Are you living with addiction in your household and need someone to talk to? It has been our experience for many years, that when a family is affected by addiction, the whole family can benefit from support, not just the individual themselves suffering from the addiction.

The Impact of Living with Addiction

The stress and strain of living with or caring about an addicted person has serious mental, emotional and physical consequences for family members. You can go for months and years coping with the shame, fear and stigma of another’s addiction, hoping that somehow it will stop. It can lead to issues such as anxiety or depression, lack of trust, low self-esteem, difficulty sleeping leading to exhaustion, both high and low blood pressure and weight issues to name just a few. Everyone in the family is affected and copes with it in different ways. We support family members to help themselves, their addicted family member and their whole family.

Some Signs & Symptoms of Living with Addiction

• Fear, anger and grief
• Shame and stigma
• Walking on eggshells
• Sleep difficulties
• Legal difficulties
• Trying to make it all OK
• Worry, anxiety or depression
• Avoid family or work gatherings
• Constantly checking up on where someone else is
• Concerned for own safety and the safety of others
• Worried about the impact on yourself or on children
• Wish you had their loved one back

Services we provide for families

The types of supports that have been shown to help are education, one-to-one support, peer support groups, telephone support and intervention advice, all of which we offer at Tabor Group.

• One to One Family Counselling Meetings

You can arrange a confidential, one to one meeting with our family services counsellor at Tabor Group. You can talk about what you are going through, get understanding of how best to help your loved one and develop a plan to support change.  You can have as many sessions as you need.

• Four Week Family Programme

This education-based programme is offered both for families with a relative in treatment with us and for those who have not. Each week offers themed talks on addiction in the family, interactive workshops and the opportunity to be with others coping with addiction. The aim is help you understand more about addiction, how you have been impacted by it and how best to support your addicted family member.

• Support Groups in Cork City

We run an ongoing, rolling 12-Week facilitated Support Group throughout the year in Cork City open to everyone. The group has 12 modules on topics relevant to how families are impacted by addiction with accompanying worksheets and hand-outs. There is plenty of time to discuss current challenges and home situations and to receive support from people who are also coping and living with addiction.

• Intervention advice

You can call us to speak with our Family Services Officer to talk through how you might set up a family meeting to encourage your addicted family member to seek help.  Whilst there is no right way to do this, we can offer you guidelines on creating a plan to ensure all family members are in agreement about the intended outcome of the meeting, who should attend, what to say and not say, how to invite your addicted family member to the meeting and how to stay calm.   Last year, Tabor Group had a total of 454 family members attend our Family Day Programme, giving them the opportunity to be directly involved in their relative’s treatment while also receiving the appropriate education and support for themselves. A total of 116 people attended our 12-week groups. It always helps to be with others who know what you are going through and by learning about addiction and how families tend to be affected, participants at our Family Day Programme are empowered to make more informed choices in their lives, as they learn how to respond more effectively to addiction and early recovery. One of those family members who attended our Family Support Programme was Fiona. She had this to say about her experience: “A quick note to thank you sincerely for your support over the last 12 weeks, your guidance was invaluable in navigating this difficult time and it definitely brought some calm and reason to the turbulence. Your facilitation was superb and to hear about your own experiences and your own recovery make the Family Sessions very powerful. I learned a huge amount from you both and from the rest of the group - I feel stronger and more positive as a result of these sessions and it's set me up for my own recovery and I think by extension, that of my Mum and brother too.”

The impact of COVID-19 on Family Support Programme

Similar to most things this year, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our Family Support Programme routine, but has not cancelled it by any means. We see this as a vital service, so we have adjusted by moving to the use of online platforms such as zoom and using telephone calls more than what we would have done previously.

Referral Service for Local Community Organisations

We accept referrals into our weekly family support programme and support groups from local community groups, Cork Local Drug & Alcohol Task Force (CLDATF) and health and social care professionals. Please contact Tabor Lodge for a referral form or contact the Family Services Development Officer, Jason Loughnane, for more information on 021 488 7110.

Tabor Group

If you or a loved one are suffering from an addiction, get help today. We can help you recover in a healthy, friendly environment and beat your addiction. Don’t hesitate to contact one of our counsellors today for information at +353 (21) 488 7110 or email us at info@taborgroup.ie. We can help you.