Rachel, 17, masked the pain of her parent’s divorce and being sexually abused by a family friend first by drinking, then by using cannabis and eventually turning to heroin. Her drug use, made worse by bi-polar disorder, meant Rachel never really dealt with her emotional issues. Instead her life unravelled. Self harm, screaming fights with family, days and nights spent on the streets…
| It was only when Rachel and her family got help through Odyssey House Victoria’s Family Eclipse Program that things slowly began to improve. |
The individual and family counselling sessions Rachel, her parents and siblings undertook helped reduce stress, improve family communication and generally reduce the negative influence of mental health and drug abuse.
Today things are better. Rachel and her Mum can talk now without yelling and Rachel goes to school most days. She is working towards being totally drug free and is better managing her mental health symptoms.
Rachel says, “My goal is to be able to depend on myself and my Mum rather than be dependent on drugs.” She knows she has to work at it. And it’s hard. But with the care and support of the Family Eclipse Program, Rachel is starting to believe things will be okay.
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