Browse · Family Support Program
About this program
Professional Support for Those Who Matter Most
Clear Steps Recovery offers bi-weekly family support groups to allow client family members the opportunity to engage with each other and the family coordinator.
Family members learn how to support their loved ones, become more assertive in conversations, look out for warning signs that might lead to a future relapse, and support one another in their own struggles. These sessions are free of charge to family members with a loved one currently enrolled in Clear Steps Recovery.
Before treatment starts
Trying to Get a Loved One to Accept Help? Start With Intervention Help
Many families find this page before their loved one has agreed to anything. If that is where you are, read our intervention help guide for families in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It explains how to recognize that it is time, how a professional intervention is structured, how Clear Steps coordinates with the independent interventionist your family chooses, and what happens the same day your loved one says yes: the insurance check, the clinical assessment and the start date. We do not employ interventionists. We handle the part that comes right after one, and a family member can call our admissions line at any hour to plan it. If you live in Massachusetts and are weighing a court petition, our Section 35 guide for families explains who can file, what happens at the hearing and what comes after a commitment ends.
Support for you
Family Support Groups Near You in New Hampshire and Massachusetts
You do not need your loved one to be in treatment, or even to agree that there is a problem, to get support for yourself. The groups below are free and led by people who have lived with a loved one's drinking or drug use, and most meet both in person and online. If the first meeting does not feel right, try another group or another night.
| Group | Who it is for | Where and how it meets | Find a meeting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learn to Cope | Parents, partners and other family members of someone using opioids, alcohol or other drugs, and families who have lost a loved one | In-person meetings in communities across Massachusetts, virtual meetings on Zoom that families in New Hampshire can join, and a Spanish-language meeting on Wednesday evenings | learn2cope.org/meetings or (508) 738-5148 |
| Al-Anon and Alateen of New Hampshire | Relatives and friends of someone whose drinking affects them. Alateen is for teenagers | In-person, online and telephone meetings | New Hampshire meeting finder or (603) 369-6930 |
| Al-Anon and Alateen of Massachusetts | Relatives and friends of someone whose drinking affects them. Alateen is for teenagers | In-person and online meetings across the state | Massachusetts meeting list or (508) 366-0556 |
| Nar-Anon | Family and friends of someone using drugs | The New England Region schedule lists in-person and Zoom meetings, including one in Manchester, NH | New England schedule, the national meeting finder or (800) 477-6291 (Nar-Anon World Service Office, weekdays) |
| Granite Pathways Family Support Groups | Parents and adult family members of someone with a substance use disorder in New Hampshire | Free, structured, peer-to-peer groups around the state, not clinical treatment | granitepathwaysnh.org |
| SMART Recovery Family & Friends | Family and friends who want practical coping and communication skills | Online and in-person meetings led by trained facilitators | smartrecovery.org/family (choose the Family & Friends program in the meeting search) |
| NAMI New Hampshire and NAMI Massachusetts | Families of an adult with a mental health condition, useful when depression, anxiety or trauma sits alongside the drinking or drug use | NAMI New Hampshire runs in-person and virtual family support groups. NAMI Massachusetts runs Family-to-Family classes and the Compass Helpline | NAMI NH groups or (800) 242-6264. NAMI Massachusetts, Compass Helpline (800) 370-9085 |
Meeting times change often, so check each group's own list before you go. The Massachusetts Al-Anon and Nar-Anon phone numbers are the ones the state's Bureau of Substance Addiction Services lists on its helplines page. Clear Steps Recovery is not affiliated with these groups.
State lines help families too. In New Hampshire, dial 211 to reach The Doorway, which offers telephone and in-person support to loved ones and encourages family members to get support for themselves whether or not the person using seeks help (The Doorway). In Massachusetts, the free Substance Use Helpline, (800) 327-5050 by call or text, is open 24/7, and the state's Peer Recovery Support Centers are free, peer-led spaces for people in recovery and for their families (mass.gov).
For local lines, coalitions and town resource pages by region, see our help pages for New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
An approach built for families
What Is CRAFT, and Does It Work?
