The Impact of Parental Substance Abuse on Children and Teens

Dr. Laura Anderson

Training Description

In the mental health field, we are tasked with having difficult conversations with kids and teens.   Some of the hardest conversations to have with kids are the ones about why their parents’ behaviors are unpredictable or why they are foster care, why they can’t be with their first families, and if and when they will go home.  Many children and teens are involved in the child welfare system because (at least partially) of parental substance use.   On the one hand, it is hard to make specific statements about how parental substance abuse impacts kids and teens. At the same time, there is data that suggests children are negatively impacted by growing up in homes where one or more parent abuses substances. This training will explore the ways that parental substance abuse affects attachment styles in children, as well emotional and behavioral functioning.   We will also…