Just a Thought, in partnership with Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand), has launched Aotearoa's first free, fully-online treatment courses designed to support New Zealanders experiencing harm from alcohol or drugs.

With increasing wait-times and mounting pressure on specialist services, these innovative courses aim to provide immediate access to support for thousands of New Zealanders who might otherwise face barriers to treatment and support, while helping to reduce strain on services.

"The courses are designed to help empower people to better understand and work through challenges of substance harm whilst building the courage to ask for help from whānau and services available to them within the community,"

-Just a Thought Clinical Lead and CBT Therapist, Anna Elders.

Despite an increasing awareness of substance harm in Aotearoa, stigma remains one of the biggest barriers preventing people from seeking help," Anna continues. "Digital tools like these courses can make a significant difference by providing a confidential, safe space for people to reflect and learn – whatever their level of struggle, type of substance, or stage of the journey they're on."

The three courses support tāngata whai ora at different stages they may be at with substance use – whether they're thinking about making changes, ready to take action, or seeking support after a lapse or relapse. Each course offers highly tailored, practical support that's grounded in Lived Experience.

Each course features real stories from real people who've experienced substance harm, change, and recovery.

"In order to build something effective we knew we needed Lived Experience voices," says Anna. "We soon realised it was the stories from our Lived Experience whānau that held the most therapeutic value and so we decided to build our courses around them.""

Representation of Lived Experience stories within addiction tools and resources is important," says Jessica Apanui, Principal Advisor of Lived Experience Addictions at Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand), Programme Owner of Mana over Meth Kura Kaupapa and one of the Mātau ā-wheako (Lived Experience) experts featured in the courses.

"When people see themselves in someone else's journey, they can feel a sense of hope that change is possible."

The approach Just a Thought have taken to include our stories and expertise ensures people coming to the courses have someone with lived experience to connect to – even if it's only through a digital experience. This might allow people to feel safer and experience less self-stigma, helping them to better engage with the content of the courses and take that next step forward to seek help from other services and people around them," says Jess.

The accessibility of these courses extends beyond individuals experiencing substance harm, Anna explains. "We hope that our health workforce across different services can use the courses to support their work and reach people sooner who may otherwise be waiting or unable to access help."

To find out more about the courses and to sign up, visit justathought.co.nz/drugandalcohol