Strengthening Your Support System

When NCPHP began search for a new and larger office site, an important prerequisite was adequate space for our Family Room. As you read in the Fall 2000 issue of Metamorphosis, WakeMed Staff Foundation generously provided us with funding for the purpose of outfitting this new facility. It was comfortably furnished, including a new television and DVD player.

Family members or significant others accompanying an impaired practitioner to our office will no longer be left in the waiting room while the physician or PA is interviewed. Instead, they now have both privacy and education available in the Family Room. They may view a number of videos, carefully selected for their educational value, on subjects such as the nature of addiction, relapse prevention, and successful relationships. There is also a variety of literature pertaining to families, children, and the impact of the disease of addiction.

NCPHP has found that the most important predictor of successful abstinence and recovery is the positive involvement of the family. Years of addiction have usually taken a heavy toll, leaving the spouse and others with feelings including anger, resentment, shame, and loneliness. Families are often left feeling afraid and uncertain during the initial treatment phase. If these issues are not dealt with in a healthy way, they become extremely corrosive within the family and to the practitioner’s recovery.

A number of resources exists to help families, including Al-Anon, Ala-teen, ACOA, and Ala-Caduceus groups; NCPHP can help lay the foundation for that important work to begin. We welcome family members into the recovery process by inviting them to make good use of our Family Room.

If you are unable to personally visit our Family Room, we are happy to loan books, videotapes, and audiotapes for use in your home. Contact us at 1-800-783-6792 for more information or an inventory of items available.