Treatment

Answer: It is a three-day education program (followed by a twelve-week aftercare program) for children 6 to 12 years old who are not involved in alcohol or drugs, but who come from an alcoholic or drug-dependent family.  The program goals are parent-child communication, education of the child on the disease, trust building, and learning to identify and share feelings.  At least one parent must be involved in a recovery program and at least one parent (either mother or father) must participate in the children’s program.  Following are sample comments by children after completion of the program:

- “I can’t make an alcoholic stop drinking.”
- “I wish I could have no alcohol in the world.”
- “I play many rolls [sic].”     - “Sharing your feelings is good.”
- “I can be an alcoholic threw [sic] my genes.”
- “I learned you can die from alcohol and what chemical dependent means and lots more stuff.”
- “I wish I were a millionaire and I wish there was no alcohol person in my family and my parents were not divorced.”

Most children of alcoholics grow up in families where the secret of alcoholism is never spoken; they feel that somehow they may be the cause of it.  It is a heavy burden for a kid to bear and it may distort all of his or her future perceptions. This kind of program can be of great help to a child.

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