Applying a ‘Life- Course’ approach in responding to AOD harm at a remote Kimberley residential program
Presenter: Andrew Amor
Author affiliations: Milliya Rumurra Aboriginal Corporation
Introduction: Preventing relapse is a clinical challenge facing AOD services. Despite length of engagement and progress made in treatment, significant periods of abstinence, addressing the social determinants and respite from negative family and social influences, AOD reinstatement is common.
The persistence of a negative affective state presents a significant barrier to positive behaviour change. The impact of underlying issues such as intergenerational trauma, poverty, health disparities and allostatic load may be contributing factors.
A Life-Course approach examines how early-life experiences can impact upon health, mental health and AOD use across a lifetime and potentially across generations. Identifying critical periods of development and periods where we are more sensitive to environmental cues present opportunities for targeted prevention and early intervention strategies.
A residential model that responds to pregnant women, children and families, provides an opportunity for early identification of risk and protective factors allowing interventions to potentially reduce long-term vulnerabilities.
Implications: Clinical interventions - at what age should this begin.
