Family Member Substance Use in Intervention Planning: A Practitioner's Guide to the Second Problem in the Room

Matt Brown • 2026-10-08

Family member substance use in intervention planning is one of the most common complications in our work and one of the least discussed. Experienced interventionists know the pattern: the father who insists on a 6 p.m. rehearsal so it ends before "his drink," the sister who defends her own nightly pills while confronting her brother's opioid use, the spouse whose wine habit quietly matches the drinking she wants treated.