Location
Date & Time
About This Event
Family Recovery Support Program
Sunday evenings, 7-8 pm CST
January 10 - February 14
The mission of The Gratitude House Institute for Recovery and Behavioral Science is to advance the understanding of addiction, recovery, and human behavior through the integration of neuroscience, psychology, education, and spirituality. As the research and educational arm of Gratitude House, an elevated sober-living home for women, the Institute provides publications, workshops, retreats, presentations, events, and community outreach. We translate interdisciplinary research into practice to expand what people, families, and organizations can become and achieve. Uniting contemporary neuroscience and learning psychology with the wisdom of the Twelve Steps, we translate research into practice through a pedagogy that is as intellectually rich as it is practical and accessible.
A 6-Week Educational & Support Program for Families Affected by Addiction
When one member of the family suffers from the disease of addiction, the entire family suffers in ways they may or may not be conscious. The ripple effect of the pain, confusion, anger, sadness, and desperation can manifest in loved ones physically, emotionally, socially, and financially. While many families are desperate to find support for their loved one who suffers, they often lack an understanding of addiction and have also been too consumed by being the caregiver to even recognize how they have been impacted. Just as there is much hope for an individual who gets sober and into recovery, there is equal amount of hope for the families who have suffered also.
The Family Recovery Support Program offers a different approach to family support. Grounded in the Gratitude House Institute's understanding of addiction as both a brain disease and a learning disorder, this 6-week program helps families understand the science and psychology of addiction, recognize how addiction has shaped their own behavior and relationships, and learn how to support recovery without assuming responsibility for it.
Over 6 weeks, we will study addiction, recovery, and the family so that you can better understand what is happening, make more informed decisions, establish healthier boundaries, and become more confident about what your role in your loved one's recovery is and is not. Just as importantly, the program creates space for your own learning and healing after living with the effects of addiction.
Online classes are held every Sunday evening from 7-8 pm via Zoom, from January 10 - February 14.
What the Program Includes
The 6-week program includes one 60-minute virtual class each week. Classes are educational and may include other participating families and friends. Confidentiality will be emphasized.
In addition, each participant receives up to two 30-minute individual support calls per week with Dr. Maggie Sullivan during the 6-week series. These conversations provide an opportunity to apply what you are learning to your family's particular circumstances, think through boundaries and difficult conversations, and receive individualized educational guidance and support.
The Family Recovery Support Program is educational in nature and is not psychotherapy, addiction treatment, medical care, or crisis intervention.
Part I - This Is Your Brain on Drugs: The Neuroscience of Addiction & Recovery
What happens to the brain during addiction? This session translates the neuroscience of reward, motivation, craving, and pleasure into language people can understand and use. Participants explore how repeated substance use changes neural pathways, why knowing better does not necessarily result in doing better, and how neuroplasticity provides a biological basis for recovery.
Understanding what has happened in the brain can help replace confusion and frustration with a more informed understanding of behavior. We will consider what the neuroscience means for expectations, communication, trust, decision-making, and supporting a loved one in early recovery without excusing harmful behavior or abandoning healthy boundaries.
Part II - Somewhere Over the Rainbow: What Changes When Recovery Begins
When one person develops an addiction, the entire family learns to adapt. Roles change, communication changes, trust can erode, boundaries move, and behaviors that once helped a family survive may become difficult to relinquish. Importantly, the beginning of recovery itself can destabilize the family system before it begins to heal. Participants examine their own patterns and how to support recovery without taking responsibility for another person's recovery.
This portion turns the lens toward you. We will examine what living with addiction may have taught you to do, what you may no longer need to do, and how fear, vigilance, rescuing, control, distrust, and shifting family roles can persist even after substance use stops. The goal is not simply to help your loved one recover, but to begin healing the family relationships that addiction has changed.
Pilot Program Rate
The Family Recovery Support Program is currently being offered to a limited number of families and friends at a pilot rate of $300 for the 6-week series as the Gratitude House Institute launches, evaluates, and refines this new offering.
In exchange for receiving the pilot rate, participants will be asked to complete brief program evaluations and provide feedback. At the conclusion of the program, participants will also be invited to provide a testimonial about their experience. Any public use of a participant's name or testimonial would occur only with the participant's permission.
All revenue from The Gratitude House Institute programs directly supports the mission and work of Gratitude House, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in St. Louis, MO.
Facilitator
Dr. Maggie Sullivan, Executive Director
With almost 30 years of leadership experience in nonprofits and education, Dr. Sullivan holds a Doctor of Education in Leadership and Learning from Vanderbilt University. She also holds a professional certificate in neuroscience coaching and has completed advanced professional training with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Stanford Challenge Success. Her research and practice center on learning psychology and behavioral science. In recovery herself since 1998, she has also experienced the pain of numerous loved ones with this disease, including her father who died of alcoholism in 2015. Dr. Sullivan is passionate about bridging science and spirituality to help others break the cycle of addiction and achieve beyond what they thought was possible.
