Alcohol and Drug Dependence and Its Impact on Family and Community: Seizing the Opportunity

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Alcohol and Drug Dependence and Its Impact on
Family and CommunitySeizing the Opportunity

• Supporting Families and Promoting Recovery
• Steve Hornberger and Doug Ronsheim
• Bloomfield, CT
• June 2, 2010

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Supporting Families and Promoting Recovery

• Why in the Faith Community?

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So Help Me GodSubstance Abuse, Religion and
Spirituality

• CASAs Surveys of Clergy and Schools of Theology
• Presidents of 230 multi-denominational Christian
  seminaries and 6 Rabbinical Schools
• Sample of 1,200 clergy from New York, Florida,
  Iowa, Washington
• Denomination groups Catholic, Protestant,
  Jewish, Christian, Orthodox, other (independent
  and non-denominational)

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So Help Me GodSubstance Abuse, Religion and
Spirituality

• The Great Disconnects
• - Clergys recognition of problem of substance
  abuse in their congregations vs. lack of training
  on how to deal with it
• - Importance of spirituality and religion to
  substance abuse prevention and treatment vs.
  failure of healthcare providers to take advantage
  of this

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So Help Me GodSubstance Abuse, Religion and
Spirituality

• The Clergy Disconnect
• - 94.4 percent of clergy and 97.6 percent of
  theology school presidents consider substance
  abuse an important problem in congregations
• - Only 12.5 percent of clergy get any substance
  abuse training

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So Help Me GodSubstance Abuse, Religion and
Spirituality

• Engage the Clergy
• Schools of Theology should
• Train clergy to recognize substance abuse and
  know how to respond
• Clergy should
• Address substance abuse in their ministries
• Develop relationships with treatment
  professionals
• Connect members of congregations to treatment

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The Clergy Education and Training Project

• Phase I Seminary Training Expert Panel
• November, 2001
• Phase II Development of Core Competencies
• February, 2003
• Phase III Dissemination
• Step One Release at CADCA, January 2004
• Step Two Publication of articles in journals
  
• Step Three Incorporate into AAPC and ACPE
  credentials,
• standards, and training
• Step Four Engaging the Faith Communities to
  help
• Step Five Developing Seminary Curricula
  Modules
• Phase IV Implementation of Clergy and Pastoral
  
• Minister Training Pre-
  and Post- Ordination

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Core Competencies for Clergy

• Guide to the core knowledge, attitudes, and
  skills essential to the ability of clergy and
  pastoral ministers to meet the needs of persons
  with alcohol or drug dependenceand their family
  members
• Focus on
• Addicted person
• Family system
• Affected children

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Clergy Core Competencies

• 1. Be aware of the
• Generally accepted definition of alcohol and
  other drug dependence
• Societal stigma attached to alcohol and other
  drug dependence
• 2. Be knowledgeable about the
• Signs of alcohol and drug dependence
• Characteristics of withdrawal
• Effects on the individual and the family
• Characteristics of the stages of recovery
• 3. Be aware that possible indicator of the
  disease my include, among others
• marital conflict, suicide, family violence
  (physical, emotional, and verbal),
  hospitalization , or encounters with criminal
  justice system.

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Clergy Core Competencies

• 4. Understand that addiction erodes and blocks
  religious and spiritual development and be able
  to effectively communicate the importance of
  spirituality and the practice of religion in
  recovery, using scripture, traditions, and
  rituals of the faith community.
• 5. Be aware of the potential benefits of early
  intervention to the
• Addicted person
• Family system
• Affected children
• 6. Be aware of appropriate interactions with the
• Addicted person
• Family system
• Affected children

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Clergy Core Competencies

• 7. Be able to communicate and sustain
• An appropriate level of concern
• Messages of hope and caring
• 8. Be familiar with and utilize available
  community resources to ensure continuum of care
  for the
• Addicted person
• Family system Affected children
• 9. Have a general knowledge of and, where
  possible, exposure to
• 12 Step Programs AA, NA, Al-Anon, Nar-Anon,
  Alateen, ACOA, etc.
• Other groups

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Clergy Core Competencies

• 10. Be able to acknowledge and address values,
  issues, and attitudes regarding alcohol and
  other drug use and dependence in
• Oneself
• Ones Own Family
• 11. Be able to shape, form, and educate a caring
  congregation that welcomes and supports persons
  and families affected by alcohol and drug
  dependence.
• 12. Be aware of how prevention strategies can
  benefit the larger community.

