“The application of the family systems viewpoint is relevant to our understanding of the complexity of alcoholic families and our efforts to help children who face the fear and problems caused by parents who drink too much.”
First published in 1989 when the plight of children of alcoholics was initially brought to public attention, Working With Children of Alcoholics remains the only book for professionals that specifically addresses the needs of children growing up in alcoholic families. Expanding from the original, highly successful handbook, the second edition employs a family systems model to examine working with COAs in the context of their families and cultures. Incorporating the latest research, including Rubin's pivotal work on transcendent children, Bryan E. Robinson and J. Lyn Rhoden place alcoholism in a larger American cultural context. They examine the effects of alcoholism on the four essential family tasks: creating an identity, setting boundaries, providing for physical needs, and managing the family's emotional climate. Furthermore, using a sociohistorical perspective as a backdrop, the authors examine American attitudes, values, and beliefs about alcohol use and abuse and discuss how these cultural influences affect our children. This expanded edition of Working With Children of Alcoholics will be important for social workers, psychologists, school administrators, teachers, drug and alcohol counselors, and pastoral counselors. It is also an excellent supplemental text for practitioners in training and in graduate courses in family and community, adjustment problems of youth, substance abuse, and human services.
