Alcoholism is common among many families around the world. Alcoholics in the world feel as if they’re able to handle their addiction alone, but most of them need help freeing themselves from the drug. The family is a system composed of members in constant and dynamic interaction with each other (Wormer, 2008). Many times families feel the best thing for their family member who’s dealing with the alcohol abuse within the family. This causes a family to have a pattern in the way they handle their family member with that suffers from alcoholism. Any change in the behavior of one of its members affects not only each of the others but the system as a whole (Trondalen, 2012). Gloira is a 53 year old mother of two daughters. She has been an alcoholic for over 30 years. Her addiction has caused her to lose the respect of her children. Gloira’s family supports her the best way they know how even if it’s not in Gloira’s best interest. Gloira became pregnant at the age of 19 years old. She gave birth, but the baby was stillborn. Her family feels that the death of her child caused her alcohol abuse. Gloria’s sister Berradran became pregnant with her niece …show more content…
She enjoyed her childhood for the most part. Gloria’s father played a major role in her life and he showed her how to be cool. Her father was an alcoholic. He could drink a gallon of alcohol a day. Her father passed at 39 years of age. Four months are the death of her father she gave birth to her daughter Renee. She stated she had her to take the place of the other baby. Two months after Renee was born she found out Renee’s father had a wife and a child. Renee was placed in the care of her mother because Gloira was unable to care for her. Gloira would visit Renee when she felt worked best for her. Gloira never had a relationship with Renee at the age of 21 she sent Renee to live with her aunt. At 26 years of age she gave birth to Rose and two months after she married Rose’s
Alameda has had a hard life as a young girl growing up, both of her parents were alcoholics. Alameda was a 16 year old minor who had a baby and dropped out of school, and then was unable to care for the infant. A case manager by the name of Barbara LaRosa was assigned to Alameda case. Barbara took on Alameda as her client and made a visit to her parents’ home, while making the visit she found Alameda dad incompetent, and could not get any information from him to help with his daughter well-being.
I can still remember the day, June 2, 2013, my cousin took his own life due to alcohol. This is not the first time alcoholism has taken a family member from my family. I lost my uncle ten years ago to the same things, but running his truck into a tree. Like Scott Russell Sanders’ my family has suffered from the pain and disease that alcohol causes. Although Sanders’ case was much different than mine, my families is more unknown until all of a sudden one of my family members is gone. In Sanders’ essay, “Under the Influence: Paying the Price of my Father’s Booze,” he discusses how it was growing up around him, his father’s life being taken, and his life now.
The Anderson family is an African-American pair of grandparents –Ernie and Audrey—raising their daughter’s three children. Their daughter and her husband were killed in a car accident recently; however, the grandchildren had been living with the grandparents before this untimely tragedy due to financial hardships experienced by the family. There are three children, two of which appear to be adjusting well, and have supports in place. The main concern of Ernie and Audrey surround their 3-month old granddaughter, Artesia. Artesia was born with an extremely low birth weight, and has faced other health problems since delivery. While Artesia’s mother was pregnant with her, it was reported that they had been living in a car. Artesia’s mother did not receive proper medical care, as well as engaged in proper self-care, during the pregnancy due to her
After reviewing the Sanchez Family case study, I have chosen to review Emilia Sanchez with Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial development, Operant Conditioning, and Social Learning Theory. In her case study, Emilia is described as being the oldest daughter in the Sanchez family, she helped her mother a great deal with housework and with helping care for the younger children and was a good quiet child who never gave her parents any problem, however at the age of 14, things changed, and she got involved in drugs. Now at 28, she has lost custody of her son due to her problems with drugs, and she is estranged from her parents due to having an abortion shortly after her son was born because her parents have very strong religious beliefs and they
In the article “Children of Alcoholics” produced by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the author explains the negative effect of parental alcoholism on their children’s emotional wellbeing, when he writes, “Children with alcoholic parents are more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, antisocial behavior, relationship difficulties, behavioral problems, and/or alcohol abuse. One recent study finds that children of drug-abusing fathers have the worst mental health issues (Children of Alcoholics 1). Walls reflects upon her childhood experiences in which her father would become drunk and not be able to control his behavior, as she writes, “After working on the bottle for a while, Dad turned into an angry-eyed stranger who threw around furniture and threatened to beat up Mom or anyone else who got in his way. When he’d had his fill of cussing and hollering and smashing things up, he’d collapse” (Walls 23). The Walls children, who frequently encounter their father’s abusive behavior, are affected mentally in the same way that national studies have shown. Jeanette Walls describes how, after drinking, her father’s behavior becomes cruel and intolerable through his use of profanity, threats, and angry, even violent, actions. In a conventional family, a parent has the responsibility of being a role model to influence their children in a positive way as they develop. Unfortunately, in the Walls family and other families with alcoholic parents, children are often subject to abuse and violence, which places them at risk, not only physically, but mentally. Rex’s irrational behavior when he is drunk is detrimental to the children’s upbringing, causing them to lose trust in their parents, have significantly lower self-esteem and confidence, and feel insecure. Rex’s behavior contributes to Jeanette’s
One in five adults can identify with growing up with an alcoholic relative and Twenty-eight million Americans have one parent abusing or dependent on alcoholic (Walker, & Lee, 1998). There are devastating and ubiquitous effects of alcoholism, which vary from psychological, social, or biological problems for families. Counselor’s treating this problem all agree that the relationships within a family, especially between a parent and a child is one of the most influential within a system, but what are the effects on the family when a parent is an alcoholic? Contemporary research has found there is a higher prevalence of problems in the family when alcohol is the organizing principle. In addition, there is copious research on the roles of individuals within the family becoming defined into specific categories, and evidently, the roles may become reversed between the parent and the child. This topic of functional roles in alcoholic families will be analyzed and investigated further. Family therapy has had substantial results in the treatment of an alcoholic parent. These results will be discussed more along, with the literature examining the existing research related, to specific interventions and treatments in family therapy with an alcoholic parent. Before research on the treatment is illuminated on distinctive therapies, it is crucial for counselors facilitating family therapy to comprehend the literature on the presenting problems commonly, associated with alcoholic parents and the effects this population has on their families. Furthermore, the adverse outcomes an alcoholic parent has on their children and spouses has been researched and reviewed.
