In Canada, National Addictions Awareness Week (NAAW) serves as a pivotal time for reflection, education, and action on the challenges and solutions related to alcohol and other drug use. This year, under the theme “Forging Connections,” NAAW emphasizes the importance of building relationships and understanding within the substance use health field. The diversity of experiences, ideas, and opinions among individuals, families, and communities highlights the complexity of finding unified approaches to address these issues across Canada.
The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) plays a crucial role during NAAW and beyond, advocating for collaboration among partners, communities, and individuals. This collaborative effort aims to develop connections, identify common ground, and work together to address the challenges of substance use effectively.
A critical aspect of addressing these challenges is recognizing the impact of addiction on families and the fine line between enabling and helping. This is where specialized services like Love With Boundaries come into play. Love With Boundaries offers family addiction counselling, focusing on empowering families devastated by addiction. Unlike traditional counselling that may primarily focus on the individual struggling with addiction, Love With Boundaries prioritizes working with family members first. This approach educates them on the importance of setting clear boundaries and not enabling the addictive behaviours of their loved ones.
The counsellors at Love With Boundaries bring lived experience with addiction, either personally or through a loved one, offering a deep understanding and empathy for what families are going through. They provide support not just during scheduled sessions but also offer unlimited email and text support for any unexpected crises that may arise, ensuring families have the guidance they need when they need it most.
By working with the whole family, including parents, siblings, spouses, and grandparents, Love With Boundaries aims to heal the chaos, division, and mistrust that addiction often creates within families. Their services are available worldwide, accommodating families no matter where they live and offering flexibility to work with families’ schedules, including evenings and weekends.
As we observe National Addictions Awareness Week under the theme of “Forging Connections,” it’s essential to highlight the importance of specialized services like Love With Boundaries. Our dedicated approach to family addiction counselling exemplifies the critical role of forging connections within the families affected by addiction. Together, through collaboration, understanding, and specialized support, we can address the challenges of substance use and move toward recovery and healing.
