Dec 9, 2022
Problematic alcohol consumption is the most common concern for people seeking help at Central Queensland’s newest purpose-built live-in withdrawal and rehabilitation service, Binbi Yadubay – Healthy Beginnings.
The service celebrated its first birthday on 7 December and data from the first its 12 months of operation shows alcohol to be well ahead of methamphetamine and cannabis as the main drug of concern for Binbi Yadubay’s clients.
Around 46% of the people entering rehabilitation at Binbi Yadubay in the past 12 months sought support to address alcohol-related concerns, while 38% sought help for a problem with methamphetamine (ice) and 7% for cannabis.
Since its opening in 2021, the service has offered a ‘healthy beginning’ to 453 people and families from across the region, enabling them to address concerns related to alcohol and other drugs.
Owned by Queensland Health and operated by not-for-profit organisation Lives Lived Well, the service offers support to men and women aged 18+. Binbi Yadubay can also support families with young children, with two family units on site enabling parents to attend treatment while children are in childcare or at school.
Lives Lived Well’s Central Queensland Clinical Services Manager, Mikel Gellatly, said adults could access a safe and supported 24-hour environment to withdraw from alcohol or other drugs through Binbi Yadubay’s 8-bed Withdrawal Unit.
“The withdrawal program is delivered over 5-10 days and, in its first year, supported 118 people,” Mikel said. “On completion, clients can continue their recovery journey at the 32-bed rehabilitation service, located on the same site. In the past year, 233 people have accessed the live-in rehabilitation service.
“The age group we most commonly saw represented was 25-34 years (36%), while 33% of clients were aged between 35-44 years.
“Anecdotally, we know that problematic consumption of alcohol is a major issue across Australia, and our own client data certainly supports that,” he said.
Mikel said the team at Binbi Yadubay was looking forward to continuing to build an inclusive and welcoming service for the people of Central QLD.
“Our first year has been very positive. We already have some clients returning to volunteer with us – they have experienced life-changing support and want to give back.
“It’s incredibly motivating for our clients to meet people who have been through our treatment program and are now living their life well.”
Holistic recovery
While clients complete an evidence-informed treatment program that runs in cycles of six weeks, they also can participate in various programs and activities designed to support holistic treatment and recovery.
Clients can gain life skills, such as cooking, gardening and physical health, by participating in additional on-site activities.
“A lot of energy in our first year has gone into building relationships and networks with local groups and agencies so we can offer clients access to the support they need to address various interests and concerns,” Mikel said.
Mikel thanked the Central Queensland community for supporting Binbi Yadubay in its first year.
“People have been asking for this service for a long time, and thanks to the Queensland Government and Lives Lived Well, it’s now not just a reality. It’s part of the fabric of the community. Thank you to everyone who has helped bring the service to life.”
Lives Lived Well is a not-for-profit provider of drug, alcohol and mental health support services across QLD and NSW. Enquiries about Binbi Yadubay can be made by visiting www.liveslivedwell.org.au, emailing [email protected] or calling 1300 727 957.
Learn more about Binbi Yadubay.
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Nov 15, 2022
Twenty employees from across Lives Lived Well have been fortunate to complete the “transformative” Red Dust Healing program in 2022.
More than 17,000 people from across Australia have completed this week-long program since it started.
Red Dust Healing was designed from an Aboriginal perspective but the program is not just for Indigenous people, it is for all people. The program is targeted at the heart, not the head.
During the week, participants learn about rejection, grief and loss as the foundation of all hurt. They are encouraged to examine their own personal hurt. Through role play, participants are placed in the position of being hurt (victim) and then as the person doing the hurting (perpetrator).
The program identifies the emotions felt as the victim and then the hurt caused as the perpetrator.
Participants agreed they came away with a better understanding of the power of healing and how important this is for people on their recovery or healing journey.
The training was delivered by Wiradjuri man, Uncle Tom Powell. Uncle Tom created a safe space for all participants to share deeply personal insights. His combination of humility, warmth, gentleness, humour and acceptance made this training very powerful.
Oct 7, 2022
In October during Mental Health Week, headspace Southport’s Family Peer Support Worker Cate White facilitated a self-care group for families and carers of the headspace Early Psychosis Program.
“Cup of Kindness” was an opportunity for those who are providing care and support to a young person experiencing psychosis, to take some time out for themselves, get creative, have a chat and receive valuable support.
The group decorated their own ceramic teapot and mug and talked about how self-kindness is an essential part of sustaining yourself as a carer of someone who’s experiencing mental ill health.
Cate had the teapots and mugs all fired and finished just in time for World Kindness Day!
