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Talk 1-on-1 with a Peer Specialist About Adult Children of Alcoholics

Growing up in a home with an alcoholic parent shapes how you read rooms, hold relationships, and ask for what you need long after childhood. A 1-on-1 session with an ACOA Peer Specialist gives you private time with another adult child of an alcoholic who already knows that dynamic from the inside.

Specialists available to book by the session.

Find a Specialist How It Works

1-on-1 support

Talk privately with a trained Peer Specialist

Want more focused support around physical health? These Specialists offer 1-on-1 conversations shaped by lived experience.

View all Specialists

Izzy

Available tomorrow

As a daughter of a narcissistic mother and someone who has endured religious trauma, I want you to know this first: you are not alone. I was born and raised in Pakistan and have navigated my own journey through anxiety, CPTSD, depression, and dyslexia. For a long time, I carried guilt, confusion, and the quiet feeling of never being fully seen. Therapy was a meaningful and supportive part of my healing, and I’m grateful for the clarity it provided. Over time, I also began attending peer support groups, where I experienced something deeply transformative, being witnessed by others who showed up vulnerably and met me as an equal. That sense of shared humanity shifted my healing in profound ways. I originally trained and worked as a medical doctor, but I came to understand that my heart was in creating spaces centered on connection, presence, and lived experience.

Narcissistic Abuse

CPTSD

Laurel Handfield

Available tomorrow

I support anyone navigating burnout, stress, and anxiety

relationships

anxiety

Kaitlin Weigle

Available tomorrow

Broad lived experience & passionate about helping. CPSS.

OCD

Anxiety

Jonathan Tucker

Available tomorrow

Grounded support for real life and recovery.

Life Transitions

Anxiety & Stress

Megyn Ross

Available today

Navigating trauma & mental health as a parent.

parenting

addiction

Topic context

Understanding adult children of alcoholics

Alcoholism affects people from all walks of life, and breaking free from it can be one of the hardest journeys a person undertakes. Feelings of shame, fear of judgment, and isolation are common among those struggling with or recovering from alcohol use disorder. Peer support groups offer a compassionate, non-judgmental space where individuals can share openly, build accountability, and find strength in others who’ve walked the same path. These connections can reinforce recovery goals and help individuals feel less alone as they work toward sobriety.

Why it helps

How a Peer Specialist helps with adult children of alcoholics

A Peer Specialist helps adult children of alcoholics because the patterns you developed as a child to survive often keep running in adulthood, even when they no longer serve you. Your specialist can help you name those patterns, recognize them in real time, and slowly build something different. The point is not blame; it is understanding.

In a session

What a adult children of alcoholics specialist session often covers

The roles many ACOAs played growing up: hero, scapegoat, lost child, mascot, caretaker
Hypervigilance, people-pleasing, and conflict avoidance in adult relationships
Trust, control, and difficulty letting others in
Choosing partners or friends who recreate familiar dynamics
How your specialist set boundaries with a parent who is still drinking, sober, or somewhere in between

Good fit for

Who these specialists may help

Adults raised by a parent with alcoholism, whether or not that parent is still drinking
Anyone unpacking the long shadow of growing up in an alcoholic household
People in relationships affected by patterns learned in childhood
Anyone curious about peer ACOA support outside of a 12-step framework

Keep exploring

Frequently asked questions

Is this Peer Specialist part of the ACOA 12-step program?

No. ShareWell Peer Specialists are not affiliated with ACA, AA, Al-Anon, or any specific 12-step program. People in 12-step recovery are still welcome to book.

Does my parent have to be diagnosed or still drinking for me to book?

No. Many people who book have parents who were never formally diagnosed, who got sober, or who have passed away. The shared experience is growing up in a household shaped by alcoholism.

What if the substance use in my family was not alcohol?

The patterns ACOAs talk about often overlap with other family-of-origin substance use. Your specialist can help you decide if this is the right fit, and we have Peer Specialists focused on broader family-of-origin dynamics too.

Group support