Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Devlin.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey into Family Sobriety Now really began with my own recovery journey a couple of decades ago. At the time, I was bartending, and I realized pretty quickly that if I was going to have a chance at long-term sobriety, I needed to make some significant changes in my life, including getting out of that environment. I didn’t know it at the time, but that decision would eventually lead me to a career helping other people and families navigate addiction and recovery
Through a series of relationships and opportunities, I began working with at-risk youth, which opened a whole new door for me and eventually led me to pursue my counseling degree and enter the behavioral health field.
I spent many years working as an outpatient counselor, and during that time, I began noticing something that became foundational to the way I practice: the people I saw achieve long-term sobriety often had their families involved in the process. I actually began tracking this statistically, and what I was seeing clinically was reflected in the numbers. There was a strong connection between sustained recovery and healthy family involvement.
That realization stayed with me throughout my career.
After about a decade as an outpatient counselor, I spent a year working for the county which gave me a completely different perspective. I learned the government and administrative side of behavioral health; funding, auditing recovery houses and treatment centers, and understanding the systems that families and treatment providers have to navigate.
Eventually though, I felt pulled back toward the people and families themselves.
I wrote a book called A Step Out of Darkness: How to Help Someone Enter Addiction Treatment and Walk with Them Through Recovery because I wanted to take everything I had learned over the years and put it into something that could directly serve families. I had seen so many families hurting, confused, and feeling powerless because they loved someone struggling with addiction but simply didn’t know what to do.
During this time, I became a clinical director of a treatment center, helping establish and run the program. And through all of those experiences, one thing became increasingly clear to me: my real passion was working with families.
That’s ultimately what led me to Family Sobriety Now.
I wanted to create a resource and a service for families who often get overlooked in the recovery process. When someone is struggling with addiction, the focus understandably tends to be on the individual. But addiction does not happen in isolation. It affects an entire family and families need support, education, boundaries, connection, and practical tools too.
Today, my work is focused on walking alongside those families and supporting individuals who are in recovery or trying to find their way into recovery.
The message at the heart of everything I do is simple: sobriety is a family affair.
My own recovery journey led me into this work, my career helped me understand it from many different angles, and the families I’ve met along the way showed me where I could make the greatest difference. That’s what ultimately brought me to Family Sobriety Now and that’s the work I feel called to do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, definitely not. There have been plenty of roadblocks along the way.
One of the biggest challenges was stepping away from the perceived security of a full-time job and deciding to go out on my own. There is a certain comfort that comes with having a steady paycheck and knowing what your role is. Walking away from that to build something from the ground up was a pretty big leap of faith.
Then there was the learning curve of becoming a business owner. I had spent years learning how to counsel, support families, and work within the treatment system but suddenly I had to learn things like marketing, business development, and all of the other things that don’t necessarily come naturally to someone whose heart is simply be with a family and serve them.
There were definitely seasons when I wondered, What am I doing? Is this really what I’m supposed to be doing? There were times I picked up different side jobs just to keep things moving and continue providing for my family and honestly, some of those seasons were difficult because I sometimes felt like I was spending more time trying to build the business than actually serving the families I knew were hurting and needed someone to walk alongside them.
However, looking back several years later, I can see those struggles differently.
I realize now that building Family Sobriety Now wasn’t just about creating a business, it was about creating a way for me to serve families in the way I had always believed they needed to be served.
So, yes, there were plenty of moments when I questioned whether I was on the right path but today, I can say that I know this was a calling for me.
I’m incredibly grateful I didn’t give up. I’m grateful for the friends and family who encouraged me, believed in me, and helped me keep moving forward when I wasn’t always sure what the next step was.
It hasn’t been a smooth road, but I wouldn’t trade the journey. The struggles taught me perseverance, and they also reinforced why I started Family Sobriety Now in the first place: to be there for families who are hurting and don’t know where to turn.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work is centered on one thing: serving families who have a loved one struggling with addiction.
For decades, I’ve had the privilege of working in different parts of the recovery world. I’ve been on the personal recovery side, I’ve worked as a counselor, I’ve worked from the treatment provider perspective, I’ve worked within the county and federal system, and I’ve learned how insurance and treatment systems can impact the choices families make. I’ve also seen addiction affect people I care about personally. All of those experiences have given me a perspective that I believe is one of the things that sets me apart.
I understand that addiction is never a one size fits all problem and therefore recovery can’t be one size fits all either.
Every family is different. Every person struggling with addiction is different. Some approaches work incredibly well for one family and may not work at all for another. My role isn’t to walk into a family and tell them, “Here’s the one answer.” My role is to listen, understand their particular situation, and help them see the options that are available to them, sometimes options they didn’t even know existed.
After decades in and around recovery, I’ve seen what works, what doesn’t, and why. I bring that experience to families so they can make informed decisions about what their next step might be. One of the greatest privileges of my work is watching a family go from feeling overwhelmed and powerless to realizing, “Wait a minute. We actually have options.”
I’m also very proud of the Family Sobriety Now podcast. I originally created it as a free resource for families who might be sitting at home late at night wondering what they could possibly do to help a son, daughter, spouse, parent, or loved one. I wanted them to hear a simple message: You’re not alone. There are things you can do. There is a way out.
Recently, the podcast was picked up by the National Police Federal Credit Union, which gives me the opportunity to reach even more families. That partnership is particularly meaningful because I had the privilege of serving as a first responder earlier in my life. I have tremendous respect for the men and women who serve our communities, and I know that behind every first responder is a family carrying its own worries, stress, and sacrifices. My hope is that Family Sobriety Now can be another resource for those families when they need it.
Ultimately, what I’m most proud of is not any particular title, program, or accomplishment. It’s the families I’ve had the opportunity to walk alongside.
When a family that once felt hopeless begins to see possibilities again, when they learn how to establish healthier boundaries, when they reconnect with one another, or when they finally find a path forward that works for them, that’s what makes this work meaningful to me.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers but after decades in and around recovery, I have a lot of experience, a lot of perspective, and a deep commitment to helping families find their way.
That’s really what Family Sobriety Now is about: reminding families that they aren’t powerless, they aren’t alone, and they have more influence than they may realize.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Nothing really comes to mind in terms of one particular app, book, or podcast that I rely on. I think one of the things that helps me do my best is being a lifelong learner.
I teach a class per semester at Bucks County Community College, and I’ve come to realize that if you really want to know something in your heart, teach it.
Every semester, I’m challenged to revisit the material, look at it differently, and find something new maybe a video, article, or a challenging question that I can bring to my students. Even though I’ve taught the course before, I don’t want to simply teach the same thing the same way every semester. I’m always looking for something new to learn and share.
That mindset carries over into my work with families, addiction, recovery, psychology, and family dynamics are constantly evolving, and I never want to reach a point where I think I know everything there is to know.
So I think my greatest resource is curiosity. I’m committed to continuing to learn, continuing to ask questions, and then finding ways to make what I learn useful to the people I serve. For me, being a lifelong learner isn’t just something I say, it’s part of how I live and how I do my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://josephbdevlin.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557925536619
- Other: https://nppn.live/family-sobriety-now-podcast/