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AOD 101 Basic Information

• To understand how to help congregants affected by
  alcohol and drug problems requires that we must
  understand the disease and its impact on family
  members.

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Terminology Can Provide Hope or Deepen
Misunderstanding and Shame

• Alcoholism
• Addiction
• Chemical Dependency
• Brain-Based Illness
• Substance Use Disorder
• Substance Abuse

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Learning about addiction includes learning about
its children

• 1 in 4 children under the age of 18 has a family
  member who abuses alcohol or has alcoholism.
  Countless others live with parental drug use.
• Addiction is a treatable disease, not a moral
  weakness, and living with it is emotionally and
  developmentally harmful to children.
• Clergy and other pastoral ministers can offer
  hope and help to addicted individuals and
  affected children and spouses in their
  congregations.

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Why Include an Emphasis on the Children?

• Numbers are so great
• Chronic confusion, fear, stress, emotional and -
  sometimes - physical abuse
• Developmental and emotional impact from the toxic
  family environment
• Greater risk for neglect, for mental health
  problems, for addiction and for entering the
  juvenile justice system

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Family interaction is defined by alcoholism
or addiction.

• Problems clergy see that are frequently
  associated with addiction in the family
• Increased Decreased
• Family conflict
  Family cohesion
• Emotional or physical violence Family
  organization
• Family isolationFamily stress, e.g. work
  problems, illness, marital strain, finances,
• and frequent relocations

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What Makes the Family Toxic?

• Dont talk
• Dont feel
• Dont trust

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Addicted Family Defense Mechanisms

• Delusion
• Denial
• Minimizing
• Projection
• Rationalization

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A Parent who is abusing alcohol or other drugs

• May be less attentive to the child while drunk or
  high
• May be unable to fulfill their role as a parent,
  including providing medical treatment
• Is more likely to be diagnosed with a co- morbid
  psychological problem

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A Parent who is abusing alcohol or other drugs

• May be chronically physically ill from using
  drugs or alcohol
• Spends times procuring, using, and recovering
  from the alcohol or drug use instead of parenting
• May be engaged in illegal activities
• Places financial stress on the family system

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Consequences for Children of Addicted Parents

• More absenteeism from school, less help with
  homework
• Daughters more likely to connect to/marry
  addicted men
• More depression and suicide in adolescents
• More illness, injuries, poisonings, substance
  abuse, hospitalizations

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Children of Addicted Parents

• Often lack consistency, stability, and needed
  emotional support due to the chaotic family
  environment
• May be physically and emotionally traumatized by
  accidental injury or verbal, physical or sexual
  abuse due to parental drinking/drug use
• May encounter permissiveness, neglect, violence,
  poor communication, under-socialization

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Adverse Child Experiences Study
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Addressing Family Addiction

• Interventions need to be comprehensive and
  continual and include age-appropriate child
  services.
• Children benefit from educational support
  programs, including Alateen, whether they live in
  birth home or in foster care, and whether or not
  their parents get well.
• Spouses benefit from Al-Anon

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Recovery Does Happen

• Intervention and treatment work
• Families heal
• Spiritual health is possible again
• Money is saved
• Life gets better
• People in recovery give back
• Everyone wins!

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Emerging Recovery Trends

• Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a
  process of change through which an individual
  achieves abstinence and improved health,
  wellness, and quality of life.
• Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care shift the
  question from How do we get the client into
  treatment? to How do we support the process of
  recovery within the persons environment?

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Definition of Addiction in Relationship to God

• Addiction is a systemic de-construction that
  estranges, alienates and sedates the
  self-in-relation toward the Ultimate with
  outcomes of disenchantment and loss of meaning
  for life-experiences.
• Paraphrased from James E. Royce, S..J., Ph.D.
• The Effects of Alcoholism and
  Recovery, 1995
• from Spirituality and Chemical
  Dependency

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Long term effects within family system
applications to spiritual development.(McIvyn C.
Raider, Ph.D. 1992, Assessing the role of
religion in Family Functioning)

• Tangled relationships
• God as the image of mom or dad
• Co-dependent behaviors
• Poor self-image
• Instability of religious commitment
• Underdeveloped intrinsic values
• Overcompensated with rigid behaviors or beliefs
• Under-utilization of religious formation and
  support systems
• Inconsistent modeling and mentoring for children

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COAs Need Spiritual Help

• I dont know if I can ever forgive him
• COAs must learn to walk the path of progress, not
  perfection.
• Support by clergy and faithcommunity for family
  therapy or individual counseling
• Spiritual direction and mentoring
• The journey of forgiveness is not made in ones
  feelings but in ones surrender to faith.
• One day at a time

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COAs Need Spiritual Help (cont.)

