THE OKANA DRUG HELPLINE SOS 1031

FESAT Working Seminar in UTRECHTSept 13th - 14th 2010

Nena KaggelariMelita Mantouvalou

OKANA(ORGANIZATION AGAINST DRUGS)

The Organization Against Drugs (OKANA) was established by Law 2161/93 and operates since 1995 in Greece

Main Goals of OKANA

Design, promote & coordinate a national policy on prevention, treatment and

rehabilitation in the field of substance abuse.

Study the phenomenon of drugs at a national

level, & provide information and help to the public.

Create & develop municipal Prevention Centers, Therapeutic Programs & Centers of Social and Professional Rehabilitation.

Networking

o Ministry of Public Healtho Therapeutic programso Local government o Universitieso European and International Organizations

OKANA has developed an extensive network of Prevention Centers all over Greece, in cooperation with local municipality. It has also created various programs covering Treatment and Social Rehabilitation of drug users.

OKANA’s SERVICES

1. Prevention: 71 Prevention Centers operate all over the country in cooperation with Local government.

2. Treatment : 1 Admission, Information and Orientation Center

24 Therapeutic Substitution Units, 3 Adult Drug Free Programs 4 Young people Drug Free Programs

3. Social Rehabilitation:1 Social Rehabilitation Unit1 Vocational Training Center (in Athens and Thessalonica).

4. Direct Services1 Emergency Care and Support Unit1 Day Care Center for Drug Addicts 1 Telephone Drug Helpline SOS 1031

5. Support ServicesAdministrative support services

• Started in 2000.

Covers the whole country as a low call service (free of charge for Vodafone users).

Anonymity and confidentially of callers is ensured.

Staff includes 5 mental health professionals: a manager, 4 counselors, and an administrative secretary (no volunteers at the present moment).

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 8:00-20:00.

Overview of the Drug Helpline SOS 1031

GOALS OF THE HELPLINE

Information, support & guidance for all those concerned with any aspect of substance misuse: legal & illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco, etc.

Counseling for motivational purposes and emotional support

Emergency help & advice in case of a crisis (withdrawal period, etc.)

Referrals to services for treatment & prevention

Advice on mental health & emotional support resources

The OKANA DRUG HELPLINE SOS 1031 RESPONDS TO:

The needs of people, directly or indirectly involved with drug abuse

Specifically:Drug users

Parents-siblings and relatives

Friends-Partners

Social workers-Health care professionals- Educators - Students-Employers

Media-Police -Public at large.

CALLER’ S REQUESTS

Information about drugs.

Therapeutic or prevention programs.

Help to handle an emergency crisis.

Psychological guidance & support.

Technology & Reporting

Technology & Reporting

Call details are registered daily in a computerized database program (Access)

Call records are collected on a monthly basis & processed by the helpline team

Statistics are used for Okana & for Fesat’s Monitoring Project

STATISTICS OF DRUG HELPLINE SOS 2000-

2009

CALLS TO THE HELPLINE 2000-2009

No relative calls

300Repeating calls

5919

New calls

18295

Irrelevant calls

Repeat calls

IDENTITY OF CALLERS 2000 - 2009

SUBSTANCES 2000 - 2009

Cocaine

Alcohol

Other (Benzodiazepines, XTC,

LSD, etc)

The role of the Counselor

Must create a trustful relation with the caller and encourage open expression.

Clarify the question or problem.

Determine the goal of the conversation, together with the client,

& help him make his own decisions, without giving direct advise

Provide Closure

Update records & information regarding available services in drug field.

Drug Helpline SOS

About us…………..

Basic Principles of Client-Oriented Counseling (Active Listening, Empathy, Unconditional Support & a Non-Judgmental Approach).

Transtheoretical model (5 Stages of Change, Prochaska and DiClemente, 1984).

Motivational Interviewing Techniques, Miller and Rollnick, 1991.

Methodological Approach

Daily obstacles & challenges:

Calls concerning safe home detoxification, due to the existence of only one state detox treatment program in the Psychiatric Hospital of Salonica (with a limited capacity).

Difficulties when referring people for help to substitution treatment programs, due to long waiting lists Having no feedback or follow up after referrals (for most of the cases)

Suggesting further appropriate treatment & support to people who have already tried many times in the past and have no motivation (particularly older users)

A key tool in our function is our weekly supervision session with the drug helpline manager which has the following goals:

Developing skills/potential of our team for improvement of our services.

Exploring the issues and difficulties arising in certain calls & follow-up

Discussion & Feedback on topics of common concern

SUPERVISION

TRAINING

Participation in Conferences, Seminars & Workshops organized by mental health agencies.

Additional training by the helpline manager or the staff on various mental health subjects, such as: - chat model service, - alcohol & gambling addiction, - debriefing after crisis calls, etc.

THE PHILOSOPHY of our HELPLINE is based on :

Confidentiality, Anonymity

and Equal opportunities, and aims at creating

a relationship ofsafety & trust where the caller feels able to speak

freely.