Family Support

Family support is a central service within Ballyfermot STAR. We are based in the Ballyfermot Resource Centre on the Ballyfermot Road.
Family Support provides a service for family members who have been affected by a number of things such as drug or alcohol misuse, bereavement, suicide and violent death.

We provide one to one key working sessions which we would deliver through the use of C.R.A.F.T. (Community Reinforcement and Family Therapy) We also run C.R.A.F.T group which family members find very beneficial as they can share their experiences and learn from one another. We have just completed our 9th C.R.A.F.T group where 8 family members participated in and successfully completed receiving certification for this.

Counselling is offered as a support, with accredited counsellors, however, we also support and facilitate trainee counsellors working towards their accreditation. They are supervised by the Co-ordinator and their own independent supervisor. Additionally Realt Na Clann offers a family support group each Monday evening where we provide education/ training and therapeutic group work.

Complementary therapies are an integral part of Realt Na Clann. Family members offered massage, auricular acupuncture, Reiki and energy healing to all service users of Ballyfermot Star.
These therapies are valuable for family members as they help them to feel less stressed; more relaxed and thereby enabling them to cope with the difficulties of having a loved one in addiction or trying to cope with the loss of a loved one.

Contact details:

Ph: 01-6235643

Email: kathleencronin@ballyfermotstar.ie

“When your children were small and not well you could give them medicine, pamper them and make them better, with drugs you have no remedy. You start to shut out the rest of your family in your quest to make your child better. Ballyfermot Star Réalt Na Clann Family Support service is there to help. Normally the mother is the person that seeks the help and slowly with the support she gets she learns how to cope better with the situation. She then gets the rest of her family involved. She then teaches her family to be open and honest about their feelings, bringing them into decision making and letting them feel like they have a part in the family. You slowly start to work together as a family again. It doesn’t always work out, you child may still be using drugs but you as a family learn to cope much better. You don’t let addiction define you anymore. You support one another. There is light at the end of the tunnel and you will come through this period. I know this because I am this mother”.

Réalt Na Clann Family Support Member

Download Referral Form: https://ballyfermotstar.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Community-Referral-form-Ballyfermot-STAR-CLG-Realt-Na-Clann.pdf