ABSTRACT
Although family therapy has been a treatment modality for almost half a century, very little research has been conducted on the efficacy of family therapy in treating substance abuse disorders. This is in spite of the almost universal acknowledgment that addiction is a family disease. So while most addiction treatment facilities offer a family program, the focus of treatment remains on the individual. This chapter provides the reader a review of current research on family therapy and the treatment of substance use disorders. In addition, the chapter presents an overview of Structural Family Therapy and Bowen Family Systems Theory as well as an examination of Bowen’s view on alcoholism. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of how Bowen Family Systems Theory could be applied to substance use disorders treatment.
