The Alcoholic Family in Recovery: A Developmental Model

Great book from a chemical perspective. If you are a counselor and view addiction from a chemical perspective, you would love this book.

As a student working toward my MS in Counseling, I happened upon this book when writing a paper for a class. I was intrigued by the treatment approach taken by this author. Unlike many treatment programs which attempt to plug the holes and make families better, this approach stresses the absolute need for a total collapse of the family system and, indeed, finds it crucial to recovery of both individuals and families. It is within this collapse that the adults turn their attention to their own development and begin the process of individual recovery. This new developmental process takes years, not days or months, and ultimately enables lasting, in-depth change within the family. I highly recommend this book for chemical dependency counselors or family therapists who find themselves keenly frustrated by the low recovery success rates among alcoholics and their families. This book is well on its way to becoming a benchmark for alcoholic treatment.

Stephanie Brown, a professional treasure in both the fields of psychotherapy and addiction, has done it again. This thoughful and compassionate volume captures where the field of alcoholism is going. AA, Al-Anon and other 12-step programs have long recognized that addiction is a family "disease" and that families suffering from it require approaches that honor their collective predicament while taking the time to understand the unique struggles that indivdual members face. Altough there have been other attempts--good ones--by therapists to bring a family systems perspective to alcohol and drug problems all have put their theories of helping before the voices of the people their trying to help. This book is the exception. Brown and her colleague Virginia Lewis accomplish this by inviting readers to ignore conventional boundaries that limit conversation and innovation, while challenging us to expand our thinking and practice. Therapists, counselors, as well as people in recovery and their family members will find this book an invaluable companion and guide on their path from pain and addicition to healing and recovery. I Strongly recommend it.--Jonathan Diamond, Ph.D.; author Narrative Means to Sober Ends