The previous self-care group run by Cate was candle-making, where participants discussed how to prevent burnout as a carer. Upcoming groups will include painting and other creative practices that allow time out, self -care and some well-earned escapism.
“Caring for yourself is the most selfless thing you can do when caring for others,” said Cate.
She has been running these quarterly self care groups for the past three years after receiving a grant and then demonstrating how and why they’re so valuable for our headspace Early Psychosis families.
Now they’re a permanent fixture in the Family Peer Support Program, alongside monthly support groups.
Sep 1, 2022
Lives Lived Well has announced the recipients of its inaugural Deadly Awards program.
These awards were introduced to showcase the work being done across the organisation and in the communities we operate in, to support Reconciliation and Closing the Gap.
More than 30 nominations were received for individuals and teams from across Lives Lived Well.
An assessment panel made up of RAP Group members and Reconciliation QLD CEO, Erin Lang, reviewed the nominations and made recommendations. The panel was impressed by the breadth and depth of the nominations.
The 2022 Deadly Award recipients in the four categories were:
Clinical delivery
South-West QLD AOD team
Community Engagement
Gold Coast Youth team
Leadership Excellence
Leanne Lawrence – Watershed
Caring for Country
Uncle Ron Turpin – Shanty Creek
RAP Chair, Nathan Campbell, said he hoped the awards will inspire teams to continue supporting Reconciliation efforts and perhaps generate new ideas for how these efforts could translate into action.
“The Deadly Awards show us the many possibilities of how we can support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities,” Nathan said. “There are ideas and strategies that we can all learn from.”
About the awards
The LLW Deadly Awards were created by young Sunshine Coast First Nations artist, BJ Murphy using Jinibara (Black Wattle). BJ provided the following description of the awards:
“They feature symbols such as the river, relevant to us because a river is forever changing and adapting. A message stick forms part of the award and depicts a Wedgtail eagle, signifying strength, surrounded by a circle representing place. Footprints symbolise our ancestors, who are always with us in spirit.”
The Deadly Awards are an initiative of our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAO) 2021-22.
Aug 11, 2022
Lives Lived Well’s clients are accessing new and improved clinical treatment for problems with drugs and alcohol, thanks to our research partnership with The University of Queensland (UQ), which has just entered its sixth year.
Traditionally, the translation of health research into clinical practice takes around 17 years*. This partnership with UQ enables us to deliver leading-edge supports to clients in a much shorter timeframe.
“Through this partnership involving postgraduate researchers and clinicians, we have been able to bring new treatments into our clinical practice to better aid clients in a matter of months, not years,” said Lives Lived Well’s Clinical Director, James Curtain.
Lives Lived Well renewed its research partnership with UQ following a successful five-year collaboration which saw a number of new programs for the treatment of problematic drug and alcohol use developed and offered to Lives Lived Well’s clients.
The research partnership included the creation of a Professor of Alcohol, Drugs and Mental Health at UQ in 2017, as well as a commitment to contribute resources towards research on what treatments are most effective for helping people overcome difficulties with substances and mental health and wellbeing.
Professor Leanne Hides has been leading the UQ School of Psychology’s contribution to the research partnership. Since 2017, Lives Lived Well and UQ have worked closely to identify opportunities to develop and trial new treatments, and then add these treatments to the supports Lives Lived Well clinicians can offer clients.
The partnership has proved incredibly rewarding for both organisations, not only for clients accessing the support but also for the clinicians delivering treatment.
“Lives Lived Well is focused on providing evidence-informed treatment,” James said. “We want our clients to have confidence that the treatments we offer will be effective.
“In partnership with UQ, we have developed a set of outcome measures that our clinicians use with their clients, to track progress against a range of measures. For clients, being able to see their improvements over weeks and months is really motivating – it encourages them to keep going when things get tough.
“Working with UQ, our team has designed new treatments and rolled these out across our services. For example, the GRIT Wellbeing Program, Reframe and First Step are all new programs that are increasingly available to people accessing our services to support them with their recovery. These all reflect cutting-edge thinking and are best practice.
“We are always looking for ways to improve our clinical treatment program, and this partnership with UQ helps us to deliver world class evidence-based support for clients which positions Lives Lived Well as leaders of clinical treatment for drug and alcohol misuse in Australia.”
In 2021 the research partnership won the prestigious Partnership Excellence category in the UQ Research Partnerships and Translation Awards.
*Morris, Z. S., Wooding, S., & Grant, J. (2011). The answer is 17 years, what is the question: understanding time lags in translational research. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 104(12), 510-520.
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