Which clients would benefit from going through a family therapy program? Most, if not all, clients will see improvements in their recovery process with a strong support system – and one of the strongest of all that a client can have on their side is their family.
Did you know that in 2011, an estimated 21 million Americans needed treatment for substance use disorders? Despite that overwhelming number, most clients in the early stages of recovery can feel completely alone in their journey. This could be because their addictive behaviors have made everyone that cares about them – including their closest family that could even be their household members – give up on hoping that they will work on their addiction recovery.
Looking for professional help to improve your family dynamics? Reach out to Oceanfront Recovery and ask about our family therapy program. Contact us online or call 877.279.1777.
How Important Is a Strong Support System to Addiction Recovery?
Whether it’s from addiction or a different mental health issue, every stage of recovery has its challenges. Clients will be more motivated to push through those challenges with a strong and positive support system to cheer them along – especially when they’re down or struggling with stress, other triggers, or negative behaviors.
For clients in addiction recovery, a strong support system can prevent relapses and lead them on the path to sobriety. Having positive support systems is also about having peer influence affect clients. When people they care about encourage them to make healthy decisions and repeat other healthy behaviors until they become habitual, clients will have almost all the help they need to build a healthier lifestyle.
Recovery can include experiencing various emotions, some of which can trigger a relapse or a bout of depression or anxiety. Strong support networks give clients a safe, confidential, and healthy place to turn to when dealing with these negative effects. Instead of using drugs to self-medicate and feel better, excellent support systems can provide constructive ways to deal with whatever clients are feeling.
How Does Addiction Treatment Deal with Problematic Family Dynamics?
If substance use has isolated clients from family and former friends, finding a strong support system can seem difficult or impossible. However, the reality is that many people would be willing to provide support – especially if it’s obvious that the person they care about is caring for themselves, too, by getting professional treatment. It’s at this point when family therapy comes in as part of an addiction therapy program.
Substance use – and the addictive behaviors that arise from it – can erode trust and weaken communication between family members. In short, having a family member that struggles with substance use can severely damage family dynamics.
Family members of clients in addiction treatment programs often endure painful emotions that many feel they can’t even talk about. They may have felt at a loss as their loved one slowly developed a substance use disorder and then felt frustrated and hopeless as they get professional help and attempt to maintain sobriety. Some may even have strong reactions that mirror their loved one’s triggers, such as paralyzing shock and fear upon seeing paraphernalia like used syringes or bottles of alcohol.
Family members may want the best for their loved ones who are clients at addiction treatment centers but have no idea how to best support them. However, the role of the family in addiction recovery – and any treatment of any mental health issue – is huge and essential. Some forms of care and therapy may be extended to include clients’ family members, especially if clients have already worked through their issues in individual therapy or peer group therapy.
During therapy sessions with their loved ones, family members learn to assume healthy roles and form behaviors to support and encourage recovery. Healthy family roles and behaviors include creating boundaries, holding loved ones accountable for their behaviors, and creating rewards for positive choices. Family members may also attend support groups with their loved ones or attend support groups for families of addicts.
What Is a Family Therapy Program?
The aim of family therapy, also known as systemic psychotherapy, is to find ways to help each other. Therapists and their clients will work with the latter’s families about the problems they experience at home and in their separate relationships. Therapists may explore the views of each family member and their relationships with each other and understand the problems they are having. In the end, family therapy should help clients and their families communicate better with each other.
Family therapy can help families change, develop, and resolve conflict – which can be a huge help in the recovery of their loved one from addiction or another mental health issue.
To conduct a family therapy session, an entire family – often including children – is usually seen together in one room. But therapists can also opt to work with family members separately, as a couple, or some other combination. The length of treatment and the attendance of certain family members at certain sessions will depend on the clients’ mental health issues and current problems.
Learn More About Oceanfront Recovery’s Family Therapy Program
Searching for a family therapy program to help with your family dynamics? Reach out to Oceanfront Recovery. Contact us online or call 877.279.1777.
