Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Lili233]

Both of my parents have started to drink more and are on medication to treat thier depression. But I'm a 16 year old girl and feel helpless.. I'm trying to find some free counselling services for them to attend as we don't have much money! please help/give advice

[Faith-and-Hope]

Well done @Lili233 reaching out to this forum the way you have.  

There are moderators here who will pick up your post and offer the practical advice you need to find support for your parents, but you will need support for yourself too.  

You are in a tough place with this, but you are not alone. There is social support here - many people who care and have life experiences that resemble yours in some way.

Keep in touch.  I am sure someone will answer you soon.

🌷

@CherryBomb @NikNik @suzanne @Fancy_Pants

[NikNik]

Hi @Lili233

I'm so sorry that you are going through this. It shows so much strength and courage to reach out for help like this.

There's a few different organisations you could explore and I encourage you to explore all of them.

1) 24/7 Alcohol and Drug support line: 

Phone: (08) 9442 5000
Country callers: 1800 198 024

You might want to call that as a starting point

2) http://www.fds.org.au/  Family Drug Support

3) Uniting care west provide an in home counselling service for parents: http://www.unitingcarewest.org.au/services/strengthening-families/attach-parent-drug-and-alcohol-ser...

4) Your parents are eligible for 10 free sessions with a psychologist each year, as are you. This is covered by medicare. All you or your parents need to do is go to a GP.

I'm not sure how willing your parents are to seek treatment, so it's really important to have some supports for yourself too. I really encourage you to reach out to COPMI (it's free) , which stands for Children of Parents with a Mental Illness.

There's also a great online community at ReachOut.com, similar to this one, but for young people. You can find it here

I hope this is helpful!

There are more services out there that will help, but the ones list above will hopefully be a good start. 

Take care,

Nik

[Mosaic]

Hi @Lili233

That is a lot of responsibility for a young woman to carry on her shoulders. It sounds like you're feeling really worried about your parents and how they're managing the depression and alcohol use. I wonder - Do you have anyone you can talk to about how you're going? A trusted friend? A school counsellor?  

Remember, you can also contact Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 anytime day or night. It's free to call. They also offer a confidential online chat service too if you prefer to communicate that way. They have lots of great information on their website if you wanted to take a look around. 

Take care of yourself. 🙂

[coffeegirl]

Hi @Lili233

Just wanted to check in to see how you're going.

Hope you're getting some support.

Take care

[Jo]

Hi Lili, the suggestions offered here to get help for yourself, as well as your parents, are excellent. Obviously your parents need help but you need it too. I hope you have taken advantage of the 10 free visits to a psychologist that was suggested?

Often when people suffer depression they turn to alcohol because it provides temporary relief and they feel much better in that moment. But they always feel much worse after the effects wear off. Which is why they drink again. When they get into this habit, they end up being named as suffering from 'Dual Diagnosis'. So it might help to learn about that also. A psychologist should be able to help you understand this more and assist you in ways of dealing with it. Please let us know how you're going. 

[Faith-and-Hope]

Hi @Lili233

How are you going ?

Have things improved at all ?  Have you found some support for yourself and your parents ?

Just thinking about you and hoping you're okay ....

🌷