The Alcoholic Family in Recovery A Developmental Model

Family relationships change dramatically when one or more members stops drinking. Far from offering a "quick fix" to family problems, in fact, the first years of sobriety are often marked by continuing tension that fuels marital stress, acting-out kids, and difficulties at work. This book explores the process of recovery from addiction as it affects the entire family, presenting an innovative model for understanding and treating families navigating this difficult period. The authors draw upon extensive clinical and research experience to demonstrate how families can be helped to regroup after abstinence, weather periods of emotional upheaval, and find their way to establishing a more stable, yet flexible, family system.

Stephanie Brown, PhD, is a clinician, teacher, researcher, consultant, and author in the field of alcoholism. She founded the Alcohol Clinic at Stanford University Medical Center in 1977 and served as its director for 8 years. A Research Associate at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California, where she is Co-Director of the Family Recovery Project, Dr. Brown also maintains a private practice and directs the Addictions Institute in Menlo Park, California. Virginia Lewis, PhD, a licensed psychologist, educational psychologist, and marriage, family, and child counselor, is Co-Director of the Family Recovery Project and Senior Research Fellow at the Mental Research Institute. In addition to her full-time private practice, she gives lectures and workshops on the Family Recovery Project and is coordinating and analyzing test data for journal publications. She has coauthored and been awarded several research grants with associates at the Mental Research Institute over the past 20 years, and has lent her skills to a number of research projects.