Bedfordshire Young People’s Service

Substance misuse means problematic drinking or drug use. When we say ‘affected’ by substance misuse, we mean that we work with young people who are drinking or using drugs themselves OR who have a family member who drinks or uses drugs.

We work with everyone in different ways based on their needs, interests and aspirations. We get to know you as a person and understand your situation, and make a plan with you about how we can help. Support might be offered on a 1:1 basis, between you and a specific Aquarius support worker, or it might be in a group session.

The kinds of support we might offer you includes:

• Information and advice about drinking and drug use
• A drop-in service
• 1:1 advice and interventions for children and young people using or at risking of using substances
• Structured, evidence-based psychological and psychosocial interventions and support
• Group work

Our interventions – which means the programme of support we offer you – are structured and evidence-based. The approach we use to support is based in cognitive behavioural techniques – you can read more about what that actually means here.

You can refer yourself by emailing ypbedfordshire@aquarius.org.uk or by having a professional who works with you fill out our referral form and send it back to us.