How to cope with alcoholism in the family: BOOK REVIEW

Believe it or not, you really CAN raise healthy children in an alcoholic home. How? Dr. Barbara Wood shares her experience and knowledge in a MUST HAVE book. More here.

3
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Can you really raise healthy children in an alcoholic home?

Yes.  And Dr. Barbara L. Wood can teach you how.

Here, we review her latest book, “Raising Healthy Children in an Alcoholic Home”. This book can serve as an invaluable guide for all parents who are raising children in a family that deals with alcoholism. Then, we invite you to post your questions,  in the comments section at the end of the page. We try to respond to everyone with a prompt and personal answer.

An expert in the field

Dr. Barbara Wood is a licensed psychologist, who practices general psychotherapy and forensics who specializes in the treatment of addictions and trauma, alcoholism and other substance abuse problems. She has written two books, in which she explains the impact of alcoholism on families, but also, gives insight into the path towards recovery.

In fact, anyone who is facing problems with alcohol in their family can benefit from reading this. It’s easy to read. It’s informed. And this book can help recovering parents understand how alcoholism influences their developing children and/or the family unit as a whole.

Why should you read this book?

As with other addictions, alcoholism is NOT a one-person-issue. Family members and especially, children, have to deal with the many harmful effects of alcohol addiction. When alcoholism takes over the family life, the whole family becomes a dysfunctional “alcoholic family”. Once parents understand this, they can become therapeutic parents…and Dr. Wood provides real practical strategies for raising children in such families.

Take home lessons

“Raising Healthy Children…” provides clear and sensible guidance for adults who are trying to protect children from the harms caused by parental alcoholism. You can sense the author’s comforting, empathetic and healing voice, which leads you towards understanding the issues of addiction and what you can do about them. The main subjects covered in the book” include:

  • how parental alcoholism impacts the family
  • how chronic alcoholism changes both parents, dependent and co-dependent
  • how children can be hurt and damaged from parental dependency/co-dependency
  • the basic concepts of therapeutic parenting
  • how to protect your children by building an emotional safety net
  • how to establish trust, security and stability in the recovering home
  • what to do when children need professional support
  • how to find professionals that are experienced and qualified in helping families to recover from alcoholism and co-dependence

What are the “take home lessons” for addicts and their families?

For anyone dealing with addiction, experts like Dr. Wood suggest that you become familiar and understand the problem first. Then, find a way to fix the problem, through therapy sessions, recovery and prevention of future alcohol issues. Also, build a safety net to provide a sense of emotional safety for your kid. And remember, children are forgiving, they can heal faster and less painfully.

What are the “take home lessons” for addiction treatment providers?

This book covers strategies that even addiction professionals can benefit from. These strategies can be passed on during educational and behavioral treatment meetings. The strategies involve approaches for reducing and repairing the harm done on children with an alcoholic parent. The approaches can be taught and implemented successfully, even if the parent continues drinking alcohol.

Why do we recommend this book?

Whether you are a codependent parent or the addicted parent (and aware of your problem), this book may serve as a guide to rework your priorities. Whether your family is dealing with alcoholism for a while, or you are new to these topics, you can turn to “Raising Healthy Children in an Alcoholic Home” for support.

Further, all recovering moms and dads can create a healthy and supportive atmosphere in the home. This can help your youngest and dearest grow and develop in a stable environment, and restore the broken relationships and/or trust.

Have any questions?

Wondering where you can find Raising Healthy Children in an Alcoholic Home” from  Dr. Barbara L. Wood. To buy, download and read the book, check her out on Amazon.  Additionally, if you are left with any questions about this book, we ask you to post them in the section below. We also welcome your feedback if you’ve read the book, and would like to comment and share your opinion.

About the author
Lee Weber is a published author, medical writer, and woman in long-term recovery from addiction. Her latest book, The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions is set to reach university bookstores in early 2019.
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