Familial Responses to Alcohol Problems

Effective interventions for alcohol problems that devastate families

An individual’s alcohol abuse can devastate the rest of his or her family in various ways. Familial Responses to Alcohol Problems explores the latest research and state-of-the-art programs that provide effective strategies for prevention and treatment. Experts in the fields of alcohol and families discuss the most current studies, innovative programs, and practical therapy approaches that focus on the goal of bringing alcoholic individuals into recovery and mending the psychological impact on other family members. This single volume provides specific guides and evidence-based best practices, making it invaluable to any professional providing therapy or counseling to families experiencing the issues and challenges involved in recovery.

Drawing upon the perspectives from family systems theory, Familial Responses to Alcohol Problems reviews the current literature, research programs, and therapy approaches to family response to alcohol. This comprehensive text discusses the topic from various points in the lifespan, including childhood, adolescence and youth, and older age. Discussions include examining situations when parents have the disease that impacts their children and other relatives, parents interacting with children to prevent or reduce a child’s involvement with alcohol, attempting to involve a family member in seeking help with alcoholism, children intervening in a parent’s alcohol abuse, couples who enter into recovery and deal with subsequent issues stemming from that misuse, co-occurrence of other disorders, and recovery that includes attention to spiritual development.

Topics discussed in Familial Responses to Alcohol Problems include:

• the Michigan Longitudinal Study

• insight into the effect alcohol abuse in the family has on three developmental pathways of children

• three researched-based approaches to treating adolescent alcohol misuse in a family

• an overview describing the “invisible epidemic” of alcohol abuse by older family members

• three stages families encounter as they advance in recovery

• bringing a family member into treatment

• the impact of family recovery on members

• a research-based approach to bring the individual with the alcohol problem into contact with professionals

• evolving issues in recovery process, including couple identity, family origin issues, couple interdependence

• issues in four common comorbidity diagnoses with alcohol problems

• how and when spiritual issues may be used in family recovery

Familial Responses to Alcohol Problems is a timely single resource presenting up-to-date research and therapy approaches, making this text important reading for educators, therapists, addictions counselors, and graduate students.