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Personalised support to help individuals manage and overcome substance use challenges, focusing on harm reduction, recovery strategies, and improving overall wellbeing.
For: Adults
Available in: North East Metro Perth Metro Wheatbelt
At Holyoake, we provide Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) counselling and support services through three primary locations and one satellite office across Perth and throughout Western Australia’s Wheatbelt:
Holyoake’s unique family systems approach recognises the impact of AOD challenges on all individuals and family members, and our services reflect this understanding. We provide a large range of confidential, free support options that are responsive and available whenever you’re ready.
Jarred’s Story
Our holistic, evidence-based approach to alcohol and other drug services – the Holyoake Approach – encompasses mental health support and is the foundation of the wide-ranging and constantly evolving treatment services, support, recovery and prevention programs we deliver across WA. This includes:
If you or someone you care about is affected by alcohol, other drugs, or related mental health issues, Holyoake can help you work through your challenges in a safe, caring and non-judgemental environment.
We offer a choice of free AOD counselling options: face-to-face, phone, and video counselling as part of our integrated service to support you in reducing your dependency on alcohol and other drugs. This includes total abstinence from alcohol and other drugs and drug withdrawal programs if this is the path that you choose. It is your choice, and Holyoake will support you.
Following a comprehensive assessment, you may choose to engage in a rehabilitation program, withdrawal management or other treatment services. One of our experienced counsellors will meet you to understand you and your circumstances and recommend a program that is best suited to your needs.
Integrated support teams, including a Clinical Case Manager, Peer Support Worker and GP, can also provide medical support for individuals impacted by AOD use to provide a holistic support solution.
We can also refer you to specialist services, including specialised detoxification units, residential rehabilitation, pharmacotherapy and community support services to ensure you receive the expert care you need.
Holyoake provides responsive and targeted counselling and group interventions for those experiencing their own or another’s drug or alcohol use. We operate across sites in Victoria Park, Midland, Northam, Narrogin, and Merredin and have outreach services in the main farming towns across the Wheatbelt.
With a focus on all areas of a person’s life, such as mental and physical health, relationships, and substance use, our individual interventions provide the opportunity for consumers to be heard and valued as they identify their needs and build a recovery plan to achieve their goals.
Holyoake works to assist people to take back their self-responsibility with respect and increase the connection in their relationships while accepting and letting go of what they cannot control.
Our person-centred approach extends to a broad range of group programs. These provide an experience that evokes change through peer inspiration and targeted content. Groups are offered for men and women with their own substance use as well as parents and partners or anyone whose relationship is affected by substance use. SMART groups are also offered for people who require assistance in solving life’s problems.
The impact of our services was recently summarised by a Holyoake consumer, “I don’t know where I’d be if I had not come to Holyoake. I have rid myself of depending on both others and substances and now I feel free.”
Individual Counselling is available to all family members who may be impacted by someone else’s use of alcohol and/or other drugs. We offer AOD counselling tailored to couples and families, helping you achieve your goals and minimise the impact on your life and relationships.
Each counselling session is usually 50-60 minutes long, and appointments are available on weekdays and some evenings.
An alternative to the one-to-one counselling session is the group programs, designed to equip you with the tools and skills necessary for long-term success in your recovery journey.
By focusing on relapse prevention, stress management, and improving overall wellbeing, the therapeutic group setting empowers you to make lasting changes and thrive beyond the program. You will be part of a supportive community where you can connect, gain inspiration, and build strong bonds with others who are on the same path to recovery.
Counselling can be a lifeline for young individuals navigating the challenges of having a caregiver struggle with substance abuse. Individual sessions at Holyoake provide a safe space for youth to express their fears and frustrations, helping them understand that they are not alone. Counselling is person-centred and trauma-informed, equipping young people with the skills and mindset to cope with the world around them and helping them build their sense of identity and self-worth.
