Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it is working to help ensure that victims of trauma, either physical or mental, do not turn to illicit substance use.
Evidence confirms that substance use can be a potential consequence for those of us who have experienced high levels of trauma and adversity in our lives.
The Scottish Government’s ambition, shared with COSLA, is for anyone who has been affected by trauma to be supported by the trauma-informed and responsive support, care and services they need. These are services built on safe, trusted relationships, which foster recovery, prevent re-traumatisation and help reduce the risk that individuals and/or their families might turn to substance use to cope.
Since 2018, the Scottish Government has invested over £12 million in the National Trauma Transformation Programme (NTTP). The NTTP aims to support all sectors of the workforce, to understand how to adapt the way they work to be trauma-informed. This includes understanding how substances can be a coping strategy for the impact of trauma and embedding the principles of choice, collaboration, empowerment, safety and trust to help improve the life outcomes of those affected.