This document discusses the importance of working with families affected by addiction. It notes that for every person with a substance use disorder, at least one other person is seriously impacted. Involving families in treatment can help reduce stress on the family, lower relapse rates, and lead to better outcomes for the addict. While there are some challenges, overall family involvement is beneficial as it increases treatment effectiveness and supports recovery for both the addict and their loved ones. Approaches like social behavior and network therapy aim to strengthen families' support systems and increase accountability.

1. WORKING WITH FAMILIES
-An Overview By Dylan Kerr at Hope Rehab

2. HOW BIG IS THE PROBLEM?
 It is a Global Problem

3. HOW BIG IS THE PROBLEM?
When someone is an addict,
there is always other people
affected
It is estimated that there are approximately 15
million people with drug use disorders globally
and 76 million with alcohol use disorders (Obot,
2005).
If you consider that at least one other person is
seriously affected by someone’s drug and alcohol
using an estimate of just one person seriously
affected in each case suggests a minimum of 91
million affected family members.

4. HOW ARE THEY AFFECTED?
Financially
Physically
Mentally
Substance Abuse
Neglect

5. HAVING AN ADDICT IN THE FAMILY HAS A
UNIQUE SET OF STRESSES:
Addiction causes a “Serious stress” effect on
the family, the same way diseases like Cancer
has on the family.

6. THE UNIQUE STRESS OF ADDICTION IN THE
FAMILY
1. Has the nature of severe stress, harms and
abuse
2. Involves multiple harms to self and family,
including emotional, social, financial, health and
safety
3. Can damage children
4. Worry and concern is constant
5. Negative influences from other addicted people
and anti-social attitudes that encourage the
troubling behaviour
6. there is no guidance on for families on how to
cope
7. Support for the family is needed
8. Professionals who could help are badly informed

7. REASONS TO WORK WITH FAMILIES?
1. Increases knowledge of the problem
2. Reduces stress related health problems for
the family
3. Reduces relapses for the client
4. Improve outcome for the client –
5. making treatment more effective
6. Adds accountability
7. Reduces the impact of addiction on the
children

8. IT SAVES COSTS
 Health Services globally are already very
busy taking care of peoples basic health
needs
 In the UK addiction creates many extra costs
for the health service treating the family
members, such as
 Anti depressants
 Stress related illness
 Social services involvement

9. UK DRUG POLICY 2010 SAYS:
 “Evidence shows that treatment is more
likely to be effective, and recovery to be
sustained, where families, partners and
carers are closely involved.
 We will encourage local areas to
promote a whole family approach to the
delivery of recovery services and to
consider the provision of support
services for families and carers in their
own right.”

10. THE APPROACH:
 Interventions working with the family
promoting treatment for the addict
Examples..

11.  The joint involvement including the addict
and their family in treatment
Examples….

12. CO-DEPENDENCY
 Co-dependency is where the family learns how to
deal with addiction in an unhealthy way to create
some form of balance within a family.

13. DIFFERENT TYPES OF CO-DEPENDENCY
 Co-dependency – Dysfunctional relationship
where a person is supported or maintained in
addiction called enabling
 Dependency – relying on others to meet
their needs

14. HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES TO CO-DEPENDENCY
 Independent – Unattached
 Inter-dependent – Healthy exchange and
support

15. CO-DEPENDENCY
 Theory suggest if the co-dependency cycle is not
broken consequences get worse not better.
 It is more typical for females to have a feature of
co-dependency around addiction, as they
naturally have more of a care giver role.

16. WHERE DOES THE SOLUTION LIE?
1. Intervention
2. Family feedback
3. Al-Anon
4. Family counselling/psychology
5. SBNT
6. Family Social mapping
7. Genaology – Looking at the family tree
8. Social media – facebook, online support
groups, forums,
9. Tough love

17. SBNT – SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND NETWORK
THERAPY
 Social behaviour and network therapy was
developed in the England
 Dylan Kerr worked with Professor Alex
Copello in collecting information and
conducting interventions around
Northamptonshire in UK

18. FIRST INTERVENTION IN SBNT
Name
Family
member
Friends
Wife /
Husband

19. 5 STEP MODEL
Listen non-judgementally to the concerns
of the family member
Provide information – This focuses on the
family member
Discuss ways of responding
Explore sources of support – Meetings,
al-anon, doctors, other family members
Arrange further help if needed

20. REVIEW SOCIAL NETWORKS
People need to review what
their social networks are like
E.g. Friends
Some relationships may be
unhelpful

21. ACCOUNTABILITY
 Healthy limit, being accountable to others is
important
 Those who show accountability are less likely
to relapse back on to their drugs

22. WHO IS IN THE FAMILY?
 Family
 Nuclear
 Origin
 Extended
 Immediate
 Co-habiting
 Using friends
 Friends
 Friends of friends
 Acquaintances
 Work Colleagues
 Professionals

23. TECHNIQUES TO BROADEN THE NETWORK
 Who have you seen/spoken to in the last
week? (day-by-day)
 People you knew ‘before drugs’
 Who is in your phone?
 If I asked your mum/partner/brother, who
would they add to the diagram?

24. AL-ANON
Is the oldest running family support network in
the world for addicts (advert from 1968)

25. PROBLEMS FROM FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
1. Family members don’t want to get involved
2. Privacy issues
3. Takes more time and logistic problems
4. People delivering service may lack of
experience of working with more than one
person
5. Danger of conflict or Family member taking
over control
6. Difficulties within the family

26. OVERALL FAMILY INVOLVEMENT IS A
BENEFIT
 “The family programme (makes) a clinically
significant contribution to the psychological
well-being of this often neglected group.”
Georgakis et al (1998) Forgotten families on
Al-Anon.