Addiction and the Family System

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Addiction and the Family System

• By
• Mary F. Hardy, LPC, LADC
• LIFE Senior Services

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System Dynamics in a Dysfunctional Family System

• Presentation Adapted from Another Chance
• By Sharon Wegscheider-Cruz

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How Stress Affects the Family System

• Imbalance Too much work, too little play
• Conflict Irreconcilable needs feeling trapped
  and helpless
• Survival Needs Financial-health-economic-relatio
  nship a sense of hopelessness
• Competition Feelings of resentment and blame
• Relief Use of alcohol and/or drugs

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The Whole Person Model

• Six Distinct Human Potentials Interact
• Physical
• Emotional
• Social
• Mental
• Spiritual
• Volitional

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Dynamics of the Dysfunctional Family System

• Family is a system
• Stress placed on system
• Attempt to get relief or harmony
• Emotional investment holds family together
• Family becomes dysfunctional

• Dependent medicates feelings
• Family learns to live with emotional rejection
• Family keeps trying to stay emotionally related
• Denial
• Compulsive behavior

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Family Members Dependent Experience

• Self-Delusion or Denial
• Compulsive Behavior
• Frozen Feelings
• Low Self-Esteem
• Medical Complications

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Dysfunctional Family Roles

• Dependent
• Enabler
• Hero
• Scapegoat
• Lost Child
• Mascot
• Can play multiple roles
• Can play different roles over your lifespan

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Role of Dependent

• Motivating Feeling
• Identifying Symptoms
• Payoff for Individual
• Payoff for Family
• Possible Price
• INSIDE Pain Shame
• OUTSIDE Blaming, withdrawal perfectionism

• Shame
• Chemical Use
• Relief of Pain
• None
• Addiction

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Role of Enabler

• Motivating Feeling
• Identifying Symptoms
• Payoff for Individual
• Payoff for Family
• Possible Price
• INSIDE Pain, Anger
• OUTSIDE over responsible, low self-esteem,
  powerlessness

• Anger
• Powerlessness
• Importance self-righteousness
• Responsibility
• Illness martyrdom

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Role of Hero

• Motivating Feeling
• Identifying Symptoms
• Payoff for Individual
• Payoff for Family
• Possible Price
• INSIDE inadequacy, guilt
• OUTSIDE overachiever, performance driven, works
  for approval

• Inadequacy guilt
• Overachievement
• Attention (positive)
• Self-worth
• Compulsive drive

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Role of Scapegoat

• Motivating Feeling
• Identifying Symptoms
• Payoff for Individual
• Payoff for Family
• Possible Price
• INSIDE Hurt
• OUTSIDE Delinquency, peer acceptance, low
  achiever, defiant

• Hurt
• Delinquency
• Attention (negative)
• Focus away from Dependent

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Role of Lost Child

• Motivating Feeling
• Identifying Symptoms
• Payoff for Individual
• Payoff for Family
• Possible Price
• INSIDE Loneliness
• OUTSIDE Shy, loner, physical illness, treasures
  pets things

• Loneliness
• Solitariness shyness
• Escape
• Relief
• Social isolation

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Role of Mascot

• Motivating Feeling
• Identifying Symptoms
• Payoff for Individual
• Payoff for Family
• Possible Price
• INSIDE Fear, confused
• OUTSIDE Humor, attention seeking, slow learner

• Fear
• Clowning hyperactivity
• Attention (amused)
• Fun
• Immaturity emotional illness

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The Family Trap

• All the family members continue their behavior in
  order to try to feel safe the dysfunction in
  family continues
• What happens if family members gets into recovery
  and begin to reconnect in balance and harmony?
  Is there hope for the family?
• They can and do recover Treatment, AA, NA,
  Al-Anon, Counseling

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Your Role as an Effective Counselor

• Know about your own dysfunctional family system
• Understand the role you played in your family of
  origin
• Get help if you need it
• Step out of any past dysfunctional role
• Refuse to be an enabler
• Address the whole family in treatment