Systemic Family Therapy at Holyoake
Systemic Family therapy is often used as an umbrella term to cover any intervention within alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment that involves family members and/or significant others in the treatment of the person with AOD problems.
You might find such interventions described using terms such as ‘family friendly’, ‘family inclusive’, or ‘family sensitive’. The term ‘family therapy’ itself refers to specialist interventions from qualified family therapists.
Systemic Family Therapy
All family counselling approaches for AOD treatment, including systemic family therapy, reflect the principles inherent in systems theory. Systems theory recognises that we live in a complex, dynamic world where everything is connected. Understanding and managing complexity requires working within a systems perspective.
Systems theory views the client as an embedded part of multiple complex systems. These include the client’s family system, their community, culture and society. Systems theory describes how everything and everyone depend on and interact with each other. It acknowledges the interconnectedness of the person using AODs and overall family well-being.
From a counselling point of view:
“Moving from an individual focus to a systemic family focus is much like zooming a camera lens from a close-up to a wide-angle view. In wide-angle mode, things come into the frame that are not visible in the close-up.” (McCollum, E. & Trepper, T.S. 2001)
Family counselling aims to improve outcomes for both the individual and their family members by reducing the impact and harm of the client’s AOD use and improving the quality of family interactions, family communication, and family functioning.
Systemic Family Counselling Approach
Risky alcohol and other drug (AOD) use causes stress not only to the drug user but also to family members and significant others, such as friends or colleagues. This stress is similar to the difficulties families experience when facing a significant other’s mental health challenges or physical illness, which is why Holyoake offers comprehensive support for families of drug users.
A systemic therapy approach accepts that behaviours are mutually influential; what happens with one member generally affects the other family members in a variety of ways. Responses from family members to the AOD use can either reinforce or challenge the drug user’s behaviour.
Understanding the interaction patterns and communication styles within the family system can guide systemic interventions and provide an opportunity for a holistic approach beneficial for all family members. Systemic family therapy focuses on changing the family system rather than directly changing the client.
This approach avoids blaming or stigmatising family members and friends by acknowledging that a range of factors within families can alleviate or exacerbate problems. It aligns with the harm minimisation approach within which Holyoake works. Family therapists use therapeutic techniques to address dysfunctional patterns and promote resilience.
Benefits of a Holistic Approach to Family Relationships
Without family involvement, it is easy to focus on the individual using drugs in isolation from their family’s structure and broader social contexts. However, research has shown that treatment outcomes for AOD users can be improved if families and significant others are involved in treatment or receive support in their own right.
Positive treatment outcomes include healthier relationships, improved psychological adjustment, and enhanced quality of life. Additionally, it may lead to a quicker recovery process. People are more likely to engage and remain engaged in treatment. The longer people are engaged in therapy sessions, the greater the likelihood of positive change.
Relevant Programs and Support for Families of Drug Users
At Holyoake, in addition to programs directed at AOD users, there are others aimed at helping the users’ significant others.
Relationships in Focus Program
Our Relationships in Focus Program and Parents Program are designed to support people impacted by someone else’s problematic AOD use. These programs include both individual counselling and/or attendance at a group program. People who have participated in this program state that they have experienced an increased sense of well-being, quality of life and sense of self.
Attachment Program
Holyoake’s Attachment Program is an early intervention program designed to help strengthen family bonds and nurture secure attachment between caregivers and their children. The program provides a safe space for healing, connection and emotional growth. Therapists create an environment that encourages active participation, teaches practical skills, and helps families identify dysfunctional patterns in family interactions.
What Can You Expect From Holyoake?
The Holyoake Approach guides all services and programs delivered. The commitment to Family Systems focus is central to the Holyoake Approach, and connection is included as a Philosophical Principle to reflect the understanding that each person operates within a system of family and community. They also have a team of dedicated counsellors working in various programs for children and adolescents, adults with adult-focused problems, and families impacted by substance abuse.
Counsellors have a sound understanding of the assumptions and principles of family inclusive practice. These include:
- Working in an open, respectful, and collaborative environment with family members and clients
- Being open, empathic, non-judgmental, respectful, and collaborative
- Being compassionate about the extreme pressure that clients and family members are under, and the impact this puts on family relationships
- Acknowledging that families have their own needs and have a right to have their needs understood and respected
- Approaching families, empathising with their hardship and acknowledging existing strengths and resources
- Promoting resilience, satisfying relationships, and positive change
Holyoake counsellors understand the complexity and sensitivities of working within a family system. In working with you and your family, they will help you to understand that when family members change their behaviour and responses to an individual drug user, the entire family system will change.
They will support you to improve communication, teach practical skills, manage dysfunctional patterns, and maintain your own well-being. Communication exercises, structural interventions, and systemic psychotherapy may be used to address ineffective problem-solving and power struggles within the family system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Helping a parent with addiction begins with empathy and recognising how family dynamics and interaction patterns affect recovery. A family therapist can provide guidance through systemic interventions that support healthier family relationships. This addresses unhealthy communication patterns, reduces relationship conflicts, and builds resilience.
CBT focuses on the individual by teaching them practical skills to manage their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. On the other hand, systemic family therapy focuses on the wider family system and the communication styles shaping behaviour. Rather than treating problems in isolation, it works to change dysfunctional patterns and support healthier relationships through collaborative therapy sessions.
References
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Helfgott, S. (2009) Counselling significant others. In S. Helfgott & S. Allsop (Eds) Helping change: The drug and alcohol counsellors training program. Perth. WA. Drug and Alcohol Office.
McCollum,E & Trepper, T.S. (2001). Family Solutions for Substance Abuse Clinical and Counselling Approaches, Routledge, London and New York.
Orford, J., Natera, G., Copello, A., et al. (2005). Coping with alcohol and drug problems: The experiences of family members in three contrasting cultures. UK. Routledge.
Stone, J., Marsh, A., Dale, A., Willis, L., O’Toole, S., Helfgott, S., Bennetts, A., Cleary, L., Ditchburn, S., Jacobson, H., Rea, R., Aitken, D., Lowery, M., Oh, G., Stark, R., & Stevens, C. (2019). Counselling Guidelines: Alcohol and other drug issues (4th ed.). Perth, Western Australia: Mental Health Commission.
Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 39.
Rockville (MD): Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Family Therapy: Updated 2020 [Internet].
Watson, W. H. (2012). Family systems. In V. S. Ramachandran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (pp. 184–193). Elsevier Academic Press.
