About Jan Ligon
For over 20 years I have worked as a social worker, author, and trainer in mental health and substance abuse. I also experienced first hand how difficult it is to have a family member with a substance abuse problem. In 2003, my son died at the age of 35 from using a combination of heroin and cocaine.
His struggle with drug abuse spanned a period of almost 20 years. I got him into detox more than once and visited him in jail. My wife and I also went to many Al-Anon meetings for support, but families often need more. Oftentimes the "help" offered by professionals is not helpful at all.
In 2014, my daughter and only other child died from an overdose of drugs. Ironically, I had just returned from speaking in Scotland about helping families affected by addiction the night before.
Families affected by an addicted loved one must advocate for more services. The helpers who work with families in treatment programs must learn new and better ways of working with affected families. This is happening now in Scotland and England, but not so much in the U.S.
The intention of this website is to continue to add materials and information that may be helpful to both affected families and addiction professionals. If you have suggestion for content to add, please e-mail me at janligon@gmail.com.
Jan Ligon, PhD, LCSW
