While in the throes of a substance abuse problem, the addiction sufferer might end up hurting the people they love. Many families have been left in shambles because one family member had a problem with drugs or alcohol. The best anyone can hope for is what damage is done can be undone.
Before family problems related to drug abuse can come to the forefront, the addiction sufferer will need to address the addiction issue. If they don’t address the addiction issue, the family problems will likely continue.
Let’s assume you are reading this information because you are in fact an addiction sufferer. Furthermore, you recognize that your addiction has torn the fabric of your family. To address your addiction issue, you will need to go into a reputable rehab facility for help. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking there are other viable alternatives. For better or worse, rehab has consistently proven the only viable way to fight addiction and avoid future relapses.
When you enter rehab, you will want to disclose the nature of your addiction issues. That should include mention of the possible damage that has been done to your family relationships. Based on the information you provide, the rehab’s administrative staff should be able to put together a good treatment program. In all likelihood, it will involve an inpatient treatment program that includes individual therapy, group therapy, and family therapy.
During individual therapy, you would get an opportunity to focus on yourself. The task at hand is to figure out why you went down the path of addiction. That is something you will want to know so you can focus your self-development efforts in a direction that targets specific problems.
Group therapy serves two purposes. First, it exposes you to the possibility that you are not alone with your addiction illness. Others are suffering in the same way as you. Second, it will give you a chance to build support resources that could benefit you in the future.
That leaves family therapy. We’ll discuss that at great length in the next section.
How Does Family Therapy Work During Substance Abuse Treatment?
At some point during your recovery, you are going to need your family and friends. That’s why family therapy is such an important part of the treatment process.
To be clear, there are a lot of objectives that can be accomplished during family therapy. The list includes:
- Educating family members about your addiction issues
- Allowing the family to express grievances and hopefully resolve them
- Teach family members how to be supportive during recovery
Educating family members about your addiction issues
Unless someone has personal experience with an addiction, it’s nearly impossible for them to understand how difficult things can get for the addiction sufferer.
While sitting in your family therapy session, your family will get a chance to hear the truth about your addiction. The education they will get will serve them well in the future when you call upon them for support.
Allowing the family to express grievances and hopefully resolve them
Many times, family issues are at the heart of the addiction. If you get the opportunity to express grievances with family members in a controlled setting, it increases the chances people will listen. That would hopefully end up leading to the mending of some very important fences.
Teach family members how to be supportive during recovery
Through the education process and the mending of fences, your family could well learn that you love them and need them to support your efforts at recovery. Of all the support resources you might create during treatment and recovery, they will all pale in importance to the support you can get from your family. These are people who have a vested interest in you getting clean and staying clean. If they can learn how to be supportive of your efforts, it could give you peace of mind that the people you need most will stand by you through thick and thin.
We created this information for the purpose of reminding you how important your family is to your future. We want you to call us at 855-936-4435. That will open the door for us to tell you about our treatment facility and the services we offer. During that initial phone call, we would be glad to discuss your family situation and how we might use family therapy to bring the family back together.
