Recognizing that substance use disorders affect the entire family and that family members are in need of treatment and education as well as the addicted person. Research and our own experience indicate that family participation in the healing process greatly improves the likelihood of lasting recovery. Therefore, it is essential that all family members become involved in the healing process. Please be aware that clients may characteristically experience defensive feelings with regard to family involvement. For your family’s sake, please do not let your loved one make that decision.
In addition to monthly multifamily sessions provided in most treatment groups, most also offer a multi-week Family Awareness Program, individual family member counseling and education, couples counseling, and family therapy as part of a client’s individualized treatment plan. These sessions:
- Work to achieve abstinence for family member(s) with substance use disorders.
- Consolidate abstinence by focusing on resolving dysfunctional rules, roles, and alliances.
- After sobriety is achieved, deepen intimacy through appropriate expression of suppressed feelings (such as mourning of losses or hostility).
- Maintain a sober and functional family core that acts as a central stable organizer for the client who abuses substances, especially during times of stress.
Family Awareness Programs
Family Awareness Programs take place once a week over the course of 10 weeks and is open to all family members 13 years of age and older. Topics of discussion include:
- Disease of Addiction
- Family Trees and their influence on the current family framework
- Anger and its impact on the family system
- Communication Skills
- Supporting vs. Enabling
- Setting limits within the family
- Behaviors and thinking that contribute to recovery and relapse
- Open feedback between members to help resolve barriers to recovery
- Maintaining growth outside the group
To enroll in the program, please contact us or discuss it with your family member’s counselor.
Other Family Support
Most also offer separate programs for families who may or may not have a family member in treatment, including:
- Codependency Counseling
- Adult Children of Alcoholics/Addicts Counseling
- Adolescent Children of Alcoholics/Addicts Counseling
- Intervention Training