Personal and relational empowerment: a framework for family recovery

Purpose Caring for a person with a substance use disorder (SUD) and/or mental health disorder (MHD) represents a significant burden for family members. The features of “carers/family members” experiences reflect trauma signatures. Consequently, working through this trauma for carers corresponds with psychological recovery, empowerment processes and intrapersonal/interpersonal needs. The purpose of this paper is to outline a framework called the “personal and relational empowerment (PRE)” framework which enables family support practitioners to help family members to be able to take control of their own lives, develop meaningful relationships and live purposeful and fulfilling lives, regardless of whether the person with the SUD and/or MHD is in recovery or not. Design/methodology/approach This paper critically reviews existing frameworks for carer recovery, through a systematic literature search, and proposes a “PRE” alternative to redress the shortfalls in these existing frameworks. Findings The PRE framework takes a multi-level needs-based approach to understand carer recovery. This framework links the concepts – psychological recovery, empowerment processes and intrapersonal/interpersonal needs. Practical implications The PRE framework recognises the importance of recovery support practitioners being able to balance the immediate carer crisis intervention needs responses with personal growth and well-being supporting interventions. Originality/value The PRE framework of family recovery attempts to answer the need to broaden the focus on the family journey to better reflect the principles and practices of contemporary SUD and/or MHD recovery-based support.

Relational Empowerment

This article comprises a reformulation of the pentecostal-charismatic notion of spiritual power from a process-relational theological perspective. The problem of power is investigated in terms of coercive and persuasive power, followed by a proposal concerning the role of love in persuasion over coercion. The notion of “relational empowerment” suggests that co-suffering and other-orientedness represent healthier perspectives on persuasive love than typical notions of raw empowerment for domination or control. The primacy of God’s responsive love while co-suffering with creation is central to this affirmation. A Spirit-filled life is proposed as one that fully and enthusiastically embraces the “other-oriented nature” of God’s persuasive love. Moreover, the use of power metaphors is critiqued and alternatives presented. Ultimately, it is argued that the unsurpassable power of such unconditional love must remind the world that “Christ is not Caesar.”