Understanding and Helping Children of Parents with Substance Use Disorder

Session Description: This presentation will provide realistic information and understanding of the lives of children growing up with parental addiction. Childhood trauma and chronic unmanaged stress of growing up with parental addiction causes lifelong effects. Children develop survival roles which can cause misunderstanding, suffering, and confusion outside the family system. Services are limited for all of these children. Poverty, parental incarceration, systematic racism and other forms of discrimination further affect availability and participation. The kinds of trauma and its effects are crucial to know. We must believe a child when they do courageously disclose difficult or frightening living situations, or even unimaginable abuse and neglect. Targeted intervention can offer acceptance, compassion, trust, sharing of emotions, and development of coping skills. Children do, though, certainly develop resiliencies and strengths through the adversity based on many factors in the environment and their own inner resources. These are to be validated and built upon. The survival roles will be explained in a developmental manner. Examples of resiliencies to look for and to celebrate are offered. Each of these are accompanied by examples of children. Some time will be spent demonstrating, some with voluntary small-group audience participation, activities that are engaging and meaningful to do with children in groups. Some may be adapted to individual work. Full directions and rationale for each activity, including additional ones, are provided.