Substance use affects not only the individual who is using but the whole family unit. The family can be an important key factor in an individual's life when they choose to seek treatment. The family can help the individual who is addicted or they can negatively contribute to them relapsing. Family therapy is treatment that can reduce substance use and improve the family dynamics in a household. Brief Strategic Family Therapy is a common therapy used to treat substance use in families. This paper will explain why family therapy is important. It will also explain what Brief Strategic Family Therapy is and the process that families go through in it.
...ence of alcoholism. In the same way a family history of alcohol could be a genetic factor in the client’s drinking problem, so could the acceptance of alcohol as a tool of avoidance. This client was given alcohol at 6 years old by her teenage sister to numb her pain. We do not know why her sister began drinking, but an assumption can be made that the practice is not generally disapproved of since underage drinking appears to be a norm in this family unit.
Alcoholism has been a fixture in our society since the first introduction of alcohol. Despite it being an equal opportunity disease, a large majority of not only the treatment, but also the research, has been about men. This lack of consideration of the different needs for men and women has led to many women going through recovery systems that do not address their experiences, and therefore do not allow them to take full advantage of that recovery system. This paper will attempt to look at the different experiences that men and women have in their journey through a substance addiction (particularly alcohol), from addiction through recovery. The main recovery method that will be discussed here is Alcoholics Anonymous. As an observation addition to this assignment, I sat in on an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Kerrville, TX. The meeting was on Thanksgiving Day at noon. I took detailed notes of the meeting, while keeping a watchful eye for any gendered interactions during the flow of the meeting.
The strongest and most influential person who modeled alcohol use in my childhood was a male relative. I was not completely aware of many of these impacts until adolescence. As a child, I did not know what alcoholism was, I just assumed that the Beefeater Gin stench coming from my relative was his cologne. However, as I grew older and was exposed to a greater variety of people and circumstances, I slowly became aware of alcoholism. I began to incorporate the new experiences I had in relation to alcohol use with a deeper understanding of my extended family. This new awareness was unsettling and painful to me. Many of my relatives were alcoholics. There was never a family brunch, dinner, or casual gathering that was not centered around alcohol. The excessive and consistent reliance on alcohol fueled the arguments and shouting matches I witnessed between my male relatives. Their arguments were always laden with racist, sexi...
throughout her childhood with an alcoholic father and a selfish mother who cared more about her art and happiness than that of her children’s. Alcohol misuse can affect all aspects of family functioning: social life, finances, good communication, relationships between family members, parenting capability, employment and health issues , It also has a strong correlation with conflicts, disputes and domestic violence which can leave a damaging effect on children. Alcohol misuse often times change the roles played by family member...
There is something in this earth that each of us hold dear. For some, it could be friends or family, an old blanket, or perhaps a stuffed animal. For others it could be cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol. The choices that we make not only affect ourselves, but also affect the people we care about. In the short stories “The Farm” by Joy Williams and “Balto” by Coraghessan Boyle, we see the effects that alcohol can have on a person. We can also deduce from these short stories the effects that alcohol can have on a family as well. There are many problems that arise from alcohol abuse. The three main focal points in these two short stories are the deterioration of the family, the breakdown of communication between spouses, and infidelity that happened between the spouses.
The crippling effects of alcoholism and drug dependency are not confined to the addict alone. The family suffers, physically and emotionally, and it is the children who are the most disastrous victims. Frequently neglected and abused, they lack the maturity to combat the terrifying destructiveness of the addict’s behavior. As adults these individuals may become compulsively attracted to the same lifestyle as their parents, excessive alcohol and drug abuse, destructive relationships, antisocial behavior, and find themselves in an infinite loop of feelings of emptiness, futility, and despair. Behind the appearance of calm and success, Adult Children of Alcoholics often bear a sad, melancholy and haunted look that betrays their quietest confidence. In the chilling silence of the darkest nights of their souls, they yearn for intimacy: their greatest longing, and deepest fear. Their creeping terror lives as the child of years of emotional, and sometimes physical, family violence.
Latham, P.K., & Napier, T.L. (1992). Psychosocial consequences of alcohol misuse in the family of origin. The International Journal of the Addictions, 27, 1137-1158.
...> Groh R.David, Jason A. Leonard, Davis I. Margret, Olson D. Bradley, Ferrari R. Joseph. 2007. Friends, Family and Alcohol Abuse: An Examination of General and Alcohol Specific Social Support. The American Journal on Addictions, 16: 49-55