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What may be the impact of a sibling’s substance misuse?

• Family life may be chaotic and unsettling for the person.
• Their needs may be ignored and minimised while their parents try to help the sibling who uses drugs and/or alcohol.
• They may feel deep feelings of resentment, anger and shame. They may feel invisible, unimportant and afraid.
• They may not know how to cope with their feelings. They may self-harm, ‘act out’ or withdraw. They may also get into trouble themselves because they are trying to get some attention.

What SIBS can do to help:

SIBS try to provide one-to-one counselling for young people affected by their brother or sister's substance misuse. Counselling gives someone a safe spacewhere they can talk about their thoughts and feelings, where they will be listened to and understood and can learn helpful ways to cope with their feelings and learn how to manage their problems differently.

If you have a brother or sister who drinks or uses drugs and you're aged 10-18 and living in the Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent area then SIBS is there to help you.

You may not be the person who is drinking or using drugs, but your life may be affected by your siblings behavior. SIBS simply offers someone to listen and to give advice, all changes will be up to you entirely.

You can phone us to refer yourself OR you can be referred by someone you trust such as a youth worker, school nurse, teacher or a friend. Either way it is YOU that we will work with. These are YOUR sessions and it is up to you what you want to talk about. We understand that it can be difficult to talk about your feelings so we will work at your pace.

Confidentiality

Nothing you tell SIBS will be repeated to other people, even if you are under 16. Without your permission, nothing gets told - unless there are extreme circumstances which put you or others at risk.