The experiences of women who have successfully navigated alcohol and child protection services: importance of connection to healing

Abstract

Background: A proliferation of research about maternal addiction problems and child protection involvement exists but there is a noticeable dearth of studies concerning how these services are experienced in conjunction. Research regarding the effectiveness of parental interventions for substance abuse is scarce in the UK. Further research highlights that social workers are inadequately prepared for working with parents with substance misuse problems even though substance abuse problems are as high as 70% in child protection caseloads. Aim: The aim of this study is to elicit and understand the experiences of women who have successfully navigated alcohol and child protection services. How dual involvement with services was initiated, experienced, and identify sources of resiliency that enabled the women to live substance free lives. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven women to produce a qualitative research data. Transcripts were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and a Relational Centred Analysis (RCA) to explore the lived phenomenological and relational experiences of these services. Findings: Four main themes emerged across the narratives. Key findings include the importance of language used by services, which either continues to isolate or enhance the therapeutic alliance where hope, trust and connection to others flourishes. Implications: The findings contribute to our understanding of women with addiction problems and their needs through the recovery process. These are discussed within a range of psychological theories and, finally, the implications for counselling psychology are considered.