Family Therapy for Substance Use Disorders
Speaker(s):
Adriatik Likcani, PhD and F. Ryan Peterson, PhD
Presentation: Participants will learn about individual and family systems dynamics during active use of substances, during attempts for sobriety, and the recovery process. Participants will be exposed to interventions with individuals and families from a systems perspective. Often clients are seen individually and interventions can be tailored to include relationships close to the client even when they are not present in the therapy room. Several specific couple and family therapy interventions will be presented and rehearsed during the presentation in an effort to increase the knowledge base and skill levels of participants in this session. The family plays a central role to recovery from any condition, including recovery from substance use disorders. Definition of family will vary depending upon circumstances of each client. Participants will learn about structural and functional definitions of “family” and how to engage this system with at least for two primary goals: a) use the family’s strengths and resources in the recovery process, and b) help the client and the family members to improve relationships from the impact of the dynamics during active substance use and repetitive relapse episodes. Other goals of systems perspective interventions that aid the recovery process will also be addressed. Participants will be able to use some of the skills learned in this session right away in their practice and they will be educated on resources for further professional development.
Objectives:
- Describe family systems interventions for treatment of substance use disorders and their effectiveness.
- Practice particular strategies used with persons facing substance use issues in individual sessions and also in conjoint sessions where one or more family members are present
- Review a variety of family therapy approaches and interventions to meet the recovery needs of clients and their families.