Gathering around the family dinner table every night of the week is a fantasy up to which most families cannot live. Even having a few dinners together per week is difficult for most people to achieve. Parents are working later to make ends meet and to avoid getting laid off, teens are working part time [...]
Addiction within the family can be devastating. Everyone suffers including parents, siblings, extended family members, but perhaps children most of all. The worst scenario for a child is facing the addiction of a parent, but addiction in any family member can be disruptive, upsetting, and life-changing. Being open and discussing addiction, recovery, and all of [...]
It is difficult enough for normal teens to respond to peer pressure and frequent changes in emotions; the journey is even harder for teens with substance abuse problems. When teens with drug abuse problems seek treatment, research indicates therapy that involves the whole family may be the best approach. Called multi-dimensional family therapy, or MDFT, [...]
Alcoholism is a scourge that affects all members of the family, not just the alcoholic. The damage is pernicious and inescapable, and has long-term negative consequences for all concerned. An estimated 27.8 million children in the United States are affected by or exposed to a family alcohol problem – and preliminary research suggests that more [...]
Personality disorders are specific diagnoses that typically indicate severe disturbances across several areas of functioning. These disorders involve disturbances in behavior, personal and social functioning and perception of self, others and the world. Additionally, personality disorders are considered to be chronic and pervasive patterns of coping that, by adulthood, have become inflexible. There is a [...]
Some addicted batterers are sabotaged in substance treatment by their victims because they may be less dangerous when intoxicated. While this is certainly not always the case, and while many batterers are significantly more dangerous when using substances, there are some batterers who become more “sedated” when using. Partners who resist substance treatment for addicted [...]
What is often overlooked or neglected in situations where one family member is undergoing treatment for addiction is the rest of the household. This is a huge mistake, since all the counseling and therapy and good intentions can fly right out the window when the recovering addict returns home to face the same situation. Without [...]