The Enabler is a person who feels he must not let the alcoholic suffer the consequences of her
drinking when he can so easily prevent this by a simple rescue operation. To him it is like saving
a drowning woman; it simply must be done. But this rescue mission conveys to the alcoholic
what the rescuer really thinks: "You cannot make it without my help." The Enabler thus reveals a
lack of faith in the alcoholic's ability to take care of herself, which is a form of judgment and
condemnation.
The role of the professional Enabler - (i.e. clergyman, doctor, lawyer or social worker) - can be
most destructive, if it conditions the family to reduce the crisis rather than to use it to initiate a
recovery program. The family has probably known for a few years that drinking was creating
serious problems, but this is not so apt to be visible to person outside of the family. When the
family turns to professionals who are not adequately qualified to deal with alcoholism, before the
anti-social behavior has become obvious, the family may be told that this not alcoholism and that
there is nothing they can do until the drinker wants help.
When alcoholism reaches the point where it breaks outside the family and the alcoholic herself
turns to such professional people, she secures a reduction of her crisis by seeking and using those
persons as Enablers. This again keeps the Merry-Go-Round going. The family which was told
initially that there were no signs of alcoholism is now taught that the way to deal with it is to
remove the symptoms, rather than to deal realistically with the illness. The very persons who
failed to identify the alcoholism in its early stages may now treat the more advanced symptoms
by helping the alcoholic get back on the merry-go-round. This further conditions the family to
believe that nothing can be done to cope with the alcoholism. Even when the family members
attempt to secure help for themselves or the alcoholic, the professional role may be that of an
Enabler, rather than leading the family and the alcoholic into a long-range program of recovery.
As the Enabler is the first person on the scene, he influences the remainder of the second act
because it sets the direction and movement of this part of the play. Thus the uninformed
professional helps everyone get back on the Merry-Go-Round

(An Alanon Publication)

A Merry Go Round Named Denial
http://www.theharborhhi.org/Content/amgrf.pdf