CRAFT stands for Community Reinforcement and Family Training. It is a structured way for a family member to help a loved one who is refusing treatment, without a confrontation and without waiting for a crisis. Instead of one big conversation, the family member learns skills to use at home over several weeks:
- Notice and reward the times your loved one is not drinking or using, with your time, warmth and attention
- Step back from rescuing, so the natural consequences of drinking or using reach the person rather than you
- Raise the problem in short, specific, blame-free words, at a calm moment
- Watch for the moments when your loved one is most open to help, often right after a consequence, and have a specific next step ready
- Look after your own health and your own life, whatever your loved one decides
The research is encouraging. In a randomized trial of 130 family members of problem drinkers who were refusing help, 64 percent of those trained in CRAFT got their loved one into treatment, compared with 30 percent after a confrontational Johnson Institute intervention and 13 percent after Al-Anon facilitation. It usually happened within four to six sessions, and family members in all three groups felt better (Miller, Meyers and Tonigan, 1999). A 2020 review of 14 studies with 691 family members found CRAFT about twice as effective as the approaches it was compared with, with the best results when family members had both individual and group sessions (Archer and colleagues, 2020).
To learn it, ask a family therapist whether they are trained in CRAFT, or try Allies in Recovery, an online CRAFT program for families that the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Addiction Services lists among its family resources. When your loved one does say yes, the next step should already be written down. Our intervention help guide covers that part: the insurance check, the assessment and the first day.
Privacy and consent
What We Can Tell Families, and How Consent Works
Before your loved one is a client, we can talk with you freely about our programs, insurance and how admission works. Once they start, a federal rule for addiction treatment records, 42 CFR Part 2, adds protections on top of the usual health privacy law. Here is what that means for you in practice:
- Without your loved one's written consent, staff cannot answer your questions in a way that reveals whether they are being treated for a substance use disorder (42 CFR 2.13).
- The rule limits what the program shares, not what you share. You can always call and tell the team what you are seeing at home.
- A written consent can be on paper or electronic. It names your loved one, who may share the information, exactly what may be shared, who receives it, why, when the consent ends, and your loved one's right to take it back in writing (42 CFR 2.31).
- A consent can be narrow, for example attendance and the schedule only, or broader, such as progress in treatment. Your loved one decides what to allow.
- In a genuine medical emergency, the rule lets information go to medical personnel when consent cannot be obtained. It does not open the record to family (42 CFR 2.51).
Programs covered by the rule must tell each patient at admission that federal law protects their records (42 CFR 2.22). We will ask your loved one about a consent for the family members they want involved, because families who are included tend to be the ones who help most. If the answer is no for now, the family groups on this page and our intervention help guide are still there for you.
The rule itself, on the federal eCFR: 42 CFR 2.13 (confidentiality), 2.22 (notice to patients), 2.31 (consent) and 2.51 (medical emergencies).
Why it matters
Why Enroll in a Family Support Program in New Hampshire?
Addiction doesn't only cause harm to the individuals caught in the cycle of addiction but also to their families. It's important for family members to remember:
Like a sprained ankle or a fractured arm that needs surgery, you bring your loved one to the professionals for help. The same applies to a family member struggling with substance abuse disorder.
Clear Steps Recovery has a team of professionals you can trust. We offer a comprehensive family support program to help families through the difficult process of addiction treatment that includes individual and family therapy, as well as support groups. Families are an integral part of the recovery process, and we are committed to helping you every step of the way.
The impact of involvement
Break the Cycle of Addiction with Family Support Programs
Addictions significantly impact families. But family involvement in treatment for individuals coping with addiction can:
At Clear Steps Recovery, family members are an essential extension of our treatment team, but it's not just the suffering family member that needs support.
Many family members feel like they have become lost, overwhelmed, or disillusioned. They have suffered from sleepless nights, "close calls," and traumatic events that seemingly have changed their lives forever.
Common statements from family members include:
"When or how will I trust again?"
"She was not raised like this."
"What boundaries and parameters do I set without causing him to relapse?"
Do not be discouraged - addiction is a mental illness. The details of everyone's story may differ, but the feelings and aftereffects are the same.
Our family support program will shed new light on subjects that seem very dark. We will work with the unique needs of each family unit, providing education on how the human operating system works, allowing clarity and your personal wisdom to shine through.
Common statements from family members include:
"When or how will I trust again?"
"She was not raised like this."
"What boundaries and parameters do I set without causing him to relapse?"
Do not be discouraged - addiction is a mental illness. The details of everyone's story may differ, but the feelings and aftereffects are the same.