• COAs need to appreciate their goodness and
  individual gifts.
• We cannot forget but we can know where we want
  to be and always seek out new, fresh, holy
  ground as a restless pilgrim. We may not want to
  go home but we can build a new house and make
  it our home.
• Spiritual maxim (Ronald Rolheiser 2001 Against
  an Infinite Horizon)

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Small Efforts Can Help

• Deliver the messages that break the silence
• In sermons
• In Did You Know Factoids
• In casual conversations
• In your congregational education programs
• In your youth programs
• In your pamphlet racks and with posters

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Affected Spouses and Children Need a Framework
for What They are Experiencing

• - Information about addiction as a family disease
• - Information about the hope of treatment and the
  process of recovery
• - Information on community-based supports such as
  Al-Anon and Alateen
• - Validation of their experiences
• - Reassurance that affected children and spouses
  need and deserve support and helpwhether or not
  the addicted family member recovers
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Addicted Families Need Clergy

• To Break the Family no talk rule
• Use teachable moments in sermons to inform
  about the disease and invite hurting congregants
  to healing.
• Include addiction and family impact information
  in your educational programs.
• Leave 12-Step literature in your materials racks
• Leave this projects free pamphlets in your
  counseling offices and youth centers for children
  and teens hang project poster.
• Remember doing nothing and saying nothing is not
  neutral.

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Talking Helps to Break the Silence
Talk TO the children of alcoholics and drug
addicts and talk ABOUT them explain the disease
and 7 Cs I didnt Cause it I cant Cure it I
cant Control it I can take better Care of
myself by Communicating my feelings making
healthy Choices by Celebrating myself.
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Other Messages Children Need

• Youre Not Alone.
• Its Not Your Fault.
• You deserve help, and there are safe people who
  can help you.
• Addiction is a health problem.
• Its OK to feel our feelings.
• Its important to talk.
• Treatment helps, and recovery happens.

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There are Many Message Delivery Systems

• Health Care Systems
• Treatment Systems
• FAITH COMMUNITIES
• Courts
• Community Coalitions
• Schools
• Workplace Programs
• Knowledgeable and caring family members

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Help for the Children

• There is great value in educational support group
  activities
• Provide beneficial education for all children and
  youth
• Especially helpful for children living with
  alcoholism or drug dependence in the family
• A tool to help
• SAMHSAs Childrens Program Kit

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Group Work is the Preferred Strategy Because

• Kids learn they are not alone.
• Group work increases the likelihood of breaking
  denial.
• Group work provides safety and protection.
• Kids experience healthy social interactions.
• Group work builds trust in social situations.
• Group work provides opportunities for group
  validation.
• Group work allows kids to try out new approaches
  to old problems.

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COA Groups

• Let them know they are not alone!
• Validate their perceptions and interpretations
• Help them gain some perspective
• Absolve them of blame
• Help them separate parent from parental behavior
• Offer hope, self-care skills and help to cope
• Provide a safe outlet for anger
• Explain risks of behavior, and how to identify
  safe
• people in their lives
• Help build self-esteem

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What happens if adults dont help?

• Children are at greater risk for
• Physical, verbal or emotional abuse
• Poor school performance
• Lacking of trust in others, including God
• Diminished spiritual life
• Truancy or trouble with the law
• Poor choice of life partners
• Diminished economic opportunities

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Clergy Need to Understand Family Intervention

• Engages the most significant people in the
  addicted persons life to
• present a loving, structured, supportive and
  coherent message of concern to an addicted loved
  one
• convince the person that alcohol/drug use is
  creating painful problems for all involved
• request that the person get help so that all can
  recover and heal.

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Family Intervention Is...

• Carefully pre-planned
• Facilitated by a professional interventionist
• Includes key family members spouses,
• children, and other significant persons
• Uses loving, supportive language
• Includes What if? bottom lines
• Would seldom include clergy or other
• pastoral ministers

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The Vision

• A faith community environment where all
  members of a family affected by addiction know
  there are knowledgeable and caring clergy and
  other pastoral ministers who
• understand what they are experiencing
• care about them and are available to them
• can help them find emotional and physical
  safety and
• can support their healing and spiritual growth

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To Contact Us

• National Association for Children of Alcoholics
• www.nacoa.org
• Steve Hornberger
• shornberger_at_nacoa.org
• American Association of Pastoral Counselors
• www.aapc.org
• Doug Ronsheim
• doug_at_aapc.org