Linda Lane Devlin
April 12th 2022 1:30 pm Imperial Ballroom #5
Session Description
Family roles, rules, rituals, and relationships; the frequency and quality of family interactions with kinship and social networks; and the global health and functioning of family members are all severely disrupted by addiction. The effects of addiction on the family are influenced by the role of the addicted person within the family, the timing of addiction within the family life cycle, the degree of co-occurring challenges faced by the family, the cultural context within which the family is nested, and the resilience resources and recovery capital available to the family. (William White) These effects can be far-reaching, with effects on children carrying into their adult development, including their future intimate and family relationships.
Emerging Recovery definitions emphasize that recovery is more than the removal of destructive alcohol and/or drug use from an otherwise unchanged life. Recovery is a broader process that involves a radical reconstruction of the person-drug relationship, progressive improvement in global health and the reconstruction of the person-community relationships including family. The process of recovery is supported through relationships and social networks, this often involves family members who become the champions of their loved one’s recovery.
Families of people in recovery may experience adversities that lead to increased family stress, guilt, shame, anger, fear, anxiety, loss, grief, and isolation. So, the concept of resilience in recovery is also vital for family members who need access to intentional supports that promote their health and well-being. According to the research; addiction-affected families in recovery need “scaffolding” of support to manage the transitions from active addiction to stable recovery. Lacking such support, families that absorbed and survived every relationship may be fractured (i.e., family dissolution) during the recovery process. With support, families can achieve a level of health and functioning superior to that which existed before the family was impacted by addiction. Addicted individuals and their families have the potential to get better.
Outcomes: The new paradigm shift to a Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) model tries to address this aspect. Just as the “recover-er” needs support and direction so does the “family” of the recover-er. The idea is to help families dealing with substance use disorder gain an understanding of the family dynamics that go on in a substance use disorder family system. These include co-dependency, differentiation, triangulation, stigma, emotional buttons. ROSC can support a continuum of services rather than crises-oriented care, with possible care in the person’s community and home using natural supports and services provided to families during the initiation, ongoing and post-acute stages of their recovery. This workshop will be moderated to reflect personal experiences from families in the ROSC process. A selected panel of Lived Experience will participate in the review of recovery supports and the evolution of recovery coaching and family case management as a tool to help heal the families as well.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the local efforts to support families in recovery beyond providing treatment.
- Understanding the role of recovery coaching and case management for families
- Learn the new language of recovery management as we shift to focus on long-term support for a chronic disease over brief support during acute episodes.
- Learn about the growing role for families in recovery support and shared lived experiences.
References
The Net Consumer Council, Evans, A.C., Lamb, R.C., Mendelovich, S., Schultz, C.J. & White,
W.L. (2007). The Role of clients in a recovery-oriented system of addiction treatment: The birth and
evolution of the NET Consumer Council. Posted at www.williamwhitepapers.com
Schuyler, A., Brown, J., & White, W. (2016). The Recovery Coach: ROLE CLARITY MATRIX
Posted at www.williamwhitepapers.com
White, W. (2004). Recovery coaching: A lost function of addiction counselling? Counsellor,
5(6), 20-22. Posted at www.williamwhitepapers.com
Recovery Coaching
DAVID BEST, PH.D.
Professor of Criminology in the Department of Law and Criminology at Sheffield Hallam University and visiting Associate Professor of Addiction Studies at Monash University, Melbourne
Addiction Specialist & Interventionist – Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counsellor ICADC CCSAC, CCAC Certified Counsellor , Board Certified Interventionist PCB CIP.
Linda continues to educate, innovate, inspire and support clients, families, about using a more collaborative approach. She has over 24 years of experience working in the addictions field.
Bio
Linda’s commitment to excellence in best practice guides the service provision. People’s behaviors are shaped by their experiences, and each person is unique in this regard.
Linda’s passion and drive is to help individuals and families heal from addiction. She approaches every client with the understanding that each person differs from the others. 25 years of recovery experience.
Linda got her start working in the social services industry for over two decades and continued onto being one of the top Executive Management Leaders in the Addictions Health Care Industry in Canada. She has provided private practice and organizational practice for many years and can help individuals create short term and long term goals to address addiction issues within the family system.
Linda continues to provide Clinical Intervention and Family Case Management for families across Canada. Her team at Interventions On Demand has paved the way for many other service providers in Canada to best practice guideline’s and credentialing as imperative to guiding families to the healing process.