Fifteen Eighty Four

After nearly thirty years working as an addiction psychiatrist with people with drug related problems, I have met many young people experiencing often severe challenges including dependence and associated mental health issues. Some are desperate for support to stop using substances, while others want to continue using drugs but reduce their risk of further harm. Occasionally the person I meet does not want to make any changes and denies that their drug use is causing problems despite evidence suggesting otherwise. These are complex situations but by working collaboratively with the young person I can usually support them to achieve their goal and often help them set further goals to reduce their risk and improve their physical and emotional health.

As well as young people, I often also meet their parents, assuming that consent is given. Parents are often very worried about their child and keen to understand how they can best help them. By the time I meet them, the relationship between parent and child is often fraying as the parents struggle to understand why things have gone wrong and look for answers. During my career, parents have asked me many questions with certain questions coming up again and again. Is my child addicted? Why can’t they just stop? Are their friends to blame? Do they need to go to rehab? These are just a few examples.

Writing ‘How to talk to your child about drugs’ is my attempt to answer these questions in a clear, easy to understand way that can be helpful to all parents. I have used the latest science about how drugs work in the brain and described what we know about the complex world of newly emerging drugs. I have also talked about different types of approaches taken to support someone experiencing problems with drugs including psychological interventions, medication and social support. To illustrate the key points, I have used anonymised clinical cases describing how problems develop and how solutions can be reached. These cases cover all the common drugs including how they can cause different types of problems. There is plenty of detail for parents on everything from how to start a successful conversation about drug use to the dos and don’ts of drug testing. Your child will inevitably come across drugs or people using drugs at some point and early conversations will make it easier for them to ask you for help in the future if needed.

While the main focus of this book is on drug use, I also discuss other addictive problems including alcohol and behavioural addictions such as gambling, gaming and pornography. Many of the approaches we use to help people with these problems are similar and parents need to know about these rapidly emerging issues.

This book will be useful for parents who want the knowledge to enable a useful conversation with their child about drugs, as well as for parents who are concerned their child is using drugs. I hope this book inform, reassure and guide parents to take a measured, science informed approach to this complex and challenging subject.

Title: How to Talk to Your Child About Drugs

ISBN: 9781009374811

Author: Owen Bowden-Jones