When a loved one is struggling with alcohol or drug misuse, we are often left with more questions than answers. [updated March 2023]
It is a heartbreaking and confusing time, often steeped in chaos, guilt, and shame. It can also feel like all we have are questions, with no answers in sight.
My team and I are here to help get you the answers you need.
Family Coaching and Family Consultations are services aimed at supporting the family and loved ones of someone struggling with addiction. This support creates a foundation of strength, which we will use for building back the family system.
What is Family Consultation or Coaching?
I have years of experience helping families make sense of what’s going on with their loved one struggling with substance misuse.
During my time as an Interventionist and Recovery Coach, I have developed consulting and coaching services specifically for family members and friends of loved ones going through addiction or substance use.
Family Consultation
Family Consultation is a situational option for families with circumstantial or specific needs.
For some families, an intervention isn’t necessarily the right fit. Maybe communication isn’t the issue between you and your loved one, but rather a lack of structure or knowledge.
This is where Family Consultation shines: helping you move forward with a specific issue or discussion you are planning to have.
Family Coaching
Alternatively, I also offer Family Coaching services. Family Coaching is designed for longer-term support, where communication may not already be in place between family members.
Family Coaching, typically organized through 6-hour time blocks split into 1/2 hour or 1 hour sessions, is flexible and
able to suit your needs at any given time.
Who is Family Consultation or Coaching for?
My team and I have a wealth of knowledge in regards to drug and alcohol addiction and recovery.
Family Consultation and Family Coaching are services designed to help you and your family regain control of the
situation.
Do you ever find yourself wondering...
- Is it the right time to invite my loved one to make a change?
- How can I support my loved one’s recovery efforts?
- How can I address my loved one’s tendencies with drugs or alcohol without making the situation worse?
- How can my family approach this situation differently?
- Will this struggle with substances ever end?
- What are we doing wrong?
- Why can’t she just quit?
Sound familiar?
Those questions buzzing around your head are extremely important to address. Within them is the answer to bringing peace back into you and your family’s lives.
When a family or individual requests a consulting session, we suggest that they come with specific questions and goals in mind.
These sessions often revolve around very distinct concerns that family members have and work best when they have an idea of a goal they are pursuing.
Support Before, During, & After Treatment
As an example, sometimes families will request coaching to guide them around a family meeting (intervention) in which they will address their loved one’s issues with drugs or alcohol.
Please remember that conducting an intervention without professional support is not easy, and I do not recommend it as it could backfire and cause further damage.
Pre-Intervention Coaching
Coaching and consulting before the family meeting is to ensure that the family members
are all on the same page regarding a goal or outcome.
When considering having a conversation with your loved one with family involved and
without an interventionist, I need to be sure the family can approach their loved one in
a way which shows love, support, and respect.
This means:
- Making sure the family can keep their emotions stable
- Get their message across
- Successfully encourage treatment; and
- Stay the course with any leverage points discussed
We can help with this fine-tuning the planned approach and delivery of the family meeting.
The meeting often inspires more questions, and sometimes, a reassessment of goals. No matter the outcome of the family meeting, everyone needs support.
Post-Intervention Coaching
If your loved one agrees to seek treatment, the process begins to not only find the right path for their recovery, but also to find the right support system for you and your family.
These questions often sound like:
- What is the best approach for treatment for our loved one?
- Can you recommend specialists according to treatment requirements?
- What can I do to support my loved one in their recovery?
- Can our family continue to get support and advice throughout this part of the journey?
If the struggling loved one refuses help, or the meeting brings out more chaos, a debrief call is even more vital. When that is the case, we reassess plans, goals, and emotions.
These questions look more like this:
- What now?
- How do we move forward?
- What options do we have?
- How can we help our loved one if they don’t want to be helped?
- How can I communicate differently to elicit change talk?
People often don’t want to ask these questions because they don’t feel as though there are any answers. Our goal is to help you and your loved ones find hope. We address your most daunting questions to find the most practical response.
You have the questions; together, we find the answers.
It’s Normal To Need Help Before You Can Give Help
Family Consulting and Family Coaching services are for anyone affected by someone misusing substances.
Whether you are a friend, partner, parent, adult child, sibling, or any other relationship to someone who is struggling with substance misuse, you deserve support. You have been living in the chaos of a loved one’s addiction and seeking outside help is the first step to regaining stability.
Sessions are completely customizable to your needs:
- You are able to request an hour here, an hour there, whenever you need clarification from someone who understands what you’re going through and who has experience in determining the best path available.
- Sometimes all it takes is a few sessions to help you see your family’s current situation in a new light.
- Our consulting and liaising services are available for families across Canada and the United States. Wherever you are, we can make sure your family unit stays connected.
Getting Started with Consulting & Coaching
Consulting with our team will open doors to better communication and a firmer understanding of your situation.
Consulting is a great way to test the waters with our team. Through the process of
consulting, you may realize that an invitational intervention is actually something that
your loved one would greatly benefit from.
But you don’t need to decide that yet.
All you need to do is book a no-charge, no-obligation phone consultation where we can discuss your situation in more detail.
A family is like a chain – when one link is broken, the entire structure suffers.
Together, we will find stability for you and your family. Let’s start the conversation.
