Help for families and friends of alcoholics. (includes bibliography and related information on Veteran Admin.'s alcoholism treatment programs)

Help for Families and Friends of Alcoholics

On first reading, the "Advice for Families" of alcoholics in the box on this page seems clear-cut and consequently not that difficult to follow. But read the list a second time, dwelling on any one point (eg. "Family members must overcome their guilt."), and the complexities underlying emotions and behaviors in families of alcoholics will begin to surface.

Dealing with these complexities is the mission of a number of national organizations that help family members and friends of alcoholics to sort out the ways in which the chaos of alcoholism has affected their lives.

Al-Anon, probably the best known of these …