Group Activities for Families in Recovery offers therapists a wealth of activities designed to help families struggling with addiction address problem areas of functioning, and ultimately shift from dysfunctional patterns to healthy living. Written by expert practitioners in family-oriented substance abuse treatment programs, this text focuses on group therapy as a key component to treatment.

Beginning with a brief overview of the issues involved in working from a systemic family therapy perspective of addiction, the text discusses practical guidelines for working with families in groups and how to best utilize the exercise in the book. The collection of 30 group activities are suitable for a variety of family-oriented substance abuse treatment groups. They are divided into seven sections covering the key issues of:

1. Family Structure; 2. Family Identity; 3. Sober Fun; 4. Toward Health; 5. Anger Management; 6. Healthy Communication; 7. Parenting

The activities are varied and include topics presented through expressive arts (drawing, writing, acting), game-playing, problem solving, enactments, worksheets, and roleplaying. The activities can be used individually, incorporated into another program, or stand alone as a 16-week (or longer) program. They can also be adapted for use in groups where children or present, or for adult-family groups.

Structure of Family Group for Families with Substance Abuse

Structure of Family Group for Families with Substance Abuse
Structure of family group for families with substance abuse

Group Process and Structure

In order to develop a systemic approach to family group, it is important to consider both the process and structure of the group. The process of the group address such issues as leadership, avoiding resistance, coleadership, working with diverse families, avoiding resistance, and locus of control.

How the group discusses issues is of great importance as we empower clients to take control of their lives and overcome their addictions. Like family process, group process is how group members communicate with each other and is often expressed in patterns of interaction. In theories of group process, the most important factor is group leadership. However, structure is of ...

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