The Attachment Art and Play Program focuses on supporting children and their parents/caregivers who have been impacted by AOD misuse in their family system. Using a fusion of creative arts therapies and play, children are given the opportunity to explore their emotional experiences together with their parent/caregiver and the creative arts therapist. In addition to the 10 sessions with their child, parents/caregivers are also provided psychoeducation and individual therapeutic support to help them understand how their emotional world impacts their relationships with their children. Upon completion of the program, both the child and parent/caregiver typically demonstrate and report a positive change in their relationships. Parents/caregivers have reported feeling emotionally ready and confident in their parenting abilities and that they feel more warmth, connection and understanding in their relationship with their children. The long-term aim of this program is to enable the parent/caregiver to raise their children into emotionally present and resilient people.
Holyoake’s partnership with Next Step to provide the North East Metro Community Alcohol and Drug Service (NEMCADS) gives our consumers access to pharmacotherapy for alcohol or opioid use, as well as a referral pathway for home-based withdrawal provided by St John of God’s Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Network (DAWN). Both services are co-located at Holyoake’s NEMCADS site in Midland, where integrated counselling and medical services are delivered to the community.
Holyoake partners with the East Metropolitan Health Service and the Mental Illness Fellowship of WA (MIFWA) to operate Active Recovery Teams (ART) at Royal Perth Hospital (City East), Bentley Hospital, and Midland Community Mental Health Service. The ART program provides access to intensive, wrap-around support for consumers with co-occurring AOD and mental health conditions, with the aim of reducing the frequency of their presentations to hospital emergency departments. The ART program involves clinical mental health treatment, peer support, and AOD counselling and support work.
With objectives similar to those of the ART program in the Perth metropolitan area, the Wheatbelt ART program is delivered in partnership with the WA Country Health Service (WACHS). Holyoake staff in-reach into the Wheatbelt Mental Health Service office in Northam daily. Our AOD counsellors and Peer Support Workers collaborate with mental health clinicians to provide co-support to individuals presenting at WACHS hospitals with complex AOD/Mental Health challenges.
This program operates through Holyoake’s Wheatbelt team in Northam, providing additional support to consumers with complex and ongoing support needs through a Case Manager, Peer Support Worker, and access to a General Practitioner. The support provided through the program complements existing counselling services available through WCADS.
AOD Prevention in the Wheatbelt is led by our AOD Prevention Coordinator, who designs and implements strategies in collaboration with communities and stakeholders that are aligned with the Harm Minimisation Framework of supply reduction, demand reduction and harm reduction.
Prevention activities centre on working with local communities to address identified AOD-related concerns and follow established best practice frameworks for effective health promotion service delivery. Our coordinator also promotes education and training opportunities throughout the Wheatbelt and oversees the Volatile Substance Use Incident Reporting Program.
AOD Community Prevention in the Kimberley, Midwest, Goldfields, Great Southern and South West regions of Western Australia is led by our Team leader – AOD Community Prevention, who manages locally based Community Engagement Officers. This service aims to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities by preventing or delaying the onset of AOD use and reducing the harm associated with AOD supply and use.
The service engages with, supports, and builds the capacity of local communities to implement evidence-based and informed AOD prevention activities. Our Community Engagement Officers, with expertise in health promotion, drive the establishment of grassroots Community Response Committees across the five regions.
The location of these Committees has been determined based on a comprehensive regional needs assessment and feedback from stakeholders and local community members. In the development and implementation of Community Response Committees, we work alongside and collaboratively with established AOD prevention and related service providers in these regions.
Community Response Committees involve community members and agency stakeholders with a passion for AOD prevention. These Committees develop localised Community Response Plans to provide a blueprint for the implementation of community-based AOD prevention activities, drawing on current evidence as well as the wisdom of individuals, stakeholders and community groups to address complex AOD problems.
The misuse of alcohol and other drugs continues to affect communities on a national scale.
See our services to learn about our specific Alcohol and Other Drug Counselling programs.
If you are experiencing substance use disorders or dual diagnosis, your experience of dependence can often be regarded as a ‘personal choice’ or ‘moral failure’.
