Guest Speaker: Understanding Young People and Substance Use: Trends, Risks, Motivations, and Effective Support
At a glance
Guest speaker
Dawn Holmes
Webinar duration
2 hours
Suitable for
Thrive Licensed Practitioners
CPD
Worth 5 CPD points
Price per place
£78 excl. VAT
Course outcomes
This session provides a comprehensive exploration of young people’s substance use, examining current trends, motivations, patterns of use, and the complex factors that shape behaviour and risk.You'll gain an understanding of common and emerging substances, harm reduction approaches, and the underlying issues that influence young people’s decisions, such as trauma, mental health, neurodiversity, peer influence, and social context.
The session also includes a dedicated focus on Hidden Harm - children and young people affected by parental substance use. We will explore the impact of parental substance use on safety, development, wellbeing and family functioning, alongside evidence based approaches to identification, engagement, and support.
By the end of the session, you'll be equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and practical strategies to provide guidance to young people directly using substances, as well as those living with the effects of substance use at home and understand the importance of linking them in with specialist support.
Who is it for?
This session is suitable for Thrive Licensed Practitioners working with adolescents.
What you'll learn
By the end of the session, you'll have:
- Increased awareness of current trends in young people’s substance use, including common substances, emerging patterns, and influencing factors.
- Better understanding of the key motivations behind young people’s substance use, such as coping, self medication, pleasure seeking, social belonging, and unmet needs.
- Increased understanding of the underlying issues that may contribute to or co occur with substance use, including trauma, mental health challenges, exploitation, family dynamics, school disengagement, and social inequality.
- Increased knowledge of harm reduction strategies tailored to young people, ensuring advice is age appropriate, non judgemental and rooted in safeguarding.
- Recognise signs of Hidden Harm and understand the emotional, developmental, and practical impacts on children affected by parental substance use.
- Increased understanding of why a whole family, trauma informed approach is important, and how collaboration between services can improve safety and outcomes.
- Understand the importance of effective communication techniques to engage young people, build trust, and support them to explore change at their own pace.
- Increased awareness of appropriate interventions, referral pathways, and multi agency responses that support both young people using substances and those experiencing Hidden Harm.