ABSTRACT
Young people with various needs come into contact with a variety of professionals, including teachers, doctors and nurses. When teenagers struggle, even more professionals can become involved, including social workers, counsellors, psychologists, speech and language therapists and education welfare staff. Therefore, many young people who are using substances will have a variety of professionals and agencies involved in their care. It may be a teacher who fi rst begins to wonder if a young person’s uncharacteristic or unacceptable behaviour is due to substance use. Or it may be a professional working in a family support programme who identifi es the need to refer a young person to a specialist substance misuse treatment service. At whatever stage concerns are noticed, it is likely that there will be several adults around the teenager who share those concerns.
