PAICA - Comprehensive Support Programme for People with Addictive Behaviour (Barcelona)

The Comprehensive Support Programme for people with addictive behaviours is a low-threshold treatment with a therapeutic, educational and community approach. It works from a personalised approach that makes it possible to respond to the particular needs of the people supported.  

This resource is aimed at developing awareness of the problem of addiction, motivation for change, cessation, harm reduction and risk reduction. Its purpose is thus to enable users to maintain and consolidate abstinence, autonomy and social and community integration.  

The programme is aimed at people who are actively using or who have addictive behaviours with or without substances, with special emphasis on young people and women who are actively using. This service receives funding from the Department of Social Rights and Inclusion of the Generalitat de Catalunya  through the ordinary call for grants for social organisations (CONVO).

We offer a programme that is: 

• Flexible: different ways of engaging with the programme, based on demand. 
• Individualised: attention to the particular needs of each person. 
• Community-based: participatory methodologies, promoting active contribution and involvement in the community. 

Objectives: 

• Harm reduction and risk prevention. 
• Fostering motivation for change.  
• Supporting processes of autonomy and social and community inclusion.  

Areas of intervention: 

Activities are offered in three areas of intervention: 

1. Preventive area: focus on reducing the harms and risks present in active use dynamics.
2. Motivation for change area: work on awareness of addictive behaviour, its impacts and the benefits of changing to abstinence.
3. Autonomy promotion area: promoting the acquisition of healthy habits, as well as the development of relational skills. In this regard, the focus is on the social, employment and community sphere as a protective factor and driver of change.

The programme offers different support services for the person and their companions/family members: 

• Social care and advice service 
• Motivation for change and relapse prevention groups 
• Autonomy promotion group 
• Harm and risk prevention group for young people 
• Group for women who are actively using 
• Individual sessions 
• Family guidance groups 
• Monitoring programme and substance use cessation actions