Relational Interventions in Complex Situations: Sessions with Substance Using Parents

This chapter describes therapeutic encounters with two parents and their three-month-old daughter Ina. The parents have substance use problems and are undergoing treatment in an inpatient family unit in a Norwegian specialist healthcare facility. Case-based illustrations are used to describe the couple’s dilemmas and how a systemic approach can be useful in the sessions with the parents. The chapter illustrates how it can be easy to lose sight of the way a small intervention can be big enough in the first session with parents.