Therapy for Families Impacted by Addiction
Support for you, whether or not your loved one is ready for change.
Ask about therapy ↗You are part of this story too.
When someone you love is struggling with alcohol or drugs, their substance use can quietly become the center of the household. You may be monitoring moods, bracing for the next crisis, covering for missed obligations, or putting your own life on hold to keep things from falling apart. Therapy offers a place where your experience is the focus.
Addiction affects everyone close to it. We work with:
- Partners and spouses navigating broken promises, financial strain, relapse, and the question of whether and how to stay.
- Parents of adolescents or adult children who are using, caught between protecting their child and protecting the rest of the family.
- Adult children who grew up around a parent’s drinking or drug use and notice its echoes in their relationships, work, and sense of self.
- Siblings and extended family who carry worry, resentment, or caretaking roles that often go unacknowledged.
Your loved one does not need to be in treatment, in recovery, or even aware that you are seeking support.
When their struggle becomes your daily life.
Family members often adapt in ways that make sense at the time but become exhausting. You might recognize some of these:
- Scanning for signs of use, checking phones, or counting what is left in the bottle
- Feeling responsible for preventing the next relapse or crisis
- Keeping the situation private, even from people close to you
- Swinging between hope, anger, fear, and numbness
- Struggling to tell the difference between helping and enabling
- Feeling guilty when you rest, set a limit, or think about your own needs
- Grieving the person you remember, or the family life you expected
These responses can develop under chronic stress and uncertainty. They are not character flaws, and they can change.
Care for them without losing yourself.
Understand the family pattern
Addiction reshapes roles, rules, and communication across a family system. We look at the role you have taken on, what it has protected, and what it has cost you.
Separate care from responsibility
Clarify what is within your control and what belongs to your loved one. Work through the guilt that often follows a limit, and find ways of supporting someone that do not depend on managing their recovery.
Respond to crises with more steadiness
Plan for relapse, emergencies, and difficult conversations before they happen. Practice communication that is honest and clear without escalating conflict.
Tend to your own grief and nervous system
Living on high alert takes a physical and emotional toll. We make room for fear, anger, and loss, and attend to how stress lives in the body, so you can feel more settled in your own life.
Explore the roots, if you grew up with it
For adult children of parents with addiction, we explore how early experiences shaped attachment, trust, and caretaking patterns, and what you want to carry forward.
Natasha Behnam, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist (CA PSY30937), draws on attachment, family systems, and somatic approaches, with attention to culture and each person’s lived experience.
A place to begin.
Most family members start with individual therapy, which gives you space to focus on your own experience without having to manage anyone else’s reactions in the room. When it is appropriate and safe, we may also consider sessions with a partner or other family members.
We offer in-person sessions in Hermosa Beach and telehealth options for clients located in California, depending on clinician fit and availability. Natasha Behnam, Ph.D. also offers telehealth for clients located in Delaware. If your loved one needs addiction treatment of their own, we can help you think through options and referrals.
When there are concerns about violence or safety at home, we prioritize individual support and careful safety planning. Addiction does not excuse abuse, and substance use is not the whole explanation for harmful behavior. Read more about where these patterns overlap ↗
Common questions
How is therapy different from a support group like Al-Anon?
Support groups offer connection with others who understand, and many people find them valuable. Therapy is individualized: it looks at your particular history, relationships, and goals, and can address related anxiety, depression, or trauma. The two often work well together.
How do I know if I am helping or enabling?
The line is rarely obvious, and it often shifts over time. In therapy, we look at specific situations together and consider what each choice protects, what it costs, and what fits your values.
Can you help me get my loved one into treatment?
We can help you think through how to talk with your loved one, what treatment options exist, and how to prepare for different responses. Our focus is your well-being; your loved one’s decision to seek treatment remains their own.
I grew up with a parent who drank or used. Is it worth addressing now?
Yes. Many adults notice that patterns from childhood, such as hypervigilance, difficulty trusting, or taking care of everyone else, show up years later in relationships and work. It is never too late to understand them.
Will my loved one know what I discuss in therapy?
What you share in individual therapy is confidential, within the legal and ethical limits we review at the start of treatment.
What about fees and insurance?
We are an out-of-network practice, and many of our patients use insurance benefits to help cover their care. We can work with eligible out-of-network benefits according to the terms of your plan and provide documentation for reimbursement when needed. Because of our clinicians’ specialties, we may also be able to obtain a single-case agreement with your insurer when your plan allows it. Coverage, reimbursement, and approval depend on your individual plan. Contact us to explore the options available to you. Session fees vary by clinician and service; we will discuss fees before scheduling.
You deserve
support too.
You do not have to wait for your loved one to change before seeking support for yourself. Text or email with a brief request to ask about clinician fit, current openings, session fees, and in-person or telehealth options.
Explore your next step