About This Event
Family Recovery Support Program
Sunday evenings, 7-8 pm CST
January 10 - February 14
The mission of The Gratitude House Institute for Recovery and Behavioral Science is to advance the understanding of addiction, recovery, and human behavior through the integration of neuroscience, psychology, education, and spirituality. As the research and educational arm of Gratitude House, an elevated sober-living home for women, the Institute provides publications, workshops, retreats, presentations, events, and community outreach. We translate interdisciplinary research into practice to expand what people, families, and organizations can become and achieve. Uniting contemporary neuroscience and learning psychology with the wisdom of the Twelve Steps, we translate research into practice through a pedagogy that is as intellectually rich as it is practical and accessible.
A 6-Week Educational & Support Program for Families Affected by Addiction
When one member of the family suffers from the disease of addiction, the entire family suffers in ways they may or may not be conscious. The ripple effect of the pain, confusion, anger, sadness, and desperation can manifest in loved ones physically, emotionally, socially, and financially. While many families are desperate to find support for their loved one who suffers, they often lack an understanding of addiction and have also been too consumed by being the caregiver to even recognize how they have been impacted. Just as there is much hope for an individual who gets sober and into recovery, there is equal amount of hope for the families who have suffered also.
The Family Recovery Support Program offers a different approach to family support. Grounded in the Gratitude House Institute's understanding of addiction as both a brain disease and a learning disorder, this 6-week program helps families understand the science and psychology of addiction, recognize how addiction has shaped their own behavior and relationships, and learn how to support recovery without assuming responsibility for it.
Over 6 weeks, we will study addiction, recovery, and the family so that you can better understand what is happening, make more informed decisions, establish healthier boundaries, and become more confident about what your role in your loved one's recovery is and is not. Just as importantly, the program creates space for your own learning and healing after living with the effects of addiction.
Online classes are held every Sunday evening from 7-8 pm via Zoom, from January 10 - February 14.
What the Program Includes
The 6-week program includes one 60-minute virtual class each week. Classes are educational and may include other participating families and friends. Confidentiality will be emphasized.
In addition, each participant receives up to two 30-minute individual support calls per week with Dr. Maggie Sullivan during the 6-week series. These conversations provide an opportunity to apply what you are learning to your family's particular circumstances, think through boundaries and difficult conversations, and receive individualized educational guidance and support.
The Family Recovery Support Program is educational in nature and is not psychotherapy, addiction treatment, medical care, or crisis intervention.
Part I - This Is Your Brain on Drugs: The Neuroscience of Addiction & Recovery
What happens to the brain during addiction? This session translates the neuroscience of reward, motivation, craving, and pleasure into language people can understand and use. Participants explore how repeated substance use changes neural pathways, why knowing better does not necessarily result in doing better, and how neuroplasticity provides a biological basis for recovery.
Understanding what has happened in the brain can help replace confusion and frustration with a more informed understanding of behavior. We will consider what the neuroscience means for expectations, communication, trust, decision-making, and supporting a loved one in early recovery without excusing harmful behavior or abandoning healthy boundaries.
Part II - Somewhere Over the Rainbow: What Changes When Recovery Begins
When one person develops an addiction, the entire family learns to adapt. Roles change, communication changes, trust can erode, boundaries move, and behaviors that once helped a family survive may become difficult to relinquish. Importantly, the beginning of recovery itself can destabilize the family system before it begins to heal. Participants examine their own patterns and how to support recovery without taking responsibility for another person's recovery.
This portion turns the lens toward you. We will examine what living with addiction may have taught you to do, what you may no longer need to do, and how fear, vigilance, rescuing, control, distrust, and shifting family roles can persist even after substance use stops. The goal is not simply to help your loved one recover, but to begin healing the family relationships that addiction has changed.
Pilot Program Rate
The Family Recovery Support Program is currently being offered to a limited number of families and friends at a pilot rate of $300 for the 6-week series as the Gratitude House Institute launches, evaluates, and refines this new offering.
In exchange for receiving the pilot rate, participants will be asked to complete brief program evaluations and provide feedback. At the conclusion of the program, participants will also be invited to provide a testimonial about their experience. Any public use of a participant's name or testimonial would occur only with the participant's permission.
All revenue from The Gratitude House Institute programs directly supports the mission and work of Gratitude House, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in St. Louis, MO.
Facilitator
Dr. Maggie Sullivan, Executive Director
With almost 30 years of leadership experience in nonprofits and education, Dr. Sullivan holds a Doctor of Education in Leadership and Learning from Vanderbilt University. She also holds a professional certificate in neuroscience coaching and has completed advanced professional training with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Stanford Challenge Success. Her research and practice center on learning psychology and behavioral science. In recovery herself since 1998, she has also experienced the pain of numerous loved ones with this disease, including her father who died of alcoholism in 2015. Dr. Sullivan is passionate about bridging science and spirituality to help others break the cycle of addiction and achieve beyond what they thought was possible.