Adolescent drug and alcohol service (CICADA Centre NSW)

Contact

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead:

Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick:

About our service

The Adolescent service is part of The CICADA Centre NSW. We provide support to young people aged under 17, who are looking for help with their substance use. 

Our service runs clinics at both The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick. We also offer an outreach service at La Perouse Community Centre for Aboriginal young people.

Our team includes:

  • Paediatricians
  • Clinical Nurse Consultants
  • Clinical Psychologists
  • Senior Social Workers
  • Speech Pathologist
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Aboriginal Care Navigators

Adolescent service referrals

Who is eligible?

We accept referrals for adolescents under the age of 17 years old, who are currently using substances.

Making a referral

We accept referrals from young people, parents and carers, and other health professionals including GPs and paediatricians. 

Self referrals:

If you are making a referral for yourself or your young person, give us a call and we can talk to you about eligibiliy, or tell you about other more suitable services. If our service is the right fit, we can book in an appointment and talk you through the process of getting a GP referral.

Health professionals: 

If you are a paediatrician, GP or other organisation making a referral, please use Consultmed to submit the referral. The Consultmed platform allows health professionals to send e-referrals to us securely.   

Track your referral

We’ll get in touch with the referring doctor once we have discussed your referral. We may give you a call to ask for some more information. 

If we are the right service for you, we will make an appointment to meet you in person. We will suggest some other options if there’s a service that would better meet your needs. 

Consultmed referrals can be tracked through the platform. Once the referral has been accepted, we will contact the family directly to complete an intake and offer an initial assessment. If the referral is rejected, we will let you know via Consultmed. 

Need support?

If you need help or have questions about the referral and appointment process, please contact us on (02) 7825 2446 or 0427 516 617 (Westmead) or 0438 927 795 (Randwick). 

If you have any questions about Consultmed or require technical support, you can contact helpdesk@consultmed.co 

Information for young people

Are you worried about your drug use? 

Are you thinking about cutting down your use but not sure where to start? 

Do you have questions about the substances you use and want to learn more?

What does the CICADA Adolescent Service do?

At the Adolescent Service you can access:

  1. Drug and alcohol counselling including helping to identify triggers and patterns for using and setting goals and create plans to safety reduce your use. You can also learn strategies to manage emotions and cravings when cutting down. 
  2. Medical support including a comprehensive medical and developmental assessment, withdrawal management and monitoring and medication reviews. 
  3. Mental health support to manage existing mental health symptoms that might be contributing to substance use or help linking you in with appropriate mental health services.
  4. Information around substances and how to use substances more safely - we call this harm minimisation strategies. 
  5. Support for your parents and carers including running Tuning into Teens groups and providing family therapy.
  6. Culturally safe and supportive care for Aboriginal young people directly at our La Perouse Outreach clinic. 

What if I’m not ready to quit?

That’s okay! We are here to help meet you where you are at. For some young people that means quitting, while for others that means reducing their use gradually or working out ways to use more safely. 

We are a voluntary service, which means we will only work with you if you want to, and you can stop coming at any time. 

What to expect at your initial appointment

It is really helpful to bring a caregiver, parent or other support to the appointment so that they can also know how best to help you. You can also bring along any other assessments you’ve had done. 

The appointment may be held in one of the following spaces:

  1. CAYAH space at Westmead Hospital, Block E, Hawkesbury Road, Westmead 
  2. Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick - Level 7, The Bright Alliance, Corner of High and Avoca Street, Randwick 
  3. La Perouse Aboriginal Community Health Centre (Wednesdays only), 1 Elaroo Ave, Phillip Bay 

Our first appointment runs for 90 minutes. Don’t worry if you need to finish earlier. We understand it can be a long appointment and we do ask you lots of questions in the first session. The first session is all about us getting to know you and your story to understand what you are looking for support with.  

When you arrive, check in with our friendly reception team and then take a seat in the waiting room. We will meet you in the waiting room. Usually, you will meet the doctor and a nurse, social worker and/or psychologist. We will talk all together and then we might spend some time with just the adolescent.  

At the end of the initial assessment, we will all discuss together what we think is a good plan moving forward. It’s then up to you how often we see you! We will also work with any existing services that you get support from including mental health supports or school. 

Key support organisations and resources

Information for parents and carers

What does the CICADA Adolescent Service do?