Our family support program will shed new light on subjects that seem very dark. We will work with the unique needs of each family unit, providing education on how the human operating system works, allowing clarity and your personal wisdom to shine through.
Family-member support
Contact Us to Learn More About Our Family Support Programs
Professional support is the best option if a loved one is struggling with addiction, even for family members of those struggling with addiction.
Program details
Family Support New Hampshire Program Details
Our addiction family support program in New Hampshire meets every 3rd Wednesday of the month from 6:00 PM – 7:15 PM at 1D Commons Drive, Units 21 & 22, Londonderry, NH 03053.
For more information, call today or view our Family Program flyer (NH).
Frequently asked
Questions Families Ask Us
What resources are available for family members of alcoholics?
At Clear Steps Recovery, family support groups meet every third Wednesday of the month from 6:00 to 7:15 pm at our Londonderry center, free for family members of anyone currently enrolled, alongside family sessions built into treatment and referrals to family therapy when it is needed. Outside our walls, Al-Anon meets across New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and The Doorway NH (211) or the Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline (800-327-5050) can point you to local family resources with or without insurance.
Can you help an alcoholic who does not want help?
You cannot force recovery, but you can change the conversation. Family members often make the first call to us: describing what is happening, learning what an assessment and a first day would look like, and getting coaching on boundaries that help rather than harm. That way, when your loved one is ready, even briefly, the door is already open. Our family program also supports you in the meantime, because your own health matters. Read about help planning an intervention.
How do I help a family member with addiction?
Start by learning how addiction works and what treatment involves, then set boundaries you can keep. Our family program teaches exactly that: spotting warning signs, holding conversations without threats or rescues, and looking after yourself. Practically, you can call (603) 769-8981 on your loved one's behalf, ask what their insurance covers and what a same-day assessment would look like, and pass the concrete plan to them. Nothing about their care is shared with you afterward without their written consent.
Are there support groups for families of addicts in New Hampshire and Massachusetts?
Yes, and they are free. Learn to Cope runs in-person meetings across Massachusetts and virtual meetings that New Hampshire families can join. Al-Anon and Alateen meet in both states in person and online, and by phone in New Hampshire, the Nar-Anon New England Region lists meetings in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and Granite Pathways runs peer family support groups across New Hampshire. You do not need your loved one's permission or participation to go. The family groups table on this page has the links and phone numbers.
What is CRAFT for families of someone with addiction?
CRAFT, Community Reinforcement and Family Training, teaches family members skills to use at home: rewarding the times your loved one is not drinking or using, stepping back from rescuing, raising the problem calmly at the right moment, and having a next step ready when they are open to help. In a 1999 randomized trial, 64 percent of family members trained in CRAFT got a loved one who was refusing help into treatment, compared with 30 percent after a confrontational intervention and 13 percent after Al-Anon facilitation.
Can Clear Steps tell me how my loved one is doing in treatment?
Only with their written consent. The federal rule for addiction treatment records, 42 CFR Part 2, means staff cannot answer in a way that reveals whether someone is being treated for a substance use disorder unless the client has signed a consent that names you. The consent spells out what may be shared, with whom and until when, and your loved one can take it back in writing. You can always call and tell us what you are seeing at home.
Is family support free, and do I need to be in treatment myself?
The family support group is free of charge to family members of a loved one currently enrolled at Clear Steps Recovery, and you do not need to be in treatment yourself. It meets every third Wednesday of the month from 6:00 to 7:15 pm in Londonderry, led by our family coordinator. Family sessions with your loved one's clinician are part of their treatment plan. Families at our Needham, MA center get the same education and support.
Needham, Massachusetts
Family Support at Our Needham, MA Center
Families of clients at our Needham center get the same education and support: how addiction works, what treatment involves, how to set boundaries that help rather than harm, and where to turn for your own support, with referrals to family therapy when it is needed. Family involvement is encouraged from the first week of Day Treatment or Evening Treatment. Needham is at 392 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, about 30 minutes from downtown Boston. Learn more about our Needham center.
Can my family take part in treatment at your Needham, MA center?
Yes. Family education and support are part of care at our Needham, MA center, and we refer to family therapy when it is needed. A family member can also make the first call. Admissions is answered 24/7 and can explain what involvement looks like.
