Alcohol & Health
Treatment
Helping Alcoholics
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Having a loved one struggle with alcoholism can be challenging. Fortunately, many support groups are accessible to the family members and friends of people with addiction.
One of the most important parts of alcohol treatment is the support system surrounding the person in recovery.
If you’re a family member of someone going through treatment for alcoholism, you can significantly impact their recovery by showing your support.
However, dealing with a loved one’s alcohol addiction can be emotionally straining. Family members and friends don’t always have the energy or resources to provide enough crucial support. In these cases, alcohol family support groups can help.
Family support groups are helpful for families and the person struggling with alcoholism. These groups connect people with other families going through similar experiences.
Family support groups allow people to:
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Various alcohol family support groups are available to help families work through alcoholism issues.
Al-Anon is a worldwide fellowship. It’s a recovery program for families and friends of people with alcohol addiction.
Providing support for someone with alcoholism can be emotionally and mentally challenging.
Al-Anon provides several resources that can help, including:
Alateen is part of the Al-Anon fellowship. It’s a program aimed at adolescent members of families affected by alcoholism.
Like Al-Anon, Alateen focuses on helping with common problems that family members of people with alcoholism face.
For example:
Parents of Addicted Loved Ones is a Christian-run non-profit. It’s guided by one founding phrase “People helping people through the woods.”
PAL meetings typically take place weekly. They provide support for parents who have children addicted to alcohol or drugs.
These support groups include educational and sharing components.
Families Anonymous is another 12-step program. It’s designed to help family members of people addicted to alcohol or drugs or those with related behavioral health conditions.
This support group focuses on the similarities between participants’ experiences. This is to show that many other families share the same challenges.
SMART Recovery is a secular alternative to Al-Anon and similar spirituality-based interventions. This science-based program is designed to help the family members and friends of people struggling with addiction.
This support group offers meetings in many cities. It uses non-confrontational methods to help family members and friends cope with their loved ones’ addictions.
Grief Recovery After Substance Passing is a support community designed to help people who’ve lost someone due to addiction and overdose.
GRASP provides an outlet for the mental and emotional struggle of having and losing a loved one to alcoholism or drug use.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) offers a broader support group for the family members of anyone who’s experienced a mental health condition.
Membership is free, and the weekly support group is provided for adult family members.
Learn to Cope is a peer-led support network. It provides education, resources, and assistance for families with loved ones affected by substance abuse.
This support group offers 27 ‘chapters’ throughout Massachusetts. They also have a chapter in Florida and an online forum where they host virtual meetings.
Recovering Couples Anonymous offers support for couples struggling with substance abuse. This support aims to help them restore healthy communication and intimacy.
Group participation allows you to connect with people likely to have a shared experience and purpose. Therefore, you’re more likely to understand one another.
The primary benefits of alcohol family support groups include:1
Mental illness can’t be isolated to one person. Even when treated, one family member’s strains can cause complications and problems that can impact everyone.
Seeking support for the whole family is essential. Alcohol family support groups benefit everyone and help protect against negative risk factors.
By participating in alcohol family groups, members will likely learn more about their loved one’s illness and how others cope in similar situations. Family members can learn to heal from the struggles developed from having loved ones suffer from addiction.
Participants can also expect to strengthen their bonds and relationships as a family unit. Concepts learned in individual and family therapy will be reinforced and strengthened.2
They’ll connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor
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Information about alcohol family support groups may be available from:1
If there’s a particular support group you’re interested in, you can also find out information about in-person and virtual family support groups on each organization’s website:1
BetterHelp offers affordable mental health care via phone, video, or live-chat.
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