When I reached out to Michael Herbert for family intervention for my brother who was battling alcoholism, I didn’t know what to expect. Michael took a holistic approach and included the entire family in the recovery process. After my brother entered treatment, I thought my job was finished; however, Michael proposed Structured Family Recovery through his Family Guide Program.
My brother needed extra support, and recovery guide addresses the addiction and how it affects the entire family along with how the family enables the recovery process. His ability to meet via conference call made it easier for my family that is spread throughout the US.
I had personally been in recovery too for over 20 years and did not understand why I had to be involved, but I went along reluctantly with his suggestions to engage in Structured family Recovery. I have a Masters in Social Work with decades of experience in mental health. How could I help my brother? What did they need me for , he’s in treatment now. I just expected that the treatment program was supposed to do their work and maybe invite me to their family program, that’s it.
During the first session our family was given homework and short-term goals. I wasn’t thrilled about the homework because of my own family obligations and working full time.. We all had a life of our own going on, but what I would realize later is that is it all intertwined. One of Michael’s request was to participate in one Al-anon meeting per week, which I had never attended. My family collectively began attending the meetings and really enjoyed the connective experience as a unit. We all began to recover and communicate openly.
My mother, who is a recovering alcoholic was sober for 10 years but had become a significant enabler for my brother. Through this process, my mom began to change and realize her place in his recovery ,but most importantly her own recovery. We all began to get better as a family. That is the beauty of the work we did. Your work together heals you from the inside out.
I had become complacent in my own recovery and this experience helped me realize that I too had room for improvement and deeper, more meaningful connections with my family and community. There is always room to grow, right? Through Family Guide Program and utilizing Structured Family Recovery I have reengaged with my Sponsor and feel energized by my new home NA group. I feel the fellowship all over again like it was my first year in recovery.
We all began working on ourselves during this process. By working on ourselves we became stronger as individuals we became a stronger family. I really like Michael’s program because it is authentic, consistent, simple and frankly, it just works. One meeting per week, one conference call per week, and two paragraphs of reading per week. Thank you, Michael, for your guidance and support through a tough process. This experience was priceless. It gave me a sense of my family and myself back again. Both my mother and I are now considered double winners. My my Dad and Sister-in-law are attending Al-anon and we can all see the light at the end of the tunnel.