The stigma associated with AOD use can lead to people denying their symptoms or feeling as if they cannot seek treatment. Being afraid to seek treatment or unwilling to tell healthcare practitioners about the use of alcohol and other drugs can mean that people aren’t getting the care and support they need.
At Holyoake, we do not use terms such as addict (or similar), alcoholic, addiction, rehab or detox. Nor do we have a ‘war on drugs’ or look to ‘fight’ or ‘combat’ any alcohol, drug and mental health concerns. We believe it to be the responsibility of all health professionals to reduce stigma and ensure that a person is not defined by alcohol or drug use. Holyoake is a safe place and non-judgemental service that puts the person at the centre of care.
As a leading provider of evidence-based therapeutic programs, adopting a holistic approach to address the physical, emotional, and social aspects of alcohol and drug dependence, we provide comprehensive support throughout your or your loved one’s recovery journey.
The following questions are commonly asked prior to or at a Holyoake support session:
When you engage with Holyoake, you will be asked several questions. This is often referred to as ‘screening’ for AOD challenges. This is an important step in your journey to help you avoid, reduce or modify drug use, rather than reacting to a more worrying problem that requires acute treatment, and often an emergency response.
Screening and early intervention assessments are delivered through an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) or an Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) to determine the level of alcohol consumption or illicit drug use.
This takes the form of the ‘5As – Ask, Assess, Advise, Assist and Arrange’ – an evidence-based framework for behavioural change in AOD dependency. Linking AOD use to other medical complaints is often the first step and a useful way to open the discussion on AOD challenges.
We offer a holistic approach to caring for individuals impacted by the harms of alcohol and other drugs. This includes medical assessments and support, pharmacotherapy, case management, counselling, mentoring, advocacy and group therapy programs via Integrated Support Teams.
A care plan is developed with you including suggested referrals to specialised pharmacotherapy services and withdrawal programs in partnership with hospitals and health professionals.
Holyoake Midland manage the integrated North East Metro Community Alcohol and Drug Service (NEMCADS) in partnership with Next Step Drug and Alcohol Services.
A comprehensive range of alcohol and drug services is available to individuals and families from this location, with Holyoake providing the counselling and support and Next Step providing medical and psychological services, including:
In addition, we offer shared care with other services and outreach counselling services in Mundaring, Ellenbrook and by appointment.
Diversion programs are also available for people referred by police and courts. You can access these services directly, or you could be referred by other services, including mental health, corrective services, child protection, and general practitioners.
Holyoake is here to help, whenever you’re ready. Many of our clients return for maintenance support sessions years after their engagement with Alcohol and Other Drugs. If you or a loved one needs further support, contact us.
If you have given permission to be contacted by telephone, you will be called the day before your initial appointment. For all on-going appointments, with your permission you will receive a SMS 24 hours before your scheduled appointment time.
We understand that there may be occasions when you are unable to attend your scheduled appointment. To help us with re-scheduling your appointment and scheduling appointments with other clients, we ask that you telephone us with as much notice as possible, preferably letting us know 48 hours in advance.
Your counsellor will work with you to support your attendance. If you miss two consecutive appointments without giving prior notice, you will be discharged from your program to facilitate access for others seeking our service. If your circumstances change and you wish to re-engage, please contact us to discuss your options.
You are welcome to refer yourself or be referred back to Holyoake. For some programs, there is a requirement to wait a period of time (usually 3 months) before you can go through the program again, however there are circumstances where this may not apply, so please contact your local Holyoake office to enquire if you are eligible to access services sooner.
Group programs run weekly for 12 weeks and are designed for participants to complete once. Should you and your group facilitator agree that additional group sessions would be beneficial, they will discuss this with you near the end of the program.
We don’t set limits, but most programs are structured to deliver short to medium-term support and counselling over 6 – 10 sessions, depending on the program of support. Should you and your counsellor agree that additional counselling sessions would be beneficial, your counsellor will discuss this with you prior to completing the program.
Holyoake programs are provided at no cost to you.
You can contact your local service to give feedback, fill in a feedback form at your local service or email your feedback to feedback@holyoake.org.au.