Family Recovery
Support
Certified Family Recovery
Specialists (CFRS)
Family Recovery Support at A Design for Living Foundation is non-clinical mentoring for parents, spouses, partners, and family members impacted by a loved one’s substance use.
Our Certified Family Recovery Specialists support families as they navigate fear, uncertainty, boundaries, communication, and hope — guided by lived experience and shared understanding. We have been where many families are, and we walk alongside them with compassion, clarity, and respect — without judgment or pressure.
What is Family
Recovery Support?
Family Recovery Support is a relationship-based service designed specifically for those who love and support someone impacted by alcohol or substance use.
Family Recovery Support recognizes that families need support too — and that informed, supported families play a critical role in long-term recovery.
It focuses on helping families:
Understand substance use and recovery
Improve communication
Set and maintain healthy boundaries
Reduce isolation, guilt, and burnout
Stay connected without enabling
Care for themselves while caring about others
The Quiet Work of Family Recovery
Family recovery often isn’t loud or dramatic. Much of it happens quietly and goes unnoticed.
Families are often focused on the crises — the relapse, the chaos, the arguments, the fear. But recovery is also shaped by quieter moments:
The parent who does not rush to fix
The partner who does not take the bait in an argument
The sibling who chooses not to shame
The grandparent who resists catastrophizing
These quiet acts of regulation, restraint, and presence help create the emotional environment where recovery becomes possible. They are not accidental — and they can be learned, practiced, and strengthened over time.
Family Recovery Support helps families recognize and develop these skills in daily life.
What Family
Recover Support
Looks Like
Family Recovery Support is most often provided one-on-one, but may also include small group workshops or educational sessions sponsored by A Design for Living Foundation.
Support may include:
One-on-one mentoring with a Certified Family Recovery Specialist
Education about substance use and recovery
Guidance around communication and boundaries
Support navigating fear, grief, anger, and uncertainty
Tools for self-care and emotional sustainability
Connection to community and educational resources
Support is collaborative, respectful, and paced to each family’s needs.
Where Family Recovery
Support Takes Place
All Family Recovery Support follows the same guiding principle as our other services:
Family Recovery Support is provided in a respectful, same-gender mentoring environment.
Support is available by appointment and tailored to each family’s situation.
Family Recovery Support may take place:
In person, in a private office or community setting
In the community, such as over a cup of coffee
Virtually, when appropriate, using secure video platforms such as Google Meet or Zoom
What Family Recovery
Support Is Not
Family Recovery Support is not about fixing or controlling another person.
It complements other services by helping families stay informed, connected, and emotionally supported.
To avoid confusion, it’s important to be clear about what Family Recovery Support is not:
Not therapy
Not clinical treatment
Not crisis intervention
Not case management or supervision
Our Family Recovery Support Team
Family Recovery Support services are provided by Certified Family Recovery Specialists with lived experience.
Our Family Recovery Support team includes:
Scott Kuhn
Certified Family Recovery Specialist
Karen Deal
Certified Family Recovery Specialist
Hear From Our Family Recovery Support Team
If someone you love is struggling, you
don’t have to face it alone.
Reaching out doesn’t mean you’ve failed — it means you care.
Family Recovery Support is voluntary, confidential, and centered on respect.