Alcohol and other drug services

Residential Health Treatment Program

Toora’s Residential Health Treatment Program, Lesley’s Place, assists women, non-binary and other feminine-identifying people aged 18 or older, with or without accompanying children, who are impacted by drug and/or alcohol dependencies. Clients are provided with accommodation and are required to enter having undergone a period of abstinence from substances or having undergone withdrawal.

Withdrawal can occur within a supervised inpatient setting or community-based setting. All clients will be screened and need to provide a negative drug/alcohol result on entry. Women on pharmacotherapies are accepted into the program.

What can Toora’s residential health treatment program help with?

• Supported and safe accommodation
• Case management and treatment planning
• Relapse prevention
• Specialist alcohol and drug counselling
• Access to our structured Day Program
• Detox information and education sessions
• Assistance with smoking cessation
• Access to external programs such as and Hepatitis Prevention Program and Sexual health Screening programs
• Advocacy and close liaison with partner services such as Community Mental Health, GPs and ACT Housing
• Assistance regaining custody of their children

Cost

Rent for our accommodation is set as per Toora’s Housing Factsheet. Women in our accommodation are eligible for Rent Assistance from Centrelink. Case management services are free.

Contact

You can self-refer for the Residential Health Treatment Program by contacting Toora on (02) 6122 7000 or intake@toora.org.au.

 FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

Toora Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Service provides short-term and longer-term specialist AOD treatment and support in shared residential settings. All residential programs operate in a safe, friendly and welcoming home to assist our clients to begin or continue with their recovery plan.

Our programs aim to address issues underlying our clients’ drug use and equip them with the tools and positive life-skills they need to maintain abstinence before returning to the wider community.

Lesley’s Place is a short-stay 12-week program offering support to women at the beginning of their recovery who have completed a substance withdrawal. Marzenna House offers longer-term support to women who have established recovery for at least three months. The maximum stay with Marzenna House is 12 months.

All clients receive case management and are allocated their own AOD specialist case coordinator to develop goals and an individual treatment plan.

We offer a range of interventions and educational groups which are based on mutual self-help and peer support. Clients in the Marzenna House program may act as “Recovery Champions” who are further on in their recovery journey and are able to guide other clients.

Our specialist AOD case coordinators have been professionally trained in all areas relevant to the AOD sector, and in line with the standards in the ACT Alcohol and Other Drug Qualifications Strategy.

Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Day Program

Toora’s AOD Day Program assists women, non-binary and other feminine-identifying people aged 18 or older, living in stable accommodation seeking intensive support to maintain abstinence from alcohol and/or other drug use. Participants must commit to attending the Day Program for the full eight weeks.

Those with babies under the age of 12 months can bring them along to the program with approval of the Program Coordinator.

What can Toora’s Day Program help with?

• Information on how alcohol and other drugs affect the body and mind
• Assistance with preparing to cut down or stop using alcohol and other drugs
• Identifying triggers for AOD use to assist with Relapse Prevention
• Motivational techniques
• Information on healthy body image
• Information on effective communication and conflict resolution
• Knowledge on how to build nourishing relationships
• Ways to implement mindfulness in everyday life
• Exploring family of origin (the family you grew up)
• Parenting techniques and support

Cost

The AOD Day Program is free. Participants will be required to bring their own lunch. Light refreshments are provided.

Contact

You can self-refer by contacting Toora directly on (02) 6122 7000 or emailing intake@toora.org.au.

 FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

The AOD Day Program is an evidence-based health treatment program for women to help them learn the skills they need to live a full and meaningful life free from alcohol and other drugs. It is an eight-week group program, running three days a week at the premises of Toora AOD Services in Civic ACT.

Clients are allocated their own case coordinator to develop their individual treatment plan and to make sure they receive a full wrap around service of supports.

The AOD Day Program provides a safe, positive and respectful environment for our clients to build relationships with one another in order to learn from each other and explore personal issues that led to their misuse of alcohol and other drugs. It allows women to challenge destructive behaviours, to trust and build on their strengths, develop new skills, and make positive choices for the future.

External agencies also attend our AOD Day Program to deliver information and education sessions on more topics.

Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Counselling

Toora’s alcohol and other drug counselling service is available to women, non-binary and other feminine-identifying people aged 18 or older who are impacted by drug and/or alcohol dependencies. Counselling is provided by qualified and registered professionals. Sessions run for one hour and are offered in 12-week packages. Both current Toora service users and new clients are welcome. 

What can Toora’s alcohol and other drug counselling help with?

• Support with changing behaviours and habits
• Develop coping strategies
• Relapse prevention
• Improved and maintained motivation
• Goal setting

Cost 

Counselling packages up to 12 weeks are free. Further appointments are negotiable based on the needs of our clients. 

Cancellations  

We require 24 hours’ notice for cancellations to ensure you receive your full treatment package. If notice is not given, then the session will be deducted from your agreed number of sessions. 

Contact 

To make an appointment, contact the Toora intake team on (02) 6122 7000 or email intake@toora.org.au. The team will assess your suitability for counselling. Sessions are held in Civic, Canberra with flexible appointment times and outreach visits (we come to you) available.

 FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

The Counselling Service offers specialist alcohol and other drug (AOD) counselling to women in individual and group settings.  Support is provided to women with complex issues who have experienced the impact of their own AOD use, past or present traumas such as domestic, family and sexual violence and / or are experiencing related mental health issues.

In line with Toora’s Practice Framework, the counselling service works within a strengths‐based, person-centred framework that is underpinned by trauma informed care.

Our counsellors use a wide range of evidence-based treatment approaches and therapeutic interventions such as motivational interviewing, solution focused therapy and cognitive behavioural therapies. Together, the client and counsellor explore goals and coping strategies to work through a variety of issues linked to their addictions, and to help clients to improve and maintain motivation, increase self-awareness, change behaviours, and develop strategies for emotional coping and for relapse prevention.

Alcohol and Other Drug Outreach Program

Toora’s Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Outreach program provides participants with the tools and techniques to support life changes and improved outcomes. Support is offered over the phone, in face-to-face meetings or in group work, depending on the client’s needs. Clients will be allocated their own AOD specialist Case Coordinator who will work with them to build a tailored treatment plan. This program is open to women, non-binary and other feminine-identifying people aged 18 or older who are impacted by drug and/or alcohol dependencies.

Toora’s AOD Outreach Program is also available to clients who have completed a residential program with Toora and would like to continue their case management support.

What can Toora’s AOD Outreach Program help with?

• Relapse prevention groups including SMART Recovery Program, the Methamphetamine Program and Naloxone training
• Detox information sessions
• Pathways from Prison Program for clients in the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC)
• Assistance with smoking cessation
• Drug and alcohol specialist counselling
• Referrals onto other Toora and Canberra community services

Cost

The Outreach program is free.

Contact

You can self-refer for the Outreach Program by contacting Toora directly on (02) 6122 7000 or emailing intake@toora.org.au.

 FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

The AOD Service Outreach Program is a community outreach health service for women who have substance use issues. The Outreach Program gives our clients access to a selection of early and brief interventions and provides continuity of care to our clients.

Our team provides specialist AOD pre-and post-outreach treatment supports in flexible settings (phone, face to face meetings or group work) dependent on each client’s need. Our dedicated team also visit facilities such as the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) and detox units.

As part of the Outreach Program, clients are allocated their own AOD specialist case coordinator to develop their personal goals and an individual treatment plan.

In addition, our post-treatment Outreach Program offers clients an additional eight weeks to continue their case management support service with their case worker after finishing one of our residential programs.