In order to develop a treatment plan for family counseling in a substance use treatment setting, the alcohol and drug counselor must first assess the primary concerns, problems, and strengths in the family system (always keeping in mind that substance use affects families and families affect substance use).
While the alcohol and drug counselor will be able to identify some of the problems and strengths from simply asking the family question or listening to what they share, many family dynamics will be found by observing how the family is interacting with each other, in session, in the moment.
A family dynamic (or relational dynamic) is simply a pattern or style of interacting or relating with another family member(s). Counselors working with families are always on the lookout for key family dynamics—meaning major, influential patterns of relating between family members or within the entire family system. A single-incident that serves as an exception rather than a pattern of interaction between family members is usually less of a concern when counseling families, although that exception still may need to be assessed and addressed
There are many different kinds of family dynamics in all family systems—both healthy and dysfunctional. In this introductory lecture, some of the key family dynamics that are often seen in families in a substance use treatment setting are introduced and reviewed.
