A guide to therapy with families with a chemically dependent parent.

Abstract

Chemical dependency plays a significant role in a majority of family problems. This article details an intervention for the family with a chemically dependent adult. Since families frequently resist therapy, strategies are detailed that have been successful in engaging them in the therapeutic process and moving toward constructive changes in their relationships with each other as well as in each individual member's functioning.Many researchers and practitioners now recognize the impact of chemical abuse on those close to the abuser. Although Alcoholics Anonymous noted this phenomena more than fifty years ago, it was not until the 1960s that professionals in treatment for alcoholism began to consider the families of alcoholics. Vernon Johnson (1973, 1986), one of the family treatment pioneers in Minnesota, began to deal with families out of a growing sense of frustration with individuals who completed inpatient treatment for alcoholism but could not seem to maintain their sobriety once they returned home. Hazelden (a private treatment center for chemical dependency in Minnesota) hired a social worker in 1966 to develop formalized programming for families. St. Mary's Hospital in Minneapolis, as part of their inpatient alcoholism treatment program, began insisting that family members come into treatment. Family focus, however, was by no means a universal movement among other chemical-dependency treatment pro-

Towards an Integrated Approach to a Family Intervention for Co‐occurring Substance Abuse and Schizophrenia

“…Roles and relationships within the family unit lack balance. One or more members overfunction to compensate for those members who are underfunctioning (Boyer, 1989). 3.…”

“…3. Families lack clear intergenerational boundaries (Boyer, 1989;Todd and Selekman, 1990). Mothers of substance abusers are often overinvolved and overprotective whereas fathers commonly assume a distant role with minimal involvement (Glynn and Haenlein, 1988;Stanton, 1979;Textor, 1987).…”

Mulheres dependentes de álcool: levantamento transgeracional do genograma familiar

“…O álcool parece ser um tema que se repete em diferentes gerações nas famílias que apresentam este problema (Silva, Formigoni, 1999 Um fenômeno conhecido nas famílias de alcoolistas são as transições entre os momentos de "bebedeira" e os momentos "secos". Boyer (1989) descreve bem este ciclo e afirma que, quando o membro alcoolista bebe, as interações familiares tendem a ser intensas e caóticas, mas existe contato entre os membros. Nas fases "secas" as pessoas ficam geralmente cautelosas, desconfiadas, esperando a próxima etapa da "bebedeira".…”