Very often, success in recovery is contingent upon the willingness and participation of those closest to the individual struggling with addiction. Murray Bowen speaks to this phenomenon, as he was the first to discuss family dynamics along a continuum, ranging from differentiation to fusion.
Differentiated people are able to express a solid self-concept by employing flexible boundaries and allowing room for intimacy without fear of enmeshment or identity loss.
Fusion manifests in two distinct ways; through rigid boundaries and emotional cutoff or through diffuse boundaries and enmeshment.
Bowen suggested that alcoholic families exhibit higher levels of trait anxiety and lower levels of differentiation. Thus, he believed it was necessary to treat the entire family system in order to ultimately treat addiction.
Four Common & Adaptive Roles Found in Alcoholic Families
Expanding upon Bowen’s theory, Claudia Black identified four common and adaptive roles found in alcoholic families. These roles can be amplified to cope with the addict’s behavior. However, they often precipitate and contribute to the addiction as well. Black’s roles are titled The Responsible One, The Adjuster, The Placater, and The Acting Out One.
The Responsible one (aka "the hero")
The Responsible One tends to take responsibility for the family and create inequality by being the source of leadership and authority. They often take initiative and offer solutions. They are goal-directed, perfectionistic, organized, and self-disciplined. However, these individuals are often inflexible. They have difficulty with spontaneity, downtime, listening, and allowing others to lead. They often need to be in control and exhibit a profound fear of inadequacy.
The Adjuster (aka "the wallflower")
The Adjuster is able to modify their behavior to accommodate the chaos of living in an addicted family system. They are easy-going, avoid taking control, flexible, and follow directions with ease. They are typically not rattled by challenges or outbursts. They struggle to assert authority or take initiative. They often blindly follow directions without question and exhibit a lack of direction.
The Placater (aka “The Peacemaker”)
The Placater is the individual who cares for everyone else in the family but does not develop a skillset to care for oneself. They are loving, warm, giving, empathic, and intuitive. They make fantastic listeners and mediators. However, The Placater maintains a high tolerance for abusive or inappropriate behavior, carries a false sense of guilt, has difficulty receiving help from others, and fears anger.
The Acting Out One (aka “The Rebel” or “The Scapegoat”)
The Acting Out One often seeks attention through negative behaviors. They experience challenges expressing their own needs and find it difficult to relate to others in the family system. The Acting Out One is often creative, maintains a good sense of humor, and remains close to their feelings. They exhibit less denial and express themselves with greater honesty. However, they are often intrusive, oppositional, demonstrate social and relational challenges, and express anger as a primary indicator of pain.
The Family System
Behaviors, roles, and dynamics among alcoholic families occur within circular feedback loops. Thus, one family member’s behavior affects other members of the family, which thereby affects the individual. In other words, “no single individual, not even the addict, carries the sole burden of blame” (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015, p. 298). Moreover, circular causality often keeps the alcoholic drunk, as the family fights for homeostasis.
Homeostasis refers to the family’s desire to find balance and comfort during periods of change. However, homeostasis does not necessarily equate to healthy relational dynamics. Rather, it is a reflection of what “feels normal” to the family. Often, the addict’s addiction serves a purpose within the family system by masking underlying trauma and relational issues. Thus, nonaddicted family members may unconsciously attempt to perpetuate the addicted family member’s behavior in order to avoid looking at deeper issues.
Family system dynamics are clearly an unavoidable topic within the field of addiction recovery. This is particularly true of those who are currently in residential care. For the time being they are contained, safe and sound, with minimal outside triggers. Thus, it is imperative to begin thinking about integration and coping strategies prior to the recovery and reentry into the family system.
References:
Capuzzi, D. & Stauffer, M. D. (2015). Foundations of couples, marriage, and family counseling. John Wiley & Sons.
Meet The Author
LAUREN BAKER
MS, LPC, NCC
Meet The Author
Lauren is a Clinical Therapist at Sea Glass Mental Health. She works with teens, adults and couples. Lauren specializes in codependency, trauma, domestic violence, anxiety, and perfectionism.
