Since opening Harper House in November 2022 we’ve been keen to develop the service into a centre for learning about the impact of substance use on the whole family. Harper House in Scotland builds on the work we started in England through the National Specialist Family Service in Sheffield.
I was keen to kick-start that process by hosting a conference to bring together research, practice, and lived experience to explore holistic, trauma-informed, and evidence-based approaches to supporting families, particularly parents with substance use issues, within family-centred residential services.
We held the conference in April and it included evaluative findings, comparative international perspectives, and reflections from mothers and specialist practitioners.
We’ll be developing further work around the key themes of the conference over the next few years.
Some of the key themes that emerged were the description of a fragmented system that is stacked against mothers who use or have used substances. Child removal was likened to a bereavement, but with little or no formal grief support offered to mothers. The expectations of mothers were unclear or unachievable. In summary, mothers seemed to be set up to fail.
The conference heard from Dr. Claire Smiles about the Lived Experience of mothers. Common themes of child loss through the care system were loss, shame, fear of surveillance, need for emotional safety, and lack of holistic support. Mothers express a deep value placed on motherhood and desire to be better parents than their own were.
Most notable perhaps, was the experience of loss of identity in child removal.
We also heard from Dr. Miriam Boeri who has been developing an international Comparison between Scotland and New Jersey.We were interested to learn that Scotland offers more comprehensive services but with more intense surveillance. Whilst New Jersey provides less support but also less procedural intrusion.However, common to this research and our wider discussion mothers in both settings report stigma, trust issues, and a lack of clear expectations in child protection systems.
To address this lack of trust in the system Edinburgh Council have developed a Specialist Support Pathways - PrePare. The PrePare programme provides integrated perinatal support for mothers using substances. Its non-judgemental approach build trust with mothers in order to support mothers to stay with their children in a safe environment.
We were also keen to hear Dr. Lynda Russell, who presented on the topic of Mothers with Experience of Addiction, Child Removal and Support Services
Dr. Russell’s research focuses on the lived experience of mothers with substance use issues who have had one or more children removed from their care. The work draws from routine data, service staff input, and in-depth interviews with 12 mothers, revealing complex, emotionally charged themes that have deep implications for practice and policy.
In future blogs we’ll define the recommendations that emerge from this conference and our work across the UK supporting families.
