In-Home Continuing Care Services for Substance Use Affected Families

Abstract

The role of in-home work with substance use affected family members has great potential for addressing family and personal issues that are often not well addressed by continuing care interventions that involve limited contact with the family and the impact alcohol and other drug “abuse” has on the family environment. This article reviews the importance of involving the family in the recovery process and offers comparative advantages of an in-home visitation approach for assisting the substance user with maintaining substance use avoidance, reintegrating with the family, and addressing unresolved family issues affecting children and spousal relationships.

• After care
• Continuing care
• Recovery
• Case management
• Resilence
• Risk factors
• Protective factor
• Harm reduction

Resumen

El papel de trabajo en el hogar con familias afectadas por el abuso de substancias tiene la oportunidad de confrontar problemas familiares y personales que con regularidad no son muy bien observados por las intervenciones de cuidado que tienen poco contacto la familia y el impacto que el abuso de alcohol y otras drogas tienen en el ambiente familiar. Este articulo observa la importancia de envolver a la familia en el proceso de recuperación y ofrece la ventaja de visitas en el hogar para asistir a la persona que tiene el problema de abuso de substancias con la abstinencia, reintegrarse a la familia, y confrontando problemas familiares que afectan a los niños y matrimonios y se han dejado sin resolver.

Résumé

Le rôle du travail à domicile avec parents touchés par l'usage des stupéfiants ou d'alcool semble très prometteur pour faire face aux problèmes qui ne sont pas abordés par les interventions des soins continuantes. Celles-ci n'impliquent que très peu de contacte avec la famille et les effets que Palcool et l'usage d'autres stupéfiants produisent sur le foyer familial. Cet article résume l'importance d'incorporer la famille dans le procesus du rétablissment, et demontre aussi les avantages comparatifs d'une approche “visitation à domicile” pour aider au toxicomane de continuer d'eviter les druges ou l'alcool, de s'integrer de nouveau dans le foyer familial, et de faire face aux problèmes antérieurs dans la famille touchant les enfants et les relations avec l'époux/épouse.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kenneth J. Gruber

Kenneth J. Gruber, Ph.D. is the Research and Statistical Services Coordinator for School of Human Environmental Sciences, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Virginia in 1974 with a major in psychology and earned a M.A. (1976) and a Ph.D. (1981) in psychology (concentration in social psychology) from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. His non-university related areas of professional work include evaluation of child and family service programs, development of human services data collection systems, and advocacy for home based intervention programs. He helped Tom Fleetwood develop an in-home substance abuse recovery services program, the Bridges Program, for recovering parents of children at risk of out-of-home placement. His research interests include risk and protective factors relating to adolescents, substance use issues in families, and family environment factors affecting child welfare.

Thomas W. Fleetwood

Tom W. Fleetwood, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., is the Director of Substance Abuse Services and Clinical Supervision for the Methodist Home for Children located in Raleigh North Carolina. He earned a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology in 1975 and a M.S.W. in 1981 from West Virginia University. He has over 10 years of direct in-home service experience working with families at risk and helping families avoid unnecessary out-of-home placement and is an experienced supervisor of family preservation and substance abuse services for families and adolescents. He is an experienced trainer in substance issues and has been a member of a number of local and regional task forces directed at providing services to substance affected families and individuals. With Dr. Ken Gruber, he developed an in-home substance abuse recovery services program, the Bridges Program, for recovering parents of children at risk of out-of-home placement. His professional life-time goal is to participate in and advocate for the continued development of programs and services related to expanding the application of in-home service to substance affected parents, families, and adolescents.