Aim; The aim of this study is to increase our knowledge of stress resilience children coming from backgrounds of substance abuse and to look at what consequences they may encounter, for not being able to express their emotions and deal with happenings experienced in their upbringing. Method; A qualitative approach has been used with e-mail interviews to collect our material, with young adults whom see themselves as having a history of alcoholism in the nearest family when growing up and despite this managed well in life. Result: We have concluded that resiliency is a way of coping with stressful situations. It is a way of repressing emotions when the emotions become too unbearable. When repressing the emotions you are denying the self the right to development, the right to exist as a person. And this leads to co-dependency.

Det beräknas att ca 36 % av Sveriges befolkning påverkas negativt av någon i deras närhet som antingen dricker för mycket alkohol eller brukar narkotika (Sundin & Landberg et al., 2018). De närmaste anhöriga, det vill säga familjen, är de som lider mest av deras anhörigas missbruk/beroende/substansbruk. Anhöriga till personer med substansbruk utsätts för mycket stress på grund av oro och negativa konsekvenser (Woititz, 1995). Det finns många olika stödgrupper och olika typer av behandlingar för personer med substansbruk och för dess anhöriga. CRAFT är en metod som socialstyrelsen rekommenderar i arbetet med anhöriga (Socialstyrelsen, 2019). Min egen upplevelse har varit att mitt eget sätt att arbeta, jag kallar det för behandlingsmodellen, med anhöriga har varit mer verksamt än CRAFT. Jag ställde mig därför frågande till vad skillnaden är mellan CRAFT och Behandlingsmodellen samt vilka komponenter (moment/inslag i grupp sessionerna) som kan anses som verksamma i behandling av anhöriga. För att få svar på detta utförde jag en kvalitativ undersökning av fyra olika anhöriggrupper/föräldragrupper. I två av anhöriggrupperna använde jag och min kollega CRAFT och i de andra två grupperna Behandlingsmodell. Gruppdeltagarna var föräldrar vars barn har eller har haft någon form av substansbruk.  Tidigare forskning gällande anhörigstöd samt affektteori och inlärningsteori har hjälpt mig att hitta mönster och förstärka resultatet av insamlat material. I jämförelse med CRAFT gav Behandlingsmodellen bättre resultat i samtliga undersökta områden. Exempelvis visade det sig att 86 % av de anhöriga i behandlingsmodell-grupperna upplevde stor påverkan i sitt psykiska mående i jämförelse med CRAFT-grupperna där 55 % av anhöriga upplevde stor påverkan av deras psykiska mående. I avseende hur deras ungdomar/barn har påverkas till det bättre i relation till missbruk/beroende upplevde 72 % av de anhöriga i behandlingsmodell-grupperna en stor påverkan medan 37 % av anhöriga i CRAFT-grupperna upplevde stor påverkan på deras barn i relation till missbruk/beroende. Deltagarna i de grupper där vi använde Behandlingsmodellen var också generellt mer nöjda med aspekter så som övriga gruppdeltagare, behandlingens innehåll och gruppledarna. Studien belyste betydelsen av faktorer så som gruppens betydelse, kunskap om medberoende, öva på kommunikationsfärdigheter, föräldrafärdigheter, aktivt lyssna, bygga upp en positiv relation och prioritera gemensamt umgänge med ungdomen. Dessa faktorer genomsyrade grupperna i båda behandlingsformerna medan det i Behandlingsmodellen fanns större utrymme för ytterligare faktorer så som vägledning i känslor, den anhörigas vardagliga upplevelser samt att låta individers behov styra behandlingsinnehåll. / It is estimated that about 36 % of Sweden's population is negatively affected by someone close to them who either drinks too much alcohol or uses narcotics (Sundin & Landberg et al., 2018). The closest relatives, the family, are those who suffers the most from their relative’s substance abuse. Relatives of people with substance abuse are exposed to a lot of stress due to anxiety and negative consequences that often arise (Woititz, 1995). There are many different support groups and different types of treatments for people with substance abuse and for their relatives. CRAFT is a method that the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare recommends as treatment of relatives (Socialstyrelsen, 2019). Through my own experience I have found that my own way of working with relatives, I call it the Treatment Model, has been more effective than CRAFT. I therefore asked myself what is the difference between CRAFT and the Treatment Model and which components can be considered effective in the treatment of relatives. To get an answer to this, I have done a qualitative survey of four different Support Groups/Parent Groups. In two of the support groups, my colleague and I used CRAFT and in the other two groups, the Treatment Model. The group participants were parents whose children have or had some form of substance use. Previous research on support/treatment of relatives as well as theory’s such as the Affect Theory and Learning Theory has helped me find patterns and reinforce the results of collected material from this study. In comparison with CRAFT, the Treatment Model gave better results in all areas studied. For example, it turned out that 86 % of the relatives in the Treatment Groups experienced a great effect in their mental state in comparison with the CRAFT Groups where 55 % of the relatives experienced a great effect in their mental state. In regards to how their children have been affected for the better in relation to addiction/dependence, 72 % of the relatives in the Treatment Groups experienced a large impact while  37 % of relatives in the CRAFT Groups experienced a large impact on their children in relation to abuse/addiction. The participants in the groups where we used the Treatment Model were also generally more satisfied with aspects such as other group participants, the content of the treatment and the group leaders. The study highlighted the importance of factors such as the group's importance, knowledge of co-dependency, practicing communication skills, parenting skills, actively listening, building a positive relationship and prioritizing joint interaction with the youth. These factors permeated the groups in both forms of treatment, while in the Treatment Model there was more room for additional factors such as guidance in emotions, the relative's everyday experiences and to let individuals' needs control treatment content.

