Family Resources

The previous three parts of the book have stepped out from under the mantle of particle orientations and explored what it might mean to interpret addictions in a social frame. Part IV explores how this work might be applied to assist people in their struggles with addictive relationships and their attempts at reintegration. This chapter provides an overview of the approaches and resources that an individual or family can make use of in challenging an addictive relationship (namely the relationship between a person and an addictive substance/process). The chapter is divided into three sections, starting with what is currently available and moving toward what is desirable for the future. The first section examines the social components that already exist in various self-help approaches to reintegration. The second section summarizes family and other social interventions that have been developed by researchers in conjunction with addiction services. The third section makes use of the content developed in earlier chapters to outline how people in an addictive social system can monitor their own response through the phases of reappraisal, reconnection, and collective action. The family situation with Jack, Danny and Julie, and their two children, Adrienne and Luke, will be used to illustrate the different opportunities.