Support services
(written by Sarah Zohhadi1)

Despite the well documented negative impact that substance problems have on the whole family (and the known benefits of engaging with family members for both user and family member) interventions tend to focus on the person with the problem, with family members receiving little support. However there are a small number of services nationwide that provide support to family members in one form or another, a number of which feature in the list below.

A number of different types of support can be beneficial to family members depending on a number of factors, including: the level of problematic substance use, their acknowledgement of the problem, whether they have/had contact with support services, how long the family member has lived with the problem, the family ‘setup’ and the individual characteristics of the family member. Services offered to family members reflect this, ranging from the informal – e.g. self-help support groups, to the more structured and intensive interventions,  e.g. unilateral family therapy. There are three main ways in which services may work with families:

1. Working with families to promote the entry and engagement of their relative into substance use services.
2. Joint involvement of family members and the relative as part of the ongoing intervention focussed on the relative.
3. Responding to the needs of the family members in their own right.

Support services responding to the needs of family members in their own right can be further divided into the following categories (Williams, 2004):

Some examples of support available to family members

Aquarius is primarily a service for substance users themselves; however it does offer information, advice and counselling to family members, whether or not their relative wishes to change. Aquarius also runs support groups for family members led by counsellors.

Clouds Families Plus exclusively provides services for family members in their own right. Services on offer include: Family support groups - held weekly at various locations, they are professionally facilitated, free of charge and available throughout the year. Brief residential programme– a professionally facilitated five-day programme held regularly throughout the year in a retreat centre. Individual, Couples and Family Therapy sessions- delivered by counsellors who have the expertise to work with both addiction and family systems.

Al-Anon and Families Anonymous are world wide networks offering support to the families of alcohol and drug users respectively. There are hundreds of local self-help groups across the UK. These are held weekly and are free to attend.  They are based on medical models of addiction that view alcohol and drug problems as a disease.

To find out more about support services, a website list of useful organisations accompanies this section.  You can also find out about services in your area by contacting your local Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) (see section on ‘How to Find a Service’ under ‘Assessment and Treatment’), or through the online directory services available through Alcohol Concern and Drugscope.   

Ref: Williams B (2004) Review of projects and initiatives that support children and families affected by alcohol misuse. Available at the Alcohol Concern website.

Sarah Zohhadi is a Researcher in the Mental Health Research & Development Unit (University of Bath, Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) and works on the Alcohol, Drugs and the Family Programme.

Impact on family members | Working with the family | Websites