The Sunlight of the Spirit: Help for Families in Addiction Recovery in Pittsburgh & Southwestern Pennsylvania. 412-429-1047

Family Support Groups • Family Therapists • Grief and Bereavement Specialists • 12-Step Work Shops • Meditation Groups & Yoga
Speaker’s Bureau • Workshops & Seminars • Al-Anon Meetings • Experience • Strength • Hope • Childcare Available

Services and Programs for Adults and Children (age 12+) Whose Lives have been Affected by Addiction

Family Support Groups | Residential and One-Day Experiences
Meditation Groups & Yoga | Outreach Services

Family Support Groups

Adult family members are finally able to talk about how their loved one's addiction has impacted their life. Groups can be very effective and produce more rapid results than individual therapy. SOS Family Support Groups are facilitated by therapists who specialize in the family and addictions field. In these groups members have the unique chance to experience how others struggle with issues similar to their own and they find that they never have to be alone again.

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Residential and One-Day Experiences

SOS offers weekend residential experiences and one-day sessions in a group setting where participants learn:

  1. about the disease of addiction
  2. the meaning of powerlessness and letting go
  3. how to set boundaries
  4. how to detach with love instead of anger or indifference
  5. to take action and ask for help
  6. how to improve the quality of their life.

Although we don’t provide therapy during our weekend and one-day family programs, our staff members are trained therapists and physicians with special expertise in family issues and addiction.  We’re unique in that all staff members have their own personal stories.  Several of our staff members have been trained by the experts at Hazelden, and The Betty Ford Center.  We’ve been given authorization by these centers to use their curriculum and materials to help families in Western Pennsylvania.

We invite parents, spouses, siblings, grandparents and anyone else who has been affected by another person’s alcoholism or drug addiction to join us.

Family Support Groups are held at our Center at 2275 Swallowhill Road, Building 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15220. One-Day Educational Programs and Weekend Family Experiences are held at The Franciscan Spirit and Life Center, 3605 McRoberts Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15234 (unless otherwise noted at the time the program is held.)

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Meditation Groups & Yoga

When it comes to recovery, we know important it is to find a good source of exercise, develop techniques for relaxation, and how important it is to meditate and strive for spiritual serenity.  SOS provides a valuable service by offering group as well as individual Yoga classes taught by Jenn Fairbank, RYT.

When we choose recovery, we begin a journey of spiritual growth and self-knowledge.  When living with the family disease of addiction, we may use obsession with a loved one or unhealthy behaviors to fill an inner emptiness or to manage unacceptable feelings.  In recovery, yoga is a helpful tool for changing our lives.

For thousands of years people have practiced the ancient disciplines of yoga in order to live more purposeful, contented lives.  The physical practice of yoga can support our recovery as it unites and heals body, mind and spirit.   As we move with deeper awareness into each pose, always conscious of the breath, we grow in strength and courage.  In time, we find ourselves better able to cope with our emotions.   We discover a path to spiritual knowledge that may be new to us, and we live more mindfully in the world.

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Outreach Services

Presentations: Staff members of The Sunlight of the Spirit are available to speak with community or professional groups (both large and small) about family recovery issues.  We are regular presenters at several local drug and alcohol treatment centers and have guest lectured for the Pennsylvania Certification Board and the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work.

Resource and Information Specialists: The Sunlight of the Spirit can offer professional referral information and information about 12-Step meetings.  We can help you to find a therapist or physician who understands both addiction and the family.  Perhaps you're in a crisis or you just need someone to talk to.  SOS is here for you.

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SOS is here for you

For information, to schedule an appointment, to register for one of our family support groups,  or to obtain information about upcoming one-day or weekend programs, please contact us at:

412-429-1047
Diane Hurd at dhurd@sunlightspirit.com
or Georgiann Robbins at grobbins@sunlightspirit.com

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