Alcohol and Other Drug Service

We offer weekly group support sessions, made for LGBTIQA+ people in Adelaide who want to change addictive behaviour, including their relationship with alcohol and drugs. Get all the details on our event page at SMART Group Support.

These sessions are held weekly in the SAMESH community space. It's FREE and there's no need to RSVP - show up for any session you like and it's up to you if you want to come to another.

We recognise that each person is the expert of themselves. You have the ability to self-manage your behaviour. We also understand that people learn best from each other, especially people who have had similar life experience.

These ideas will guide the workshop and support people with dependencies on alcohol and drugs to:

• Build and maintain motivation
• Cope with urges and cravings
• Manage thoughts and feelings
• Lead a balanced life.

If you have any questions please call us on 08 7078 4128 or email us at thhsa@thorneharbour.org.

Experienced counsellors can meet with you to discuss your concerns and goals around your alcohol or drug use and help you to achieve these.

You may wish to learn more about the effects of drug use on your health or mental health, find strategies to better control or reduce your drug use, or access support to stop using completely and improve your wellbeing.

Whatever your goals - whether it is to control, reduce or stop your alcohol or drug use, our counsellors will be able to help you with:

• Exploring the role and meaning of alcohol and drugs in your life
• Reducing the harms associated with alcohol and drug use
• Developing a plan and practical strategies to control or reduce your use
• Assisting you to plan to cease your drug use and provide you with strategies to prevent relapse
• Referral to Thorne Harbour Health’s therapeutic groups or other treatment services including residential or non-residential withdrawal and/or rehabilitation

Sometimes people only need a short number of focussed sessions rather than engaging in longer term counselling. This might be to:

• Help you explore whether alcohol and or drug treatment is right for you
• Help you identify what your most pressing needs are right now
• Check in on your progress after completing treatment
• Help you identify resources and supports
• Get you back on track after a lapse

We can meet with you for one, two or three sessions depending on what works for you.

Sometimes, when a person is struggling with drug and alcohol issues, they may need support in other areas of their life like housing, accessing health or mental health services or connecting with community supports like social groups and activities.

Our Care & Recovery Coordinator can work with you to look at the different areas of your life and help you to create a plan and work out goals to help you move forward, not only in relation to changing your drug and alcohol use but in other areas too.

Working with our Care & Recovery Coordinator you will supported to:

• Develop a holistic support plan and develop achievable goals in different areas of your life
• Access residential and non-residential alcohol and other drug withdrawal services
• Link in with health and mental health services
• Access Centrelink services
• Access employment services
• Connect with education providers
• Connect with community supports, including social and living skills groups, to help you in your recovery

Our Care & Recovery Coordinator will be able to help you access services by organising referrals and where needed, taking you to appointments and introducing you to other service providers. They will also support you on your journey to help you stay on track and access services as your needs and goals change.

We understand that it’s difficult to wait for a service. Whilst there is rarely a wait for our LGBTIQA+ Alcohol and Other Drug Service, we have put together this information for other options for support. If you are waiting, we will try to check in with you once a month to see how you are feeling and check if your needs have changed. Whether your need is urgent or not, you can choose to visit a service in-person or chat over the phone or online.

If you need emergency assistance due to a mental health crisis:

In-person:

Go to the Urgent Mental Health Care Centre, located at 215 Grenfell Street, Adelaide, 5000, open 24/7.

Go to your local hospital emergency department.

Phone and online:

Call Mental Health Triage on 13 14 65, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Emergency on 000.

Contact Suicidal Call Back Service at 1300 659 467, available 24/7 or chat online at suicidecallbackservice.org.au

For non-urgent support:

In-person:

Go to Sonder Walk-In After Hours Service, located at 2 Peachey Road, Edinburgh North, 5113, open Monday - Friday from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm. You can also call them on 8209 0711 or learn more at sonder.net.au/programs/walk-in-after-hours-mental-health-service/

Stop by Safe Haven, located at 9 Johns Street, Salisbury, 5108, a drop-in mental health service, open Tuesday - Friday from 5:00pm – 9:00 pm.

Phone and online:

Contact QLife at 1800 184 527 or chat online at qlife.org.au from 2:30pm - 11:30 pm, 7 days a week. QLife provides anonymous and free LGBTIQ+ peer support and referral for people in Australia wanting to talk about sexuality, identity, gender, bodies, feelings, or relationships.

Contact Lived Experience Telephone Support Service (LETSS) for phone counselling at 1800 013 755 between 5pm - 11:30pm or chat online at letss.org.au