The role of the family in a drug rehabilitation process : professionals’ perspective

Abstract

Substance abuse within young adults is still a major problem in Malta (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), 2016), and most of these youths still live with their families. This is a qualitative study which analyses the role of family in the drug rehabilitation process. Due to ethical reasons, face-to-face interviews were conducted with different professionals. The aim was to gather a better understanding of the process of drug recovery, identify if the family helps or hinders the drug abuser during the process of drug recovery and explore how a drug rehabilitation agency involves the family within a drug rehabilitation process. A thematic analysis of the data collected lead to the development of four main themes: 1) Factors Leading to Drug Use 2) Recovery 3) Family 4) Local rehabilitation services. Results have shown that the family plays an important role in a successful recovery regardless to their issues and obstacles. The study establishes that according to the professionals interviewed, substance abuse affects the whole family system therefore, it is crucial that professionals will identify both the young adult and his or her family as the system which needs to be helped. The researcher provided recommendations for an increase in awareness on stigmatized families, building positive therapeutic relationship, increase of professional resources and skilled volunteers and further research; all this could support the role of family in the drug rehabilitation process.