinal 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...
26-06-2015
Read more5-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...
28-05-2015
Read moreThe 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...
21-05-2015
Read moreFamily 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...
24-02-2015
Read moreIran’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...
15-10-2014
Read moreConflict 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...
08-07-2014
Read moreInvolving 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...
23-06-2014
Read moreTesting 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 –...
18-06-2014
Read moreFirst 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...
16-05-2014
Read moreResults 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...
16-05-2014
Read moreA 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...
08-04-2014
Read moreIs 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...
08-04-2014
Read moreBereavement 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 and the South West of England) with 106 adults who have been bereaved following the...
20-03-2014
Read moreSupporting 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 as they funded one of the projects which has been completed), this project aims to...
20-03-2014
Read more2-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…
The effects that substance misusing parents have on children and other family members
Richard Velleman recently gave a talk about the effects that substance misusing parents have on children and other family members, and on how to break the cycle of…
Half-day programme on Addiction and the Family
Members of the UK Alcohol, Drugs and the Family research and practice group convened a half-day programme at the last New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Conference in Birmingham,…
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Latest News and Research
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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
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 ... Read more
First AFINet Newsletter published
This is the first AFINet Newsletter so a big welcome to all AFINet members and to others of you wh... Read more
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 Jud... Read more
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 Politic... Read more
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... Read more
Bereavement through substance misuse
The first phase of this UK 3 year study (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council) has bee... Read more
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 informati... Read more
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... Read more
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 adu... Read more
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 Australa... Read more
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... Read more
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 Internat... Read more
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... Read more
Steps to Cope
Two projects have been completed in Northern Ireland with our AFINet partners to develop and evaluat... Read more
The effects that substance misusing parents have on children and other family members
Richard Velleman recently gave a talk about the effects that substance misusing parents have on chi... Read more
Half-day programme on Addiction and the Family
Members of the UK Alcohol, Drugs and the Family research and practice group convened a half-day prog... Read more
The Impact of Substance Misusing Parents on children - References
References on Risk and Resilience: The impact of substance misusing parents on their child... Read more
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