Therapy for Loved Ones Impacted by Addiction

Addiction impacts the entire family system. You deserve to be cared for regardless of where your loved one is in their journey to recovery. Therapy can help you prioritize your own needs while also learning how to navigate the challenges of loving someone struggling with addiction.

Your loved one doesn’t have to be in treatment

You can start therapy for yourself at any point: whether your loved one is using, in treatment, in recovery, or not ready to change. Addiction affects the whole family. You may be exhausted, on edge, angry, or unsure whether you’re helping or making things worse. You may have stopped meeting your own needs a long time ago.

As both a licensed social worker (LISW-S) and a licensed chemical dependency counselor (LICDC), I understand addiction and how it ripples through families. I offer therapy for partners, parents, adult children, siblings, and friends of people with substance use concerns

I am harm reduction therapist, which means I meet people where they are and don’t make support conditional on abstinence.

Commonly asked questions

What we might work on together

  • Setting boundaries you can actually keep

  • Communicating clearly when emotions are running high

  • Rebuilding trust, or deciding what trust looks like for you now

  • Healing from what you’ve lived through, including with EMDR if it’s a fit

  • Finding steadiness whether or not your loved one is in recovery

  • Exploring your own relationship with substances, if that’s part of your story

Additional support

If you or someone you love needs immediate help, call or text 988. SAMHSA’s National Helpline (1-800-662-4357) offers free, confidential treatment referrals 24/7. In an emergency, call 911.

  • Harm reduction refers to practical and accessible strategies that aim to reduce negative outcomes and help people make the healthiest choices for themselves. At the core, it’s about reducing risk by not requiring people to stop using substances in order to access support. Harm reduction honors self-determination and is rooted in principles of social justice. It focuses on making small, positive changes and meeting clients where they are without judgement, coercion, or discrimination. Harm reduction saves lives! Learn more at Harm Reduction International and National Harm Reduction Coalition.

  • No, but they can complement each other. Therapy gives you individual, confidential support, and many people use both.

  • No, I am not trained to provide family therapy but I will support you if you decide to engage in that outside of our sessions. Our focus will be equipping you with the support and understanding you need to prioritize your own needs and well-being regardless of where your loved one is in the cycle of addiction.

  • No. I don’t see family members, partners, or close friends of people I’m currently working with. At intake I’ll ask for your loved one’s name so I can check for a conflict. If there is one, I’ll tell you that I’m not able to work with you and will help you find another clinician. I won’t say whether the person is a client. I keep the names you share confidential. This policy protects both of you.

  • Therapy is confidential, with a few exceptions required by law or by safety. I may need to share information if there’s a serious risk that you’ll harm yourself or someone else, if I learn of suspected abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult (I’m a mandated reporter in Ohio), or if a court orders the release of records. Because I provide substance use treatment, federal confidentiality rules (42 CFR Part 2) may add extra protections to certain records. I go over all of this in your consent paperwork before we begin, and you’re welcome to ask me questions at any point.