This essay has a focus on self description and alcoholism as a literary function in Alex Schulman’s Glöm mig. Similarities between the book Alcoholics Anonymous (Stora Boken) and the twelve step programme (Tolvstegsprogrammet) is based on how the narrative could be characterized by the authenticity of the disease portrayal. The connection between the narrative and Alcoholics Anonymous is compared with how the main characters are portrayed and how alcoholism functions in the book. The study reveals that the story could most likely be percieved as an accurate portrayal of alcoholism as a disease, due to certain cirumstances. The connection between the testimonies of alcoholism as a disease in Alcoholics Anonymous and the narrative is an important parallel as it can strengthen the story’s credibility. It’s possible to interpret the story as a testimony from someone in close relationship to an alcoholic. An authentic story like this occurs frequently in Swedish contemporary literature and could be one of the reasons behind the novel’s commercial breakthrough. The privileged position of the author should be considered as a contributing factor leading to the positive public reactions when the novel was published. It should also be considered as having an impact on the reader’s perception of the autobiographic novel’s credibility. It’s probable that, due to these circumstances, the line between a true story and a fictional one, could be dissolved for the reader. In connection with the circumstances with Schulman’s authorship, a number of factors that may impact the reading of the book, have been presented. These are explained in comparison to other authors with similar backgrounds, who have been publishing books about similiar topics.

The purpose of this thesis is to understand how social workers, working for social services in Sweden, reach out, catch up and offer co-dependent relatives to individuals with alcohol- and/or substance abuse help. Scientific research show that co-dependent people often develop a dependent relationship to their relatives with addiction, which cause feelings of shame and stigmatization. To decrease the codependency and negative emotions the relative need professional help. This paper will focus on how social workers work with reaching out to co-dependent relatives and how they offer them help. For this reason, the paper will also giveperspective on how organisations can help to improve the work with relatives to people with alcohol- and substance abuse, as well as how the social workers can use their own discretion to reach out and catch up the relatives in need of emotional support. This study is based on seven social workers experiences (in six different municipalities) of including relatives to individuals with addictions to either alcohol, substances, or gambling problems in their work and offer them help.