Bonnie's Story
"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 bad 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 gotten clean, 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 was able to let go of my son a little more. Funny, he’s getting better too."
Mary's Story
“Worry. I lived with it 24/7. I woke up many nights in a cold sweat wondering where my daughter was, 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.”
Jerome's Story
"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."
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Families, parents and support persons of individuals who are struggling with substance use, behavioural addictions and related mental health issues can overlook the need for support themselves.

At Rideauwood, we offer a unique program that helps families, parents and support persons. Participants and clients learn about the factors of substance use, behavioural addiction and related mental health issues that are at play in their lives. They also learn about how they can reduce the impact of these factors. Counsellors support and empower clients in finding solutions that will work for clients’ particular situations. As a result, clients not only help themselves, but also the ones they love. 

How are you coping with your loved one's substance use, behavioural addictions and mental health issues?

Explore your questions with our self-assessment tool.

Do I or others question if my loved one’s substance use and/or, behavioural addiction is causing me problems?
Have I had consequences in my life related to my loved one’s substance use and/or, behavioural addiction but they continue the same behaviour?
Has my loved one's substance use and/or behavioural addiction increased regardless of their efforts to moderate or stop completely?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above please contact us.

Q: How can I make my partner/parent/child/friend stop using?

A: You can’t make someone else stop doing something they are doing, but you can learn how to take care of yourself.

Rideauwood has a wide variety of programs for
Parents and Families

Family Spiral

Family Spiral is a 2-evening education program for family members, friends and support persons who are concerned about someone experiencing problematic substance use, behavioural addiction or a related mental health issue.

Family Spiral is an introduction to Rideauwood’s family and parent counselling services.  Participants learn about addiction and how it affects families, while connecting with others who are experiencing concerns and challenges similar to their own. 

Urgent Substance Use Treatment Program for Parents and Family

This program provides immediate prevention, education and counselling services for family members, parents and support persons of people experiencing opioid-related and other urgent substance use issues.

SMART Recovery

SMART Recovery provides support and tools for family members, friends and support persons who are concerned about someone experiencing problematic substance use, behavioural addiction or a related mental health issue.

This program has been adapted from SMART Recovery and CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training). Like SMART Recovery, CRAFT is an evidenced-base program. CRAFT teaches family members, friends and support persons new ways of interacting with a person who experiencing addiction with a goal of increasing the chances that the person will seek recovery.

SMART Recovery is a weekly group for people who have already completed an intake and are waiting for other groups and for individual counselling services.

ARCK* Program (for Families, Parents and Support Persons)

 The ARCK Program offers 8 weeks of 1.5-hour group sessions and individual counselling. It provides information on addiction, communication skills, emotions, education, and setting healthy boundaries.

We encourage participants to complete the Family Spiral before registering for ARCK.

*ARCK stands for Awareness, Responding, Coping, Knowledge.

Rideauwood partners with

During COVID-19, Rideauwood has partnered with other agencies through CounsellingConnect to help youth, young adults and adults who are dealing with substance use issues, or other problematic behaviour such as gambling and gaming or supporting a friend/family member who is. If you are interested in a single session to explore these issues, help is just a click away.