Before we review the five basic childhood roles in depth, there is another list that is important to mention, and that is Claudia Black’s Three Golden Rules for Adult Children of Alcoholics: 1. Don’t Talk. (If I don’t talk, I don’t get yelled at, ignored, hit, etc.) The child is also reminded to keep the…
At the heart of understanding the disease of addiction as a family illness is an understanding of the relationship between the addict and chief enabler. What is meant by the term chief enabler? The chief enabler is the person who is most responsible for cushioning the fall, rescuing the addict or bailing him or her…
In the mid-1980s, alcohol and drug addiction treatment centers were almost exclusively twelve step oriented, and psychiatry had little or nothing to do with twelve-step recovery. This was easily seen at conferences, such SECAD in the early 1990s. We had to be very careful with selection of speakers and topics so as not to offend…