Children of Substance-Abusing Parents: Dynamics and Treatment

Children of Substance-Abusing Parents: Dynamics and Treatment is a necessary reference for all mental health professionals and students who need to understand and treat this population. It offers an invaluable look at treatment options and programmatic interventions across the life span and fills an important gap in the current literature. The contributors include a wide range of experts who provide up-to-date evidence-based clinical and programmatic strategies for working with children of alcohol and other substance-abusing parents of any age and in almost any practice setting.

This highly recommended book is a valuable resource for all practitioners and students concerned about this very large, but often hidden group of individuals and families.

From the Foreword by Sis Wenger
President/CEO
National Association for Children of Alcoholics

Parental drug abuse and alcoholism have an enormously detrimental impact on children and adolescents. Children whose parents suffer from drug abuse or alcoholism often face multiple physical, mental, and behavioral issues. They are at a greater risk for depression, anxiety, low self esteem, and addiction, and also are known to have poor school attendance, difficulty concentrating, and lower IQ scores.

This book offers health care practitioners proactive programs and innovative strategies to use with this vulnerable population. Taking a comprehensive, life course approach, the authors discuss the implications and interventions at the prenatal stage, through childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. With this book, social workers and health care practitioners can help assess and intervene with children of substance abusing parents.

Key topics:

• Dynamics in families with substance abusing parents and treatment implications
• Issues across the life span of children of substance abusing parents
• Prevention and early intervention programs for pregnant women who abuse substances
• Programs for young children, adolescents, college students, and children with incarcerated parents

Dr. Lala Straussner, LCSW, DSW, CEAP, BCD, CAS is a Professor of Social Work and Chair of the Practice area at the NYU Silver School of Social Work.

Christine Huff Fewell, PhD, LCSW, CASAC is Adjunct Associate Professor at Silver School of Social Work at New York University where she teaches in the areas of clinical practice and substance abuse and in the Post Master's Certificate Program in The Clinical Approaches to Addictions.