Specialism
Family Therapy for Addiction
When someone you love is using drugs or alcohol, the whole family is affected. I work with the people around addiction — partners, parents, siblings, adult children — because your experience matters, and change in the family system can support everyone's recovery.
Why the whole family matters
Addiction is often treated as an individual problem, but it rarely affects just one person. Partners lose trust. Parents blame themselves. Children learn to stay quiet. Siblings feel invisible. The family organises itself around the substance use — and everyone pays a price.
Systemic family therapy works with these patterns. It doesn't focus on “fixing” one person but on understanding how the family system has adapted to addiction — and how it can adapt again, towards something better.
My research on hope in families affected by addiction found that hope isn't just a feeling — it's something actively done within relationships. It can be held by others when you can't hold it yourself. This idea runs through everything I do: realistic hope, even when things feel stuck.
How I can help
Support for Families & 'Affected Others'
When someone you love is using, your experience matters too. Support for the whole family.
Read moreWhen Your Partner Is Drinking or Using
Navigating your relationship when substance use is causing harm, distance, or fear.
Read moreParents of a Child or Young Adult Using
You're exhausted, worried, and unsure what to do. Help for parents and families.
Read moreAdult Children of Alcoholics
Growing up with a parent's addiction leaves marks. Therapy can help you understand and move forward.
Read moreCodependency, Helping vs Enabling & Boundaries
When love becomes control. Learning to set boundaries without losing connection.
Read moreSiblings Affected by Addiction
Brothers and sisters often carry the impact silently. Your experience is valid.
Read moreLoss, Grief & Ambiguous Loss
Grieving someone who is still here. The complicated grief of loving someone who is using.
Read moreApproaches I use
CRAFT
Community Reinforcement — helping families positively influence change without confrontation
5-Step Method
A structured framework for supporting family members affected by someone else's substance use
Systemic therapy
Working with patterns and relationships in the family system, not just one person
Stress-Strain-Coping
Understanding the impact on family members and building sustainable coping strategies
Common questions
Does the person using need to come to therapy?
No. I often work with family members without the person using being present. Change in one part of a family system creates ripple effects throughout. Your work in therapy is valuable regardless of whether they attend.
What is CRAFT and how does it help families?
CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training) is an evidence-based approach that helps family members positively influence their loved one's behaviour without confrontation. It focuses on your wellbeing, effective communication, and strategic responses that encourage change.
Will you tell me to leave my partner / cut off my family member?
No. Therapy is about helping you find your own answers, not telling you what to do. We'll explore your situation together and help you make decisions that feel right for you and your family.
Can family therapy work alongside other addiction treatment?
Absolutely. Family therapy complements individual counselling, 12-step programmes, and rehab. It addresses the relational dynamics that often maintain the cycle, and helps the whole family recover together.
You don't have to carry this alone
If addiction is affecting your family, a conversation is a good place to start.
Book a Free Consultation