Swedish family therapy breaks silence on parental addiction, strengthens bonds
A new study of children in families struggling with substance abuse found that structured eight-week therapy sessions helped families discuss the problem openly for the first time, improving parent-child relationships. The finding suggests that early intervention can reduce stigma and prevent long-term harm to vulnerable children—a win for social services looking for cost-effective ways to support at-risk families.
Originaltitel: Barns upplevelser av en intervention i familjer där vuxna har ett problematiskt bruk av alkohol och droger
<p><strong>Aim:</strong> To investigate children's experiences of the intervention Me and my Family. Me and my Family is an intervention, for families with parental substance use problems (SUP) provided by Swedish social services outpatient care, includes eight weekly sessions where family members communicate how the SUP affects the family.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> Data consists of 17 qualitative interviews with children, 7 to 19 years old. The qualitative data were analysed using a thematic approach, initially inductively and then discussed by adding salutogenic perspective.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The results are presented in three themes. Regardless of the children's varying ages, the results indicate that participating in the intervention has helped the family break the taboo surrounding parental substance use and enabled the young participants to communicate with their family members differently. The intervention also contributed to stronger bonds between children and their parents.</p>