Supporting people to help themselves
AMITY is a Territory community organisation providing drug, alcohol, gambling and associated mental health services since 1976.
Amity has worked with thousands of Territorians to address difficulties experienced in relation to their substance use habits.
Amity has come to view drug and alcohol problems in three broad groups with overlaps of each group.
The first group of substance issues can be viewed as problems of intoxication.
Problems with intoxication can be experienced from any drinking or drugging episode and can also flow from regular and dependent alcohol drinking patterns. Problems experienced with intoxication include trips, slips and falls, domestic and family violence, assaults, alcohol related vehicle crashes, road trauma, work injuries and absenteeism.
The second group of substance issues come from regular substance use. This pattern of consumption can be described as daily substance use or any regular pattern of consumption.
For example patterns such as every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, or consuming large amounts in sessions during fly-in flyout breaks.
The issues experienced with regular drug and alcohol consumption can be longerterm health issues such as alcohol related brain damage, fatty liver/cirrhosis, increased risk of heart disease and cancers, relationship concerns and breakdown, spending more time and money to the detriment of work, children, family and community engagement.
The list of harms related to ongoing regular drinking and drugging is extensive and well evidenced. The third group of substance use harm comes from consumption by people who are experiencing problems with dependence.
Dependence is where people experience discomfort because of withdrawal. People often do not know how dependent they are upon their alcohol or drug of choice until they take a break from it. For people the dependence on psychoactive substances can be psychological, a way to relax and cope with daily stressors in our modern lives.
People with dependency issues can still experience problems with intoxication, regular use as well as the gamut of longer-term health, relationship, employment and social issues.
Amity provides an evidence-informed professional and free counselling service for individuals and family and friends. We recognise that behaviours of habit can often interact with other areas of life and cause problems.
Amity’s counselling service believes in supporting people to help themselves and is holistic and practical and guided by the goals of the person.