National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center : Publications : Monographs : Partners

The Source - Spring 2008
This issue focuses on economic self-sufficiency for families affected by HIV and/or substance abuse. More...

Strengthening Connections Conference Archive
This conference highlighted the unique parenting challenges among families affected by substance abuse, HIV and/or incarceration, and the importance of the parent-child relationship in a child’s development. More...

2008 Teleconference Training Series
The Resource Center will host six trainings beginning in April 2008. The topics include the effects of methamphetamine, mental health services for women living with HIV and their children, and working with Latino families. More...

Assessing and Supporting Parenting in Families Affected by Substance Abuse or HIV (2007)
This guidebook provides practitioners and administrators with guidance in assessing, supporting, and strengthening parenting skills and parent-child relationships. [PDF]

National Abandoned Infants
Assistance Resource Center
University of California, Berkeley
1950 Addison Street, Suite 104 # 7402
Berkeley, CA 94720-7402
Phone: (510) 643-8390
Fax: (510) 643-7019
E-mail: aia@berkeley.edu

The Role of Partners in Women’s Recovery

Intimate partners play a critical role in women’s introduction to and recovery from alcohol and other drug abuse. Frequently, trauma and domestic violence also influence women’s motivation and ability to recover, as well as their intimate relationships. While an increasing number of treatment programs have begun to address some of these issues through gender-specific and family-focused services, very few involve partners in women’s recovery or directly address the role that they play. To further explore the dynamic intersection among substance abuse, trauma, and intimate relationships, the AIA Resource Center convened a group of technical experts. Two products resulted.

1) A two-day symposium on the Role of Partners in Women’s Recovery was held in Berkeley, CA in August 2002, and featured presentations from Norma Finkelstein, Lisa Najavits, Carl Goodman, Barbara Kappos, and Margaret Gold.

2) A monograph entitled Partners’ Influence on Women’s Addiction and Recovery: The Connection between Substance Abuse, Trauma, and Intimate Relationships was published. The purpose of the monograph is to:

Provide a better understanding of the role that intimate partners play in women’s recovery from substance abuse
Explore strategies for helping women to assess their past and present intimate relationships in the context of their addiction
Present strategies for safely engaging partners in women’s recovery

The monograph is useful for program administrators, clinicians, and policy makers who are concerned with women’s recovery.

Download a PDF version of this document. Download a PDF version of the Appendices of this document. To order a hard copy of the entire monograph, Click Here.