By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

What kind of support is available for the families of people in recovery?

Why are there so few support group meetings for the families of recovering people?

There are lots of meetings for people in substance abuse recovery. In my local area in any given week, there are over 350 A.A. meetings and 50 N.A. meetings. Most towns have a local office. Call information and they can connect you with a local number who can direct you to a close-by meeting. There are all kinds of online meeting directories.

In an area the same size there might be a few Al-Anon meetings, say ten per week or so.  Sometimes one or two Nar-Anon meetings, but that is about it. Outside the major cities, just try to find a meeting for a family member.

When it comes to meetings that support family members of the mentally ill the situation is even worse.

To begin with, there are relatively few support meetings for someone with a mental illness. Many end up in A.A. and N.A. meetings because the co-occurrence of substance use disorders and mental illness is so common. The few self-help meetings that do exist specifically for people with a mental illness are usually affiliated with a particular psychiatric hospital or mental health system.

The best resources for family members are usually the websites of the large national associations in the mental health field. In many areas, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has local chapters and meetings.

I have had a few emails, my child, parent, spouse or relative has a mental illness, abuses substances, or is in recovery and their issues have taken a toll on the family, where can we get help? Often I have to admit I don’t have a ready resource referral.

One reason for the lack of support groups for family members is the reluctance of family members to concede that the whole experience has harmed them. Counselors often hear something to the effect of – Fix them – they are the ones with the problem. The idea expressed or implied is that if the recovering person gets better the whole family will be fixed. It does not work that way. The addict’s problems have affected the family. Living with a mentally ill person can strain any relationship. Those stresses on the family build up over time.

It is not unusual to have a person enter recovery only to have the spouse file for divorce or have the family decide they no longer want to see them. If someone you have been close to, has a mental health or addiction problem or has entered recovery, consider that you need help to heal also.

Here are a few websites for some national groups that offer online resources and they may also be able to direct you to additional resources for the members of the family.

If you know of other resources that should be listed here please share. Comments are welcome.

Nar-Anon               Al-Anon        National Alliance on Mental Illness

Hope you all find the resources you need to recover, individually and as a family. Have the happiest life you can.

Other posts about support systems can be found at:

How supportive is your support system?

Can one person be a support system?

How do you develop a support system?

Staying connected with David Joel Miller

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!

My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.

Story Bureau.

Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.

Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.

As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.

Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.

Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.

Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.

Planned Accidents  The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.

Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.

What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?

Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.

For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller

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