Group Activities for Families in Recovery

Group leaders and therapists are often looking for tried and tested activities to engage members of the group. This book offers therapists a wealth of activities to help families struggling with addiction address problem areas of functioning. The book came out of the authors work in a family-oriented substance abuse programs where group therapy is a key component of treatment. It contains a collection of group activities that are useful for helping families shift from dysfunctional patterns to healthy living. The book starts with a brief overview of the issues in working with a systemic family therapy perspective of addiction. This is followed by a discussion of practical guidelines for working with families in groups. The last of the three introductory chapters discuss how to utilize the exercise in this book. The collection of 30 activities are the core of the book and are suitable for a variety of family-oriented substance abuse treatment groups. They are divided into 6 sections covering the key issues of Family Structure, Family identity, Sober Fun, Toward Health, Anger management and Healthy Communication. The activities are varied and include topics presented through expressive arts (drawing, writing, acting), game-playing, problem solving+ enactments, work-sheets and role plays. The activities were developed for the family group component a substance abuse treatment program and can stand alone as a 16 week (or longer) program. The lessons can be used individually or can be incorporated into another program. The activities can be adapted for use in groups where children or present, or for adult-family groups.