In Baden-Württemberg, 250,000 children live in families with an addicted parent. These mothers and fathers are often also affected by other mental illnesses. It is a great challenge for them to remain abstinent and at the same time adequately fulfil their role as parents. Children from these families have poorer social participation and educational opportunities as well as a significantly higher risk of developing a mental illness or an addiction disorder themselves in the course of their lives.
App to accompany therapy for parents with addiction problems
This is where the ELMA 2.0 project comes in and aims to improve the abstinence ability and parenting skills of addicted parents. To this end, an app is to be developed that can complement existing addiction therapy services in clinics and addiction counselling centres in Baden-Württemberg. With the help of the app, those affected should be able to integrate the contents learned in addiction therapy into their everyday lives more easily.
ELMA 2.0 is being developed by the Central Institute of Mental Health (ZI) in Mannheim together with the Psychiatric Centre North Baden (PZN) in Wiesloch. The project started at the beginning of May. It is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation. The app is to be made available to parents free of charge during their treatment in the clinics and addiction counselling centres participating in the project throughout Baden-Württemberg.
"Treatment is more effective if patients also engage with therapy content between sessions and apply it in their everyday lives. However, addicted parents often find it difficult to work on their tasks on paper. In addition, it is often difficult to implement what they have learned in their stressful everyday family life. An app on your own smartphone can make this easier," says PD Dr. Anne Koopmann, senior physician at the Clinic for Dependent Behaviour and Addiction Medicine at the ZI and head of the ELMA 2.0 project.
Information and guidance for people affected by addiction
In the information section of the app, those affected will find audio and video contributions on how to better deal with their addiction disease as well as on self-care and parenting topics. This includes, for example, how to prepare a snack for the break or relaxation exercises together with the child. In order to reduce addictive behaviour in the long term, instructions with concrete strategies for reducing addictive cravings are planned in the app. In addition, parents are guided to regularly reflect on their addictive cravings, their feelings and the connection with stresses and challenges in everyday parenting via an interactive diary function.
Digital application facilitates access
The addiction support system in Germany basically provides those affected with good access to therapy programmes throughout the country. However, parents with addiction problems often experience access to these services as difficult and are unable to take advantage of them. They lack the social and/or family support to look after their children during treatment.
"The ELMA 2.0 app can close an important gap in care, as it is easily compatible with everyday family life. Those affected can use it without time restrictions between treatment appointments. It is also available to structurally weaker and rural regions without much effort," says Tobias Link, head physician of the Clinic for Addiction Therapy and Withdrawal at the North Baden Psychiatric Centre and co-leader of the ELMA 2.0 project.
For addicted parents with a migration background or refugees from crisis areas, access to treatment services is also made more difficult by the fact that there are hardly any therapy services in their native language. Therefore, the contents of the app will be offered in different languages - initially German, English, French, Ukrainian, Russian, Turkish and Polish.
Relatives can help shape the app
The app will also offer support for relatives in an area specially designed for them. Both children and adult relatives receive information and tips on how to deal with the disease. They also get the opportunity to design motivational aids. The positive reinforcement from the social environment helps to reduce the consumption of addictive substances.
ELMA 2.0 - A collaborative project
ELMA 2.0 is being developed by the Feuerlein Centre for Translational Addiction Medicine (Feuerlein-CTS). The Feuerlein Centre is a cooperation between the Clinic for Dependent Behaviour and Addiction Medicine of the ZI and the Clinic for Addiction Therapy and Withdrawal of the Psychiatric Centre Nordbaden in Wiesloch. The ELMA 2.0 app is to be used at all addiction clinics of the Baden-Württemberg Centres for Psychiatry (ZfP), the addiction counselling centres and rehabilitation clinics of the Baden-Württemberg State Association for Prevention and Rehabilitation (bwlv) and the AGJ-Fachverband für Prävention und Rehabilitation in der Erzdiözese Freiburg e.V..