Family Group

Need to be serious here.  Family group is one of the most guy wrenching sessions that I sat through.  It was on Saturday afternoons.  Picked the video, "Games People Play" by Joe South.  Listen as I describe the Family Group Session.

One of the last things that you do in treatment is write your family letter.  This is a letter to the family members of the patient.  It can be written to a mother, father, sister, brother, spouse or the patient's children.  Those that the patient writes a letter to, write their own letters.  These letters are then read in group, with the patient and his/her family sitting in the middle of the room with the rest of the familes and patients around them.  You hear lots of resentments, anger, tears, and love in these letters.  It is the most gut wrenching honesty that I have ever been part of.  It scared the hell out of me.  This is serious business and you can see first hand how alcohol and drugs have torn apart families and caused much much grief.  It was painful to watch.  I saw tough young men reduced to whimpering and crying like babies.  These were the guys that thought they were bullet proof.  I saw husbands and wives face each other and just lay open the wounds and raw feelings that this addiction has caused in the family.  I can't really describe all the feelings that went into this.

It was in one of these meeting that I saw Jared and his mom talk to each other.  What was said is not important, but what was important to me was the pure love that existed between this mother and her son.  They laid it out, but held onto each other.  It was touching..  But this is a baffling disease, less than 2 months later Jared is dead.  Sometimes even love can't save a soul.  This had hit me very hard.

Listen the the song,  Oh, the game people play now, every night and every day, never saying what we mean, never meaning what we say.   So true.  The purpose of rehab and AA is to help those in addiction to resolve resentments and fears before they claim a life.  

I encourage you if you have a loved one  to try and get them help.  Links at the top of the page will take you to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.  You don't know how long your loved one can last without help.  If you feel like you need help again clink on one of the links or email me @mcarlson12@austin.rr.com.  I will talk to you and help in any way that I can.

God Bless,
Mike