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Running head: ADDICTION FAMILY CASE STUDY
Addiction Family Case study
Adrianna Nelson
Grand Canyon University MFT 532
May 22, 2019
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Addiction Family Case study
The Johnson family is a picture perfect white family made up of father (Dave Johnson),
mother (Nancy Johnson), nineteen year old son (Dean Martin), thirteen year old daughter (Jean
Sonia) and eleven year old son (Nathan Morris). To the community around them, the family is
one to be envied with the father working a great job in the technological sector and has
successfully built a home for the family, while the mother is a stay at home mom who caters for
the needs of the children.
However away from the prying eyes of the public, the real picture of the family is quite
ugly and plagued with the challenge of addiction. Nancy Johnson after many years of staying
home to bring up the children and experiencing what she called boredom fell into the habit of
sipping a little wine here and there; the consumption of a glass of wine that started out as a
simple way of passing time and making her life “interesting” turned into a habit that she is
incapable of controlling. For the last four years she has been struggling with an alcohol addiction
which she tried to hide from the rest of the family and those around them but it hindered her as a
mom and could not stay hidden.
Nancy’s drinking habit; neglect of family duties and outbursts when she is confronted on
the matter has forced her family to step up and try to hide the ugly reality to the world. As
Wegscheider (1981) asserts, in a family that experiences the challenge of addiction, the
wholeness and wellbeing of the family is not encouraged and various rules and roles are
established which keep the system closed. These rules and roles help in maintaining a sense of
stability without specifically dealing with the challenge of alcoholism. Although the family is
able to preserve their identity, the cost incurred is quite high.
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To the Johnson family, in order for them to preserve their identity as the picture perfect
family and function while supporting the mother’s alcoholism, various changes have taken place.
The mother in this case who was once the care giver of the family is a helpless alcoholic that can
hardly stay without a drink. She is hardly sober and as such cannot take care of her duties as a
mother and wife as she did before. She keeps promising that she won’t drink but always ends up
intoxicated. On the other hand Dave is both a loving husband and father and according to him,
he does not want his children to suffer and neither does he want them to be embarrassed by the
wife’s alcoholism. He therefore enables her behavior by excusing their absence from social
gatherings with family and friends and continuously gives excuses why they cannot attend. He
has also hired extra help around the house to cater for the family’s needs and still listens and
bears with every excuse that the wife gives when she fails to meet her obligation such as going to
a school meeting and so forth.
On the other hand Dean Martin as the oldest child in the family has been the hero of the
family stepping in and helping his siblings to cover up their mom’s failure. For example on
several occasions he has had to skip football practice because his mother failed to pick his
younger siblings. Although he is a very hardworking and excellent student, he has being weighed
down the last four years with having to be the adult when his father was at work and prepare
food for his siblings, help them with their homework and so forth. However currently Dean faces
a huge challenge because he has receive scholarship from a university in a different state
courtesy of his exemplary performance but is worried about living his siblings without help.
Jean Sonia on the other hand has been negatively impacted by the mother’s addiction and
has turned to be the trouble child who acts in immature ways despite being thirteen at the
moment. At first, Jean had a very close relationship with the mother but the alcohol addiction
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drove them apart and jean decided to act out. She indulges in heavy makeup, has been caught
several times smoking, drinking and so forth. Nathan Morris as the youngest child is the reserved
and isolated child who is lost in his own world. He used to be jovial and playful but with little
attention from his mother he became quiet and reserved. He is always playing his video games or
working on this or that on his own.
Although the family has been able to keep up appearances for a while now, things seem
to be bursting at the seams and urgent help is needed to put the family back on track.
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References
Hawkins, C. A and Hawkins, R. C. (2012). CHAPTER 10 Family Systems and Chemical
Dependency: Chemical Dependency A Systems Approach in McNeece, A. C. and.
DiNitto, E. D. M Pearson, Fourth Edition.
Wegscheider, S. (1981). Another chance: Hope and health for the alcoholic family. Palo Alto, CA:
Science and Behavior Books.
Running head: ADDICTION FAMILY CASE STUDY PART II
Addiction Family Case Study Part II
Grand Canyon University MFT 532
June 19, 2019
1
ADDICTION FAMILY CASE STUDY PART II
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Family’s Narrative on How the Problem Started
Johnson’s family has been suffering for a while now as a result of Nancy’s addictions to
alcohol and the different repercussions that have followed suit. After the evaluation of the family’s
case, they have their narrative and possible reasons as to why and how the problem started. One
of the narrations on why Nancy became an addict, according to the family was due to her idleness
and staying at home without a job. Her main role was to take care of her children at home while
her husband went to work. After they went to school, she was being left lonely in the house and
would take a little alcohol to pass the time, which made her an addict. A second narration is that
there lacked an individual around her who would advise her on the effects of alcohol. This made
sipping of alcohol a habit to her becoming the genesis of all the family’s struggles.
