The objective was to investigate the perception by relatives of drug users about the importance of the support group as a strategy of care. We conducted a descriptive study with qualitative approach, in the second half of 2010, in a psychosocial care center for users of alcohol and other drugs (CAPS AD), in a city in the extreme south of Brazil, with ten relatives. Data were collected by semistructured interviews and analyzed by thematic analysis. It was found that the group is an alternative to hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital, can provide access and regular monitoring by health professionals, helps understand what addiction is, provides tools for care and allows for the social rehabilitation of the addict. The support group was concluded to be an important strategy for caring for relatives of drug users, presenting itself as a technology to be incorporated by nurses in their daily practice.
Family; Substance-related disorders; Nursing care