The Emotional Turmoil for Child
Behind every addiction lies a child silently trying to make sense of it all.
What Happens to a Child When Addiction Enters the Home?
When Addiction Reshapes Childhood
Children depend on adults for safety, consistency, and emotional reassurance. When addiction is present, that sense of stability can quietly disappear. The home may feel unpredictable—marked by tension, mood changes, absence, or conflict—even when nothing is openly said.
Children are highly sensitive to these shifts. They often sense stress long before they understand it, and may carry fear, confusion, or shame without knowing how to express it.
How Does Addiction Shape a Child’s Emotional World?
Attachment is the blueprint for how a child will relate to others, regulate emotion, and view themselves. When addiction enters the picture, that blueprint is often rewritten in painful and maladaptive ways.
- Secure Attachment (What Should Happen): In a stable, nurturing environment, children develop secure attachment—they feel safe, valued, and emotionally regulated. But addiction often disrupts that stability.
- Anxious Attachment: Children exposed to frequent conflict, rage, or absence may become clingy or fearful of abandonment. They learn that love is unpredictable and begin seeking constant reassurance or validation from others.
- Avoidant Attachment: When caregivers are emotionally numb, neglectful, or overwhelmed by addiction, children may shut down emotionally. They learn it’s safer not to rely on anyone—and may grow up to avoid closeness, suppress emotions, and reject vulnerability.
- Disorganised Attachment: In households with abuse, trauma, or extreme instability, children may experience caregivers as both a source of love and fear. This creates disorganized attachment—marked by confusion, unpredictability, and emotional dysregulation.
These patterns don’t just disappear with age—they follow children into adulthood, affecting romantic relationships, parenting styles, and emotional health.
What Role Does Codependency Play in Homes Affected by Addiction?
In many addiction-impacted households, the non-addicted caregiver becomes codependent—over-functioning, walking on eggshells, or emotionally shutting down. They may swing between:
Anxiety and hypervigilance, awaiting the addicted partner’s next move
Anger and blame, stemming from helplessness and emotional exhaustion
Emotional unavailability, as they try to “keep the peace” while hiding their own distress
Children observe and internalise these roles—learning that love comes with conditions, conflict, and confusion. This emotional environment can lead to suppressed rage, hyper-independence, or people-pleasing tendencies as children grow.
What Role Does Codependency Play in Homes Affected by Addiction?
At Listening Ear Counselling & Consultancy Pte. Ltd., we use an integrated therapeutic approach to help children, teens, and family members process and recover from the emotional impact of addiction.
We don’t just treat symptoms—we create safety, rebuild trust, and re-pattern attachment.
Our Core Therapeutic Framework:
Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT): Repairs attachment wounds and fosters emotional reconnection in parent-child and family relationships.
Non-Violent Communication (NVC): Builds healthier emotional expression, empathy, and conflict resolution between family members.
Narrative Therapy: Helps children and parents reframe their stories—not as “broken” but as survivors navigating pain, resilience, and identity.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Uses future-oriented questions like the Miracle Question to help children and teens envision safety, support, and personal agency.
Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy: Enhances self-esteem and congruent communication, bringing more authenticity into family dynamics.
CBT and REBT: Challenges limiting beliefs and emotional distortions in children and caregivers, often related to shame, fear, or guilt.
DARE (Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning Experience): Specifically used to address deep attachment trauma—ideal for adults who were once children in these homes and now struggle with intimacy or self-worth.
How Can Therapy Become a Safe and Stabilising Base for a Child?
In therapy, our trained clinicians serve as temporary secure attachment figures, especially for children who may have never experienced emotional safety. We offer a warm, dependable, and emotionally responsive space for:
Processing confusion, fear, and anger
Understanding the difference between “safe adults” and unpredictable behaviour
Developing emotional regulation tools
Rebuilding self-esteem and relational confidence
This therapeutic relationship becomes the starting point for healthier neural pathways, restored trust, and emotional resilience.
Our Counselling Fees
| Session Type | Investment | Additional Charges | Cancellation Policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-Person Sessions | SGD 250 | – SGD 50 after-hours surcharge -Transportation fees for out-of-office sessions or different venues – SGD 50 administrative fee may apply where additional insurance coordination or documentation is required | Reschedule or cancel with 36+ hours’ notice. Late changes or no-shows incur full session investment. |
| Virtual Sessions (Zoom) | SGD 250 (Advance PayNow Preferred Rate of SGD 200 may be offered on a case-by-case basis when payment is made using PayNow or direct Bank transfer at least 3 days in advance and no administrative work is required.) | – Same as above (where applicable) | Same as above. |
*For more information on session rates, cancellation policy, accepted payment methods, and other related details, please refer to our Fees and Payment Page*
What Clients say about our Counselling in Singapore
Professionally Trained, Trauma-Informed & Culturally Attuned
Evidence-Based & Grounded in Real Life
Culturally Sensitive & Globally Informed
Respectful of Complex, Delicate Issues