Impact of Addiction on Each Family Member
Johnson family have been affected by the addiction problem either directly or indirectly, and every
member would like something to be done differently. To begin with, Dave, who is the father of
the family, he feels that he lacks a mother to his children and would need help to change the
addiction problem from his wife. Nancy herself has been impacted directly where she cannot
perform anything without having to take a sip of alcohol. Dean the firstborn of the house has lately
been missing football practice to fill in the void that her mother left due to addiction. Jean, the only
girl in the family, started behaving immaturely due to lack of the parenthood that would show her
the right direction to follow. Nathan, who is the last born of the family, started becoming dull as
compared to the jovial and playful nature that he used to be before his mother became an addict.
For all the three siblings, one thing that they would like done differently would be the rehabilitation
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of their mother where she would stop her drinking habits and come back home and help them
grow.
Therapist’s Explanation of Addiction as a Family Problem
According to statistics by Hawkins, and Hawkins, (2012), approximately 33% of families globally
have been affected by the problem of addiction of one of the family members. As a therapist, it is
ones obligation to analyze such a situation and offer some diagnostic solutions to the affected
families. For the Johnsons family, Nancy needs both medical and psychological assistance as a
way to overcome the addiction problem. Analysis of the whole quagmire would prove that the real
genesis of the addiction problem would be the lonely state that she would find herself into. The
general method of treatment that would help Nancy would be that of taking her to a rehabilitation
center where the presence of therapists who would help her in the recovery journey.
Recommendations
From a case management perspective, the community also has a significant role to play in the
recovery process from the addiction problem that the Johnson family is facing (Wegscheider,
1981). According to the analysis of the case, the Johnson family has been trying to create and forge
a false portrait of them to the outside world. This is because they wanted the community not to
realize what addiction to alcohol has brought to them. The community should be supportive of
them both morally and psychologically as a way of relieving the burden from the family. The
analysis from the therapist shows that loneliness and boredom led to Nancy becoming an addict
and to stop this, the community should interact with the family more so Nancy to keep her away
from alcoholism and addiction problems.
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References
Hawkins, C. A, and Hawkins, R. C. (2012). CHAPTER 10, Family Systems and Chemical
Dependency: Chemical Dependency A Systems Approach in McNeece, A. C., and.
DiNitto, E. D. M Pearson, Fourth Edition.
Wegscheider, S. (1981). Another chance: Hope and health for the alcoholic family. Palo Alto, CA:
Science and Behavior Books.
Running head: ADDICTION FAMILY CASE STUDY
Addiction Family Case Study
Adrianna Nelson
Grand Canyon University MFT 532
July 3, 2019
1
ADDICTION FAMILY CASE STUDY
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Addiction Family Case Study
When dealing with any form of addiction, the family is an important aspect. There may be
numerous organizations that are offering to help but without the help of the family, the recovery
process may be a challenge. The below report analyzes how my family has adapted through the
recovery process and the challenges that came along.
How the family has adapted
Throughout the recovery process, the family has been supportive. They have been of help in
numerous areas including which seemed to be a challenge to other families. To begin with, the
family accepted and acknowledged that going to treatment is not a fix it all. This means that they
were there to support regardless of the kind of medication available. As outlined above, without
the help of the family, it may not be possible to recover from a specific addiction. The family
must be keen to define how well to help a family member to ensure the recovery process is
efficient, fast, and beneficial. The family members were fast to understand there is no ‘quick-fix’
when it comes to addiction. There is more that is needed and that is the family care and love.
Another way the family was staying involved and supportive. There is more than just taking
medication but also words of encouragement and counselling (DiClemente, 2018). Everyone
needs a shoulder to lean on whenever they are going through a challenge. My family was always
there which saw the recovery process easier and fast.
The family members were also keen to find support for themselves. We can all agree that taking
care of some one recovering from an addiction is not easy. It may be exhaustive in terms of the
human resource and money wise. If one is not keen enough, they may end up losing themselves
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in the process and that means developing other complications. However, my family was keen to
address such an issue and ensured they too have time for themselves.
Risk factors demonstrated by the family
Through the process, my family members lost their time and energy trying to show love and
care. There was also the issue of monetary loss since they are the ones who catered for all
medical expenses. That was a risk factor since they were not sure If the recovery process would
be a success or not. Developing stress was another issue since they spent most of their time doing
things they were not productive yet they have business and jobs to attend.
Protective factors by the family
One of the protective factors that I noted was understanding the situation and accepting it. This is
the best way any family can protect themselves during such a process which means there will be
no more complications from the issue. The recovery process is wanting and stressing but once
the family members understand and accept the situation, they are good to go.
How individual changes contributed to the family’s process
The recovery process does not only involve the family but also the individual (DiClemente,
2018). Though the family members may be supportive, one needs to show a certain level of
progress. If I did not show any signs of improvement, then the family members without doubt
would be discouraged to help. However, with notable levels of improvement, the family
members felt motivated to push on and offer the support I deserved.
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References
DiClemente, C. C. (2018). Addiction and change: How addictions develop and addicted people
recover. Guilford Publications.

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