Michael Barnes Family Institute
Our Family Recovery Program helps any family affected by substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders using a unique approach.
Addiction is a family disease, and our goal is to assist in the process of healing for the entire family system. Substance use disorders and mental health conditions are more closely related to family system dynamics than most illnesses. As has been widely repeated, addiction truly is a family disease.
Developed by Dr. Michael Barnes using insights from forty years of clinical experience and research, Barnes Family Institute combines specialized curriculum, coaching, and group work to help families address the pervasive effects of addictive disorders. This two-level telehealth program is available to any family experiencing substance abuse disorder, regardless of whether a member is currently receiving treatment or not.
Help your entire family to recover.
Speak confidentially with the Michael Barnes Family Institute today.
An accessible, affordable, and vital two-level telehealth-based program facilitating positive change for family systems affected by addictive disorders
What is Family Programing for Addiction Recovery?
Family programming for addiction recovery is a structured therapeutic approach that involves a person’s loved ones in the treatment process, recognizing that addiction affects the entire family system.
These programs include education about addiction, family therapy, communication skill-building, and guidance on setting healthy boundaries. The goal is to help family members understand enabling behaviors, process their own emotional wounds, and learn how to support their loved one without hindering recovery. By healing relational dynamics, these programs create a stronger support network that improves long-term recovery outcomes.
Importance of Family Programing for Addiction Recovery:
Family programming is a vital component of addiction recovery, as it addresses the relational and systemic factors that both contribute to and are damaged by substance use disorder.
- Preventing Relapse: A informed, supportive home environment significantly lowers the risk of relapse after treatment.
- Rebuilding Trust: Helps repair broken relationships and restore honesty between the individual and their loved ones.
- Reducing Enabling Behaviors: Educates family members on patterns that may unintentionally support addictive behavior.
- Strengthening Support Networks: Equips families with the tools to provide healthy, effective encouragement during recovery.
- Healing Family Trauma: Addresses underlying emotional wounds and codependency that can fuel the cycle of addiction.
- Improving Communication: Teaches healthier ways to express needs, set boundaries, and resolve conflict.
- Increasing Treatment Retention: Individuals with engaged family support are more likely to complete treatment and stay committed to recovery.
Two Levels of Family Programming
There are two levels of family programming to choose from, depending on where you or your loved one is standing in their current recovery journey.
Level 101: Multi-Family programming
The 101 program is well-suited to families with a member who needs treatment or is currently receiving treatment.
The 101 program is a five-week telehealth program that creates a strong foundation for family healing and recovery-supportive home life. It is included as part of treatment for the families and loved ones of people enrolled in Foundry Steamboat residential and outpatient programs. It is also available to any family regardless of current or prior treatment experiences as a stand-alone service.
The 101 program uses internet-based (virtual) group sessions and video curriculum to educate family members about substance use and mental health disorders as chronic diseases, treatment, understanding trauma, and how to support their loved one’s recovery to lead to healing in the family system. Participants are helped to find local support groups and treatment resources.
The program also lays the groundwork for deeper and more difficult conversations that help to address longstanding and underlying problems affecting families. As with all Barnes Family Institute programming, approaches are solution-oriented and not blame-based. All participants are seen as essential and equal participants in a positive process with the goal of creating a healthier family system and improved individual wellness and quality of life.
Level 102: Individual Family Coaching
The 102 program is well-suited to families with a member in early recovery.
Families who have completed the 101 program are encouraged to deepen their progress in the 102 program. 102 is a 12-week program designed to productively and safely facilitate more profound and more complex conversations about problems affecting family systems and individual family members.
Level 102 participants receive individual, weekly family telehealth coaching sessions and review themes discussed in educational videos. The loved one who has participated in treatment or who is working towards recovery is included in this phase of the program.
Using a curriculum designed by the Barnes Family Institute Team, participants explore and address deep-seated and sometimes longstanding problems that can undermine perceived safety and security, strain family bonds, and promote unhealthy behaviors. The goal of 102, as with all family programming, is to help family members identify and address unresolved trauma, more openly relate to one another, learn to understand and support recovery-oriented lifestyles, and begin the work of restoring family health and function.
Accessible & Welcoming Family Programming Solutions
The Michael Barnes Family Institute is designed to overcome barriers that prevent families from getting the help they need.
While many evidence-based treatment providers offer various forms of family programming, few provide the breadth and depth needed to stimulate lasting changes. Family members are often hesitant to participate in treatment, and there are practical reasons for this. Clinically effective levels of family programming are usually not covered by insurance plans, and many people believe that family therapy will be a negative experience or that they will be blamed for the negative conditions affecting their loved ones.
Family members should know that the goal of this treatment program is to help all family members to understand the issues affecting the family system and find ways to effectively make change. Our approach to therapy is not blame-based and understands that many of the problems families face are the result of living with unresolved trauma and resulting patterns of unhealthy or stunted communication.
