The Betty Ford Children’s Program serves such a richly diverse group of families hurt by alcoholism and other drug addiction. Many of our courageous children live in homes where that cunning, powerful and baffling disease is still active. Others come from families where their loved one is currently in treatment somewhere in the United States. [...]

I’m writing this for people who are living with someone — or care for someone — who is suffering with a chronic pain condition, and they are having a hard time coping because they’re not sure how to help. Unless someone’s been in your place, they have no idea how challenging this can really be. [...]

I had a wonderful experience recently when I attended Camp Mariposa (butterfly in Spanish), a camp for children ages 9-12 affected by addiction in the family. A few years ago I was approached by Karen and Jamie Moyer (he, a professional baseball player) about their foundation whose mission is focused on children in need. The [...]

by Tian Dayton, PhD Which characteristics do you identify with and to what extent? This is something of a self-test and a survey. If you are an Adult Child of Alcoholism or Addiction (ACOA), you may have been both traumatized and strengthened by that experience. Following is a survey of both the positive and the [...]

By Dr. Jack Hinman Divorce, even under the most amicable of circumstances, represents a trauma for the family system, impacting not only the couple, but all members of the family. Many parents in therapy quite aptly describe their experience of divorce as a kind of death. It is a loss of shared dreams and goals [...]

By Charlotte Reznick, Ph.D. An enraged mom pulls her son into my office. At her wits end with her 10-year-old’s acting-out behavior at school, she demanded to come into his private counseling session without notice. Across town, his dad had a different reaction — on his son’s weekend visit, while staying very calm, he put his [...]

It has long been understood in the vernacular of the addictions field that those whose “lives become unmanageable” through excessive use of drugs and alcohol may be trying to “drown their pain” with drugs and alcohol. While initially addicts may feel they have found a way to manage a pain-filled inner world, this synthetic form [...]