Thursday 4 July 2019
Kris hazenbosch & Tomas Van Reybrouck
Meeting parents of children who struggle with addiction
An opportunity to share their concerns and knowledges.
Parents of children in the grip of an alcohol and /or illegal drugs addiction are confronted with discourses that tell them how to respond to these problems. Because they can’t meet the high social expectations on parenthood there is a risk of becoming isolated. They experience feelings of guilt and shame because of what happens to them and their child. The dominant power/knowledge dynamics do not provide much room to publicly voice their concerns, to acknowledge their knowledges, and to reach constructive identity conclusions concerning their parenthood.
In our meetings with several parents we hope to break through the isolation and reconnect these parent with themselves and others by identifying these discourses and their responses. By gathering these parents, and giving them an opportunity to engage in conversations with each other, we want to try to find a space where they can not only speak, but can also be heard. These conversations contribute to subordinate story development for every parent of an addicted child.
Their voices and stories can be heard as containing inspiring and enriching ideas for every participant of the conference and will hopefully lead to social action.
Kris hazenbosch & Tomas Van Reybrouck