What does a specialist service for addiction prevention do?

A specialist service for addiction prevention works mainly in a preventive way. It develops offers so that people do not get into risky use in the first place, and it supports specialists, parents and institutions in doing so. Anyone looking for personal counselling about their own use usually finds it elsewhere, namely at an addiction counselling service or an online service. The distinction is worth knowing so that you find the right point of contact.

Prevention and individual counselling

Prevention means reducing risks before problems arise. It includes information about effects and dangers, conversations about peer pressure and rules for handling substances. A specialist service for addiction prevention usually works with groups, school classes, parents and specialists. It does not, as a rule, work with individuals in acute crises.

The Berlin specialist service for addiction prevention is a good example of this. According to its website, it works to reduce substance use and risky behaviour. The mandate comes from the Berliner Senatsgesundheitsverwaltung, and the work has been running there since 2005. The service sees itself as a central expertise centre and develops addiction prevention offers in Berlin.

Who a specialist service works with

The Berlin service lists as its fields, among others, parents and families, schools and youth work, children from families affected by addiction, addiction in old age and workplace addiction prevention. Projects for refugees and for young people are also included.

• Parents: depending on the service, events and materials on handling cannabis in the family.
• Schools and youth work: offers for lessons, where the specialist service provides them.
• Specialists: further training, where the specialist service provides it.
• Workplaces: workplace addiction prevention is a separate field on the Berlin website.

What a specialist service does not provide

A specialist service for addiction prevention usually does not carry out withdrawal treatment and does not provide therapy. If you have problems with cannabis yourself, you are better served by an addiction counselling service.

For relatives, a prevention service is not always the first step either. There you learn a lot about prevention and effects. For personal counselling about your family situation, however, a counselling service is usually the better fit. The article Where can relatives get counselling about cannabis use? explains when this makes sense.

The role of the state-level offices

Many federal states have state-level addiction offices (Landesstellen). The NLS in Lower Saxony describes itself as the umbrella organisation of addiction support services and self-help organisations in the Freie Wohlfahrtspflege (free welfare sector) in Lower Saxony. It has a page of its own on cannabis. Which offers exist in your federal state is best found out from the state-level office itself.

Typical questions to a specialist service

Anyone who works with a specialist service often asks similar questions. Common ones are:

• Which materials are suitable for a parents' evening?
• How does our school deal with an incident?
• Which methods suit a youth group?
• Who in our region offers counselling?

The last question is often answered by the specialist service with a referral to a suitable counselling service.

Prevention that works in everyday life

Prevention works through information and conversation. Which materials a specialist service provides is listed on its website.

How a request works

If you want to request a specialist service for a talk, a training session or materials, a short email helps, with details about your institution, your target group and the date you have in mind. Describe what you want to achieve: information, a discussion round, further training or a project running over several weeks. The specialist service can then say more quickly whether it has suitable offers.

Prevention in schools, families and workplaces

The Berlin service names schools and youth work, parents and families, and workplace addiction prevention as fields of their own. This shows how broadly prevention is applied.

More on training for teachers is in the article Are there training courses for teachers on cannabis?.

How to find a specialist service

Many state-level offices have websites with information. If you have a specific question, get in touch with the specialist service; its contact details are on its website. Ask whether it has offers for your target group and whether it can pass you on to a suitable counselling service.

What schools should clarify before working together

A school that wants to work with a specialist service should first set its goal. Is it about information for teachers, project days for classes or a concept for the whole school? The answer decides which offer fits and how much time it takes.

It is also helpful to have a contact person on the staff who keeps in touch. School social work and school counsellors can act as a bridge when it comes to individual pupils. The article How does cannabis prevention in schools work? describes the process in more detail.

What you can do now

1. Clarify whether you need prevention or personal counselling.
2. Search for the state-level office or specialist service in your federal state.
3. Ask for materials for your target group, such as parents, schools or workplaces.
4. If needed, ask to be referred to a counselling service.

If you need help yourself right now, the best option is to call the Sucht & Drogen Hotline on 01806 313031. In case of acute danger, call the emergency number 112.