The Michael Barnes Family Institute offers high-quality and intensive family care via telehealth videoconferencing that is cost-effective and convenient. Through good business practice and flexible payment planning, the program is accessible to most families. It also uses solution-oriented approaches that focus on developing practical ways of overcoming family issues and challenges rather than dwelling on the sources of problems.
In addition, the program’s experienced clinicians help family members come together for their common benefit and understand that all members want and need to feel heard, understood, and welcomed into the process of healing.
Trauma-Integrated Family Programming
Barnes Family Institute provides trauma-integrated programming to help all participating family members address unresolved traumatic experiences and adverse life events. Developmental trauma and PTSD commonly co-occur with substance use and mental health disorders. Trauma is a pervasive problem that can impact more than the person who experiences a traumatic event.
When one family member experiences adverse childhood events, a traumatizing, catastrophic event, like an accident or sudden loss, or other negative experiences, they can develop symptoms of trauma that make it hard for them to function normally and relate to others. The presence of unresolved trauma can cause family members to seem distant, angry, emotionally detached, hypervigilant, and depressed.
For these reasons, untreated trauma is a leading factor in the development of substance use disorders. When treating individuals and family systems for addictive and mental health disorders, it is vital to identify underlying and unresolved trauma and treat the trauma to restore normal functioning and allow the affected individual(s) to engage in other forms of treatment.
Family members frequently come to this program with their own trauma history. Some have experienced their own major traumatic experiences. Others grew up in families where loved ones suffered with addiction, trauma, mental health, or chronic disease.
Most have experienced what is commonly referred to as “secondary trauma,” which is trauma that is experienced when family members deal with a loved one who is experiencing common trauma symptoms.
Barnes Family Institute emphasizes the importance of diagnosing and treating trauma affecting individuals and family systems to support better treatment outcomes and help families reduce the risks for future traumatic events, including relapse.
Please get in touch.
Michael Barnes Family Institute offers families a unique opportunity to regain trust, communication, and relationship after enduring the pain and alienation that can be caused by addiction.
Call us or complete our form to contact a team member.
Family Addiction Program FAQ
Here are some questions people also ask about family addiction program.
How to deal with a family member who has an addiction?
Start by educating yourself about addiction as a disease rather than a moral failing, which helps replace frustration with compassion. Set clear, healthy boundaries to protect your own well-being while avoiding enabling behaviors like covering up consequences or providing money. Encourage your loved one to seek professional treatment and consider joining a support group like Al-Anon for guidance and community.
What is the group called for family members of addicts?
The most well-known support group for family members of addicts is Al-Anon, which is specifically designed for those affected by a loved one’s alcohol use. Nar-Anon serves the same purpose for families dealing with drug addiction beyond alcohol. Both groups offer peer support, coping strategies, and a community of people who understand the unique challenges of loving someone in addiction.
What are the 7 family roles in addiction?
The seven commonly identified family roles in addiction are the Addict, the Enabler, the Hero, the Scapegoat, the Mascot, the Lost Child, and the Caretaker. Each role develops as a coping mechanism to maintain family stability and manage the chaos that addiction creates. Recognizing these roles is an important step in family therapy, as they often perpetuate dysfunctional patterns that must be addressed for lasting recovery.
How to help a family member in recovery?
Support your loved one by educating yourself about the recovery process and understanding that it is a long-term journey with potential setbacks. Create a stable, substance-free home environment and celebrate milestones to reinforce their progress. Participate in family therapy or programming when possible, as active family involvement significantly improves long-term recovery outcomes.
What are the 4 types of family therapy?
The four main types of family therapy are Structural, Strategic, Systemic, and Narrative therapy. Structural therapy focuses on reorganizing family dynamics and boundaries, while Strategic therapy targets specific behavioral patterns and communication problems. Systemic therapy examines how family relationships influence individual behavior, and Narrative therapy helps families reframe their story around addiction and recovery in an empowering way.
How does having a drug addict parent affect a child?
Children of parents with addiction are at significantly higher risk for emotional, behavioral, and developmental challenges, including anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. They often take on inappropriate roles — such as caretaker or peacekeeper — that rob them of a normal childhood and create lasting trauma. Early intervention and family-focused therapy are critical to breaking the cycle and helping these children build healthy, resilient futures.
Why do addicts avoid family?
People struggling with addiction often avoid family out of shame, guilt, and fear of judgment or confrontation about their substance use. Addiction also distorts priorities, making obtaining and using substances feel more urgent than maintaining relationships. In some cases, avoidance is a self-protective response when family dynamics are tense, enabling, or emotionally triggering.
How do addicts behave in relationships?
Addiction frequently leads to dishonesty, manipulation, and broken commitments as the individual prioritizes substance use above relational responsibilities. Loved ones often experience emotional withdrawal, unpredictable mood swings, and a loss of the person they once knew. These patterns erode trust over time, making open communication and professional family therapy essential to rebuilding healthy relationship dynamics.
