How WithYou are bridging the gap between drug and alcohol treatment and mental health support

National drug and alcohol treatment charity WithYou offers counselling service to clients in Liverpool, providing access to mental health support and drug and alcohol treatment all under one roof.

Accessing mental health support is important for everyone, especially for clients at WithYou in Liverpool. It is common for people in drug and alcohol treatment to also experience mental health challenges, but may find it difficult to access support. Stigma and fear of judgement often come into play and people don’t always get the support they need. WithYou in Liverpool offer counselling within their services, meaning people can access mental health support and drug and alcohol treatment all from the same service.

Liz Douglas, Counsellor at WithYou in Liverpool says: “Counselling isn’t necessarily about completion, it’s about activating a process in you, that you take with you on your recovery journey. Counselling can help something shift inside you to help you make change to your life.

“We’re really proud of the mental health support we continue to offer our clients in Liverpool and can support our clients on their recovery journey, judgement free. We have a full team, including a psychologist and mental health practitioners who can support our clients in a way that is right for them.“

Andrew, a counselling client at WithYou shares his story: “I was brought up with a normal childhood. I left school when I was 14 and ended up going back into education for University. I was diagnosed when I was 10 with OCD, anxiety and depression. When I was about 14, I started drinking alcohol. Alcohol was the worst one for me. This progressed into other drugs, like cocaine, ecstasy and smoking crack cocaine. I got into fights all the time too, that was the way of life I knew growing up. So much has happened over the years, it’s been chaotic.

“Through the counselling, I’ve been able to control my emotions a lot better. I’m able to get myself across a lot better than I was doing. I was bouncing from relationship to relationship, I had no steady life. When you’re in active addiction, you don’t develop properly. You don’t develop social skills, you don’t develop communication skills but building a relationship with Liz, our counsellor, has really helped.

“Counselling has helped me tremendously to think about how to deal with life. I can navigate situations and problems a lot better. You deal with a lot of guilt when you come out of addiction because your emotions are back and you can have intrusive thoughts, but counselling helped me cope a lot better. It’s helped me look in the mirror and realise things about myself that I had never thought about before. It’s turned me into a better person and I’m putting my words into action.

“When I was in active addiction, I felt like I was caught between two worlds. Now I feel like I’ve got my own world, I’m the master of my own fate. My OCD has declined, it’s gone right down. I’m navigating things better, I’m disciplined. It’s not a coincidence either, it’s all because of this counselling.

“There’s always been a stigma around drugs, alcohol and accessing mental health support, but you have to go in with an open mind and give it a try. I wasn’t sure either at first, I was dubious myself when I started, but when I met Liz and built on that relationship, I felt a lot more comfortable. A lot of people with drug and alcohol challenges also suffer from mental health issues that need to be talked about. I spoke about things in counselling that I had never spoken about before, but you’ve got to be brave and give it a go. It’s not easy but you can do it. It’s changed my life. I’m a stronger person and I’m enjoying life now.”

For more information about our services at WithYou in Liverpool, visit wearewithyou.org.uk