Ms Sarah McGillivary:

Yes. We peel away the layers of what people are presenting with. It is important to reiterate that, if you arrive at a service and the person who greets you at the door is not trained, your first thought might be about how he or she will manage the issue. It is unnatural to people who do not work in these services but we do not look at behaviours. For example, I do not see a behaviour when engaging with an individual. I see an individual who is hurt, needs help, has probably never been treated as a person and has always been the person who smoked cannabis because it made his or her life easy. It is never really about the cannabis, cocaine, crack or whatever the drug might be. We in the services use the term "drug of choice". This is controversial for me. Does it mean there is a preference to drug use or is it just whatever drug will allow someone to escape the reality of everyday life? My understanding of what is a drug of choice is that it is not about the drug, but about what can get people away from themselves and what can disassociate them from the unpleasantness or discomfort of their pasts or presents.

When considering mental health issues, it is important that we also consider drug trends. If the two are interrelated, we need to understand what the drug is, its chemical effects and physical presentation, and the person's diagnostic mental health issue. To treat both sides effectively, we need a comprehensive understanding of them and how they are correlated.

Speaking from the perspective of our service, and particularly in light of the recent dual diagnosis work a group in Chrysalis has been doing, these people have usually never had opportunities. We know what it is like to be around like-minded people - it is empowering to be with our peers. There is nothing worse than sitting in a room and not understanding or feeling part of or connected to something. When we are around like-minded people, we feel connected, motivated, empowered and like we have something to give. We feel valued and appreciated for something we have gone through. Often, the people services encounter who are suffering the duality of mental health issues and addiction feel alone.

Loneliness and isolation are detrimental to the progress of someone's treatment plan. We need to see what people are presenting with for what it is. I cannot tell some of the clients accessing our services that I understand or know how they feel, because I do not. That is the reality. However, I can certainly sit and listen to them. That is what people are reaching for. They are not reaching for specialised programmes, but for person-centred care. The terms "person-centred care" and "wraparound services" are used a great deal, but what do they mean?