Suffolk support service encourages reflection on drinking habits
Turning point says they've seen an increase in the number of people coming to them for support
A Suffolk substance misuse support service says the start of the year can provide an opportunity for people to reflect on their relationship with alcohol, without pressure or judgement.
Nick Allard, psychosocial interventions lead for Turning Point Suffolk, said some people use January as a chance to reassess their drinking, including choosing to reduce or temporarily stop alcohol consumption.
Turning Point Suffolk provides free and confidential support for adults who are concerned about alcohol or drug use, either for themselves or someone close to them.
He said:
“As a treatment provider, we tend to work in a very person-centred way. So for example, if we were working with individuals who come to us and they'll say, you know what, I want to give it a break. I want to knock it on the head for January. Then that's what we will work with that individual.”
The support provided
Turning Point Suffolk provides support based on individual goals, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Allard said this can include helping people think about practical ways to reduce or stop drinking while still enjoying social situations.
“It’s kind of about working with someone’s individual goals,” he said. “From time to time for sure, we come across individuals who want to do that.”
He added that people seeking help often experience feelings of guilt or shame about their drinking, but stressed that services should respond with understanding rather than judgment.
“We understand that they may have done things that they regret, but we're not going to judge them from that point of view. We're working with someone from where they're at.”
Allard said judgement can make problems worse and increase the risk of further harm.
“If a treatment provider is going to judge that person, that's just going to potentially compound that problem,” he said. “That's possibly going to increase the risk of their drinking further.”
He said supporting people to acknowledge how they feel and focus on next steps is key.
“We want to be open, and we want to accept that people do feel guilt and do feel shame about their drinking. And we want to support them to accept what may have happened and then plan the steps they want to take for their future to move away from that and just generally feel better.”
Commenting on proposals to lower drink-drive limits in England and Wales to match Scotland’s stricter thresholds, Allard said even small amounts of alcohol can affect judgement.
“I think that alcohol, even in small quantities, is potentially going to impair someone's judgement,” he said. “Any kind of changes in that way may well mitigate some risk for some people.”
He added that reducing harm at a societal level could have positive impacts.
“If that, from a societal point of view, reduces some of the harm that individuals are causing to themselves, then potentially that's a good thing.”