Michelle Gibson, substance misuse worker, the Freagarrach Project, Stirling, Barnardo's

“I love this job,” says Gibson. “Every day is different and you’re never faced with the same two situations. It keeps me motivated.”

It’s this drive and enthusiasm that makes Gibson good at achieving her goal of helping persistent young offenders kick their addictions.

After studying psychology at university, she went on to work in residential childcare, managing challenging behaviours. But she found this role frustrating because there was no opportunity to address the root causes of behaviour.

“In this job there is,” she says. “Working through the very difficult issues in a young person’s life is very rewarding.”
She cites the example of a 15-year-old girl whom she has been helping. The girl has been drug and alcohol free for three months and is back at school after persistent truancy.

But as well as rewarding, it is also extremely emotionally draining and people who will thrive in this job need to be committed and, at times, have a thick skin.

For instance, Gibson is currently working with a 16-year-old whose antisocial behaviour is wreaking havoc at home. She soon realised that one of the reasons for this was the lack of clear boundaries set by his parents. They, however, simply blamed the situation of on their son being “a nightmare”.

She had to explain their role in his bad behaviour. “You have to be good with people,” she says. “Sometimes you have to be direct and tell them straight. But when you give them advice, you must be sensitive to how they’re feeling too.”

This family-orientated work is becoming an increasingly important feature of Gibson’s remit.

Although her role is fairly autonomous, Gibson says her colleagues are extremely supportive and she is always able to ask for advice on cases when unsure. 

My day

9am: arrive at the office. Spend the first couple of hours catching up with colleagues, doing admin and checking emails.

11am: head out to a local high school in Stirling. Conduct group sessions for 12-18 year olds and individual sessions on drug and alcohol education.

12.30am: grab lunch with the young people mid-session.

1pm: Meet a young person to talk about his substance misuse. Feed him first, then we play pool together while chatting informally.

2.15pm: Meet another young person for an update on how she is managing staying drug and alcohol free.

3.15pm: Host another group session at a project, talking to the young people about issues that impact their addictions, such as sexual health issues.

5pm: go home, unless doing an evening meeting with a young person.