Parents & Family Programs
When someone you care about is struggling with addiction and related mental health challenges, it can affect the entire family. Parents, partners, and other support people often find themselves searching for ways to understand what is happening and how best to help.
Rideauwood’s Parents & Family Programs provide support for those who are navigating the impact of problematic substance use, behavioural addictions, and related mental health concerns in their lives or in the lives of someone they care about. Participants learn more about addiction and the factors that can influence it, while also exploring practical strategies to reduce its impact on themselves and their families.
Our counsellors work collaboratively with participants to help them better understand their situation, build coping strategies, and find approaches that support their wellbeing and the wellbeing of their loved ones.
Family Spiral
Family Spiral is a two-evening psychoeducational program designed for family members, friends, and support persons 12+ concerned about an individual experiencing problematic substance use, behavioural addiction, or a related mental health concern. Participants receive foundational information on addiction and its impact on family systems, with an emphasis on increasing insight, understanding family responses, and supporting the early stages of the healing process.
Call Rideauwood directly at 613-724-4881.
Registration requires your name, email address and phone number.
SMART Recovery for Family and Friends
Self-Management and Recovery Treatment (SMART) for Family and Friends is a counsellor-lead support group with the focus on providing support and education to family members and friends. This group aims to help participants develop effective coping strategies, connect with others and find a greater sense of fulfilment in their own lives.
This is a Drop-In Program
All Are Welcome
Location: 312 Parkdale Avenue
Time: 6:00pm-7:30pm
Dates: September 9th and 23rd, October 14th and 28th, November 25th, and December 9th.
Family R.E.S.E.T.
Family R.E.S.E.T. (Resource, Education, Support, and Empowerment Training) offers 4 months of support that includes individual counselling and virtual bi-weekly educational seminars. This program is intended to educate and support parents, caregivers, and family members who are supporting/affected by their loved one’s substance use and/or behavioural addiction.
Access MHA is brought to you by Regional Coordinated Access and is funded by the Province of Ontario. Access MHA provides a single point of access and referral, where you can apply for a range of services to meet your needs. You will be paired with a trained mental health and substance use professional, who will access your needs and will match you to appropriate service from a network of partner organizations.
Step 1: Book an Appointment
Fill out the secure and easy online form and select a call back time that works for you. Or, ask your health care provider to submit a referral for you. After filling out the form, you will receive an email confirmation with instructions to complete a set of questionnaires online.
Step 2: Speak with Access MHA Staff
Please complete required questionnaires before your appointment. At the appointment date and time, a staff member will contact you by phone to confidentially discuss your needs and figure out next steps.
Step 3: Get Connected to Help
After your call, the staff member will directly connect you to services offered by one of the network partners, link you to local services, and/or connect you to a peer with lived expertise of mental health challenges and/or substance use health/addictions.
“Worry. I lived with it 24/7. I woke up many nights in a cold sweat wondering where my daughter was and ended up in my car, searching for her at 2:00 AM. I tried everything. Nothing I did would change her substance use. After participating in the Rideauwood Family and Parent program, we are both in a better place.”
Mary, Rideauwood Alumni
“I’m a single mom and my son’s all the family I’ve got. Our relationship was great when he was little but as he got to be a teenager he got in with a group of friends and started using. I would stay up all night, then not be able to go to work. I just kept thinking about him—“Where was he?”, “What was he doing?” and “Was he ok?”. He told me he had stopped using, so I tried to stop worrying. Then one day I got the phone call. He was in really bad shape and my heart sunk. I knew I couldn’t keep going the way I was—desperate. Then a friend told me about Rideauwood. After being in the Parents and Family program for a bit I got stronger and started looking after myself. Funny, he’s getting better too.”
Bonnie, Rideauwood Alumni
“I lived with my Dad which was really good except when he was drinking. When he was drinking I got so stressed and worried. It was messing up my job and my relationship with my boyfriend. One day I passed by Rideauwood on my way to work. I stopped in to ask about what they do. I wasn’t sure it was what I needed, but I gave it a try. I learned a lot from them including how to let go of my Dad’s drinking and how to focus on myself. The kindness they showed me was what I needed. Getting my life back wasn’t easy, but when my life was in total chaos because of my Dad’s drinking, it was way harder.”
Jerome, Rideauwood Alumni