Therapy for friends and family of addicts
When someone you care about is struggling with addiction, life can start to feel overwhelming. You may find yourself caught between hope and fear, trying to help while feeling helpless. It’s natural to want to make things better, but when addiction takes hold, the impact reaches far beyond the individual — affecting relationships, trust, and emotional wellbeing across the whole family.
Therapy can offer you a calm, non-judgemental space to talk about what’s happening and begin caring for yourself again. Whether you’re a partner, parent, sibling, or friend, support is available for you too.
What Is Family Addiction Support Therapy?
Family addiction support therapy focuses on helping those affected by someone else’s substance use – not by treating the addiction directly, but by offering understanding, boundaries, and emotional recovery for loved ones.
Sessions provide time and space for you to explore your own experience of living alongside addiction, and to begin to understand the patterns, roles, and emotions that can develop within families over time.
This is not about blame or fixing anyone else – it’s about helping you regain a sense of clarity, strength, and self-compassion.
The Impacts of Living with an Addicted Person
When someone close to you is struggling with alcohol or drugs, it can affect every part of your life. You might find yourself:
- Feeling anxious, angry, or constantly on edge
- Becoming hyper-focused on their wellbeing and losing touch with your own needs
- Experiencing guilt, shame, or self-blame
- Trying to control, rescue, or protect them, even when it leaves you exhausted
- Struggling with trust, communication, or boundaries within the family
It’s very common for loved ones to neglect their own emotional needs while caring for someone in addiction. Over time, this can lead to stress, burnout, depression, or physical health issues.
How Therapy Can Help
Therapy gives you a space that’s just for you – to be honest, reflect, and rebuild.
Through a relational and psychodynamic approach, we can explore how your past experiences may influence the way you respond now. For example, if you’ve always felt responsible for others, it may feel especially hard to step back or set boundaries.
Together, we can work towards:
- Understanding your emotional responses
- Developing healthier boundaries and communication
- Managing guilt and anxiety
- Reconnecting with your own needs and identity
- Finding balance between care and self-preservation
When you feel supported, you’re better able to offer genuine compassion, not from a place of fear or control, but from understanding and stability.
Therapy in Brighton & Online
I offer family addiction support therapy on a one-to-one basis, both in person in Brighton and online across the UK. Sessions last 50 minutes and take place weekly, providing a consistent, confidential space to talk and process at your own pace.
You don’t have to go through this alone. Even if your loved one isn’t ready to seek help, therapy can be the first step towards healing for you.