ABSTRACT
Family members, concerned about and affected by the excessive drinking or drug taking of close relatives, have been the chief protagonists of the stories on which the previous chapters were based. They constitute a large, neglected, misunderstood and often stigmatised group. In Chapter 1, it was estimated that there might be as many as 80 million such family members worldwide. This is not a group of people who themselves suffer from a diagnosable illness, who constitute a recognised threat to public health, who cause much trouble to others, or who combine to bring pressure on politicians. They are largely unknown and uncounted, and mostly suffer in silence. Scarcely any services are dedicated to this group, even in those countries with the best-developed health and social care systems. Some agencies for people with alcohol and drug problems provide some service for family members, but it is usually secondary to their main work.
