Rancho Mirage, Calif. (Nov. 28, 2017)—In the battle to overcome alcohol and other drug addiction, the family that heals together stands a better chance of sustaining recovery over the long term. That's how a screenwriter in a Los Angeles suburb approached her path to sobriety. She stopped drinking alcohol and then sent her children to the Betty Ford Center Children's Program for help in handling the emotional turmoil that substance use had created in their lives.
"When a family member is in the throes of addiction, the children swallow their fear and wallow in their confusion and guilt," says Jerry Moe, National Director of the Betty Ford Center Children's Program, part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. "Our program teaches children that this disease is not their fault and gives them the power to express their feelings in a positive fashion."
Mary's Story
Mary (not her real name) has written many screen and television scripts over the years working in a notoriously difficult industry, but it was alcohol that truly tested her limits. Despite experiencing sobriety earlier in life, the middle-aged mother of two found that the demands of her career presented new challenges.
"I took a job that required me at the time to commute to Los Angeles every week from out of state," said Mary. "That alone is stressful, but add in the demands of production work on the show I was writing and I got overwhelmed."
Her kids had never seen her drink before, but they knew something was wrong. She and her husband would fight constantly. There was a palpable strain on the family.
"I grew up in an alcoholic household," says Mary. "I didn't want that for my kids. They had a lot of feelings around the drinking and needed a way to process them."
Both of Mary's children attended the Betty Ford Center Children's Program twice at its Rancho Mirage, Calif., location. They developed the techniques and tools to manage their uncertainty and gain understanding of the disease.
"This time around, I feel more accountable, which is keeping me sober," says Mary. "Going through the program with my kids has provided me a feeling of support and understanding. What I've gained with the Children's Program is a sense that I want to remain sober for them."
"While parental recovery is the greatest gift to one's children, a child's healing and growing and hope is a special gift that empowers and motivates parents to fight for recovery and heal so they can reclaim the family life that had been so elusive in their addiction," says Sis Wenger, President and CEO of the National Association for Children of Addiction. "This reciprocal recovery, when children are offered an age-appropriate targeted children's program and begin to understand and to heal, is the beginning of multigenerational healing, forgiveness and whole-family recovery. Everyone wins!"
(For photos, video clips and additional information, see the Betty Ford Center Children's Program Press Kit.)
About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation helps people reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. It is the nation's leading nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center. With 17 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care for youth and adults. It includes the largest recovery publishing house in the country, a fully-accredited graduate school of addiction studies, an addiction research center, an education arm for medical professionals and a unique children's program, and is the nation's leader in advocacy and policy for treatment and recovery. Learn more at HazeldenBettyFord.org and on Twitter @hazldnbettyford.
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