At the Adolescent Service your adolescent can access:

  1. Drug and alcohol counselling including helping to identify triggers and patterns for using and setting goals and create plans to safety reduce use. Your adolescent can also learn strategies to manage emotions and cravings when cutting down. 
  2. Medical support including a comprehensive medical and developmental assessment, withdrawal management and monitoring and medication reviews. 
  3. Mental health support to manage existing mental health symptoms that might be contributing to substance use or help linking you in with appropriate mental health services.
  4. Information around substances and how to reduce risks when using substances
  5. Parental/carer support including information about substance use, 1 on 1 parenting intervention. running tuning into teens groups and providing family therapy.
  6. Culturally safe and supportive care for Aboriginal young people directly at our La Perouse Outreach clinic. 

What if my adolescent doesn’t want to reduce their use?

We understand that adolescents aren’t always feeling ready or willing to change their substance use. Here at CICADA, we are a voluntary service, which means that we don’t force or mandate anyone to engage in our intervention. 

When someone isn’t feeling ready to quit, they are still welcome to come in and learn about the substances they may be using and ways to reduce risks when using. 

What to expect at your initial appointment

It is really helpful for a parent/caregiver to be present at the first appointment to provide information regarding their early life. It is also helpful to bring along any other assessments the young person has had done.

The appointment may be held in one of the following spaces [ have maps or instructions included]:

  1. CAYAH space at Westmead Hospital, Block E, Hawkesbury Road, Westmead:
  2. Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick - Level 7, The Bright Alliance, Corner of High and Avoca Street, Randwick 
  3. La Perouse Aboriginal Community Health Centre (Wednesdays only), 1 Elaroo Ave, Phillip Bay 

Our first appointment runs for approximately 90 minutes but can be shortened if needed. We understand it can be a long appointment and we do ask you lots of questions in the first session. The purpose of the first session is to get to know your family’s story and understand what help you are looking for. 

When you arrive, check in with our friendly reception team and then take a seat in the waiting room. We will meet you in the waiting room. Usually, you will meet the doctor and a nurse, social worker and/or psychologist. We will talk all together and then we might spend some time with just the adolescent. 

At the end of the initial assessment, we will all discuss together what we think is a good plan moving forward. We will also work with any existing services that you get support from including mental health supports or school. 

Key support organisations and resources

Information for professionals

What does the CICADA Adolescent Service do?

At the Adolescent Service, adolescents can access:

  1. Drug and alcohol counselling including helping to identify triggers and patterns for using and setting goals and create plans to safety reduce use. Your adolescent can also learn strategies to manage emotions and cravings when cutting down. 
  2. Medical support including a comprehensive medical and developmental assessment, withdrawal management and monitoring and medication reviews. 
  3. Mental health support to manage existing mental health symptoms that might be contributing to substance use or help linking you in with appropriate mental health services.
  4. Information around substances and how to reduce risks when using substances
  5. Parental/carer support including information about substance use, 1 on 1 parenting intervention. running tuning into teens groups and providing family therapy.
  6. Culturally safe and supportive care for Aboriginal young people What if the adolescent doesn’t want to reduce their use?

We understand that adolescents aren’t always feeling ready or willing to change their substance use. Here at CICADA, we are a voluntary service, which means that we don’t force or mandate anyone to engage in our intervention. 

When someone isn’t feeling ready to quit, they are still welcome to come in and learn about the substances they may be using and ways to reduce risks when using or talk about other health concerns.

Key support organisations and resources

 

Support for Aboriginal young people and families

We strive to promote and support the delivery of culturally safe and accessible care to Aboriginal adolescents and families attending the CICADA Adolescent service. 

As part of our team, we have two Aboriginal Care Navigators, Josh, a proud Wiradjuri man, and Lauren, a proud Bundjalung women. Josh and Lauren can walk alongside your journey with CICADA, helping to: 

  1. Provide support at appointments and be a friendly face to have a yarn with! 
  2. Support you in talking with and providing information to the clinical team 
  3. Advocate for cultural needs in terms of appointments, assessment and recommendations for care 
  4. Engage young people with outreach in community 
  5. Connect families with local Aboriginal services

Our CICADA Randwick Adolescent Service also runs a Wednesday clinic at the La Perouse Community Centre. Here, Josh and Lauren, along with CICADA team, provide flexible support to Aboriginal young people in the La Perouse community.