Mrs Heidi Gray1, Dr Nicola Ivory2, Dr Nicole Snowdon1, Prof Julaine Allan1
1Rural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, Australia, 2School of Psychology, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, Australia
Biography:
Heidi is currently completing a PhD exploring online support for family members of people using drugs and alcohol in Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) Honours, where her research focused on co-designing an evaluation framework for the Bathurst Indigenous Chronic Disease Clinic. A trained primary school teacher, she has a long-standing interest in Indigenous and remote education, health, and affairs. In addition to her academic and professional work, Heidi is a mother of three children, whom she currently homeschools.
Abstract:
Substance use can significantly negatively impact the physical and mental health of concerned significant others (CSOs), yet few Australians seeking substance use support are CSOs. For rural Australians, accessing support is further challenged by limited services available.
Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is a structured therapy designed to enhance CSOs’ wellbeing while equipping them with strategies to encourage their loved ones to seek treatment. Although widely implemented in the United States, CRAFT is not currently available in Australia.
The current project examined the effectiveness of an online adaption of CRAFT (renamed the Family Empowerment Program – FEP) as a support service for rural Australian CSOs. A parallel group, two-arm, superiority design randomised controlled trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio compared online FEP with a wait-list control. Three outcome measures examined participants’ health and wellbeing before and after completing the program.
The majority of participants were female (92%), with half aged 50-64 (50%) and nearly a third (28.6%) aged 35-49. Most identified as either a parent (41%) or partner/spouse (31%) of the person using substances. Alcohol was the most common substance of concern (57%), followed by non-medical use of methamphetamine (20%) and marijuana/cannabis (15%). Preliminary analysis showed significant reductions in depression and anxiety in CSOs after completing the Family Empowerment Program (final results available June 2025). The findings suggest that allied health professionals implementing FEP can improve the mental health of CSOs impacted by another’s substance use.