Not forgetting the family system of the substance using client

ABSTRACT

Millions of people have a substance use disorder, but it also affects their family members and loved ones who are often overlooked in approaches to treating these disorders. This study is a review of the literature with focus on how a substance use disorder affects family members, approaches to meeting their needs, and improving how to approach meeting their needs. This review is based on 60 scholarly publications covering approximately a decade. While there is some overlap in how substance use disorders affect individual family members, we single out specific family members (e.g., partners, children) to also note singularities of experiences. We also address the family system and culture, formal and informal supports, and psychosocial approaches for helping family members. This review ends with a conceptual model that summarizes our findings and offers direction to social workers and other professionals in substance use treatment for considering and helping their clients’ family members address their own recovery needs. While some of these needs can be met in conjunction with their loved one’s substance use treatment, it is important that family members acknowledge and understand their own need for recovery and address it through channels independent of substance use treatment.

KEYWORDS:

• Family recovery
• addiction
• substance use treatment

Notes

1. Two articles published in 2005 were mistakenly retained. We chose to include them in the discussion

2. Upon reviewing articles, we created another node called “siblings” because the effect of substance use on siblings was discussed in the literature. However, it is not included here because much of it overlaps with what is included.