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Virginia Kelly, PhD, associate professor of counselor education at ������ý��Ƶ�����ƹۿ�’s Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions (GSEAP), will discuss her new book, Addiction in the Family: What Every Counselor Needs to Know , at the ������ý��Ƶ�����ƹۿ� Downtown Bookstore, on Thursday, February 11 starting at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

“In Connecticut and across the U.S. we are experiencing a heroin epidemic among adolescents,” Dr. Kelly said. “Heroin is cheaper than marijuana and has caught the attention of youth everywhere. There are a number of reasons for the emergence of this issue, including the development and widespread use of opiate-based pain medications and the developmental struggles typical of adolescents.” She will also discuss how family members are affected and how they can respond.

Dr. Kelly has been studying the impact of addiction on families since her dissertation research: “This book is about how addiction affects those closest to the addict. Addicted families are characterized by three elements that pervade the lives of the family members — shame, denial and control. I describe how these features permeate the lives of the family members as well as the other emotional, relational and behavioral consequences of living with addiction.”

Dr. Kelly has been a counselor educator since 1993 and has taught in Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP)-accredited doctoral and master's level programs throughout her career. She began teaching in ������ý��Ƶ�����ƹۿ�’s counselor education department in the fall of 2001 and generally teaches Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Research Methodology, Lifespan Human Development and several of the school counseling courses.