February 2016 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 15
Get more out of education with
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DAVE
,
in his late thirties, had had a progressive addiction to drugs for 25
years when he came to ANA for treatment. Having graduated from the
primary stage, he was one of the first clients to take part in (and
complete) the Road to Recovery programme (R2R).
Dave hadn’t completed a full education when at school. During the course
of his 12-week programme he was required to complete written work, such
as a ‘step reflection’ workbook and had provided evidence of his coursework
through the use of feedback sheets designed with Highbury College.
This evidence-based work clearly highlighted how he had been
experiencing the R2R programme and secondary treatment – which also
gives both ANA and the college a qualitative measure as to how the
programme is being received. Not only did Dave enjoy the programme
immensely, but it also enabled him to reflect on his learning and give
evidence of it. It helped him communicate with the college and ANA staff
and he successfully graduated from R2R in January 2016.
He has resettled in the ANA Works housing scheme and has used his
experiences to go on to do advocacy training, a local health and social care
course, and training in Smart by the local service user group, Push.
He hopes to use these skills to go on to work in the field of addiction and
‘give something back’ to others in recovery or struggling with addiction.
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EMILY
has been drinking problematically since her teens and despite a
college and university education, found herself in the uncontrollable grip
of addiction. This caused high levels of friction within the family and
eventually she dropped out of university.
Her successful completion of ANA primary treatment in Autumn 2015,
followed by entry into secondary, initially gave her some trepidation over
taking part in the R2R programme.
Over the course of 12 weeks, Emily gained confidence in her ability to
record her evidence-based work and completed all 18 of the elements
required to qualify for the Highbury College certificate.
Her feedback on her experience of R2R and secondary treatment has been
extremely positive and she successfully completed the programme in early
2016. She has also resettled through her referral into ANA Works in
Portsmouth and is seeking to take an active role in local politics.
Her interest currently is supporting homeless and less fortunate
individuals within the local area and she has plans to further her
education through studying politics and sociology. She said that her
experience of the R2R programme and secondary treatment was ‘highly
informative and has greatly boosted my confidence.’
Names of students have been changed.
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS…
Two students share their
experiences of the programme as
they continue towards employment
The workbooks are added to other materials to compile an individual portfolio
for each client. In building these portfolios, we realised just how many educational
skills our clients acquire throughout the process; it soon became clear that many of
our clients had become more self-aware and had developed better interpersonal,
problem solving and practical skills since going through treatment.
We tentatively showed the client portfolio to the Community Education
Department at Highbury College and they enthusiastically confirmed that the
portfolio had significant educational value, resulting in their accreditation. The
college has been enormously supportive, visiting ANA to train the R2R staff and
counsellors. Clients are also invited on a tour of the college, in preparation for
further education after our second stage.
So far, 12 clients have successfully completed the R2R course and received an
accreditation, through their own recovery, from the college – an enormous
achievement for each of them. The course is accredited at level one, which means
that many clients will not have to undertake an access course when starting
college, giving them back a year of their lives in study time.
The course is helping to break down barriers to education for clients and equip
them with additional skills for life. Access to education was one of the key priorities
in the government’s 2010 drug strategy, and is likely to continue to be so. The
qualification makes recovery tangible; it demonstrates what clients have to do,
what they have achieved and what they are capable of doing in the future. It also
supports the concept of ‘better than well’ and has a very great impact on client
recovery capital and self-esteem.
Rosanna O’Connor, director of alcohol, drugs and tobacco at Public Health
England commented: ‘There is a very significant need for better education, training
and employment support for people in drug and alcohol treatment, whether in the
community or in residential rehab.
‘This project, being developed by ANA, is an excellent example of how some
treatment providers are taking the initiative, providing people with tailored
educational support, leading to qualifications, skills and the essential confidence
needed to access employment.’
The next stage is to seek national accreditation and invite other treatment
providers to have their programmes accredited. We feel that the initiative facilitates
very positive community reintegration through study and education, and helps
people take confident strides towards the job market.
Richard Johnson is CEO of ANA Treatment Centres and ANA Works,
Access to education was one of
the key priorities in the
government’s 2010 drug strategy,
and is likely to continue to be so.
The qualificationmakes recovery
tangible; it demonstrates what
clients have to do, what they have
achieved and what they are
capable of doing in the future.
