ABSTRACT
This paper will illustrate ways in which the basic principles of twelve-step programs and rehabilitation programs for chemical dependency can be combined with systems theory in a complementary way to facilitate the recovery of the members of chemically dependent families.
Family systems therapy offers no magic, but the theory provides a different way for conceptualizing the problem, offering a number of approaches for working with “wet” systems and assisting with new ways to regulate distance and closeness when alcohol or drugs are no longer the major organizing principle (Bowen, 1978).
