It is not the person who is suffering. But their immediate family, friends, and everyone in the close circle. Sometimes, friends and family do not even realize that their subtle toxic behaviors are contributing to someone’s substance abuse.
So, the question remains, is it just the patient who should be going through the recovery program? Or the family’s involvement is necessary.
According to some health professionals, the involvement of family is imperative in terms of addiction recovery. This is why we have family therapy as a compulsory step in such treatments.
So, if your family member is suffering from addiction, and it is disrupting the family’s overall functionality, seek family therapy programs.
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What Is A Family Therapy Program?
Studies have shown that in the USA, at least one in ten children suffers from emotional abuse due to a parent with substance abuse. Some children can even suffer from physical abuse due to this issue.
On the other spectrum of addiction, these abusive situations can negatively encourage a child towards substance abuse in their teen or early adulthood. Overall, it is not the right environment to expose a child to.
Plus, there are partners who are dealing with a companion with an additional problem. This can also lead to a disturbed environment with mental and physical abuse under the influence.
Individual therapy might be able to identify the underlying problem within the patient. Help them acknowledge their wrongdoings and make amends. However, family therapy is for the overall benefit of the whole family.
The task of a family therapist is to bring about the overall dysfunctionality that the group is facing due to someone’s addiction issues and how to come out of it.
Some family therapy also plays a big role in helping the family understand the intensity of addiction and what they can do at home to not trigger it.
Role Of Family Therapy In Addiction Recovery
For any good recovery program, there are three important steps that every patient has to go through.
- Detoxification: A medical procedure where the body is drained of the residual substance. This is also where a patient undergoes treatments to cure the patient from the aftershocks of the substance.
- Therapy: From CBT to DBT, the patient undergoes many therapeutic treatments in their recovery program. If detoxification is for the body, therapy is to cure the mind. Emotional withdrawal symptoms are always the strongest.
- AA Programs: These programs are associated with professionals (who have once been a patient too). Patients gather around, talking about their experiences and recovery journey. Works great as a form of inspiration.
- Family Therapy: These are conducted much later in the recovery program. Especially if a patient has been in the in-patient rehabilitation facility and is now ready to move home, the task of a therapist is to educate the family members about the treatment and provide them with post-recovery exercises. You can try Heartwood Recovery for the best family therapy program.
- Holistic Treatment: This is optional but very much recommended by every professional in the field. Holistic treatment focuses on instilling hope and optimism back into someone’s life post-recovery by treating the mind, body, and soul as a unit.
Over here, we will be discussing the importance of family therapy as a crucial step.
1. Helping Couples To Navigate Their Relationship Post Recovery
Couples, whether married or not, go through a period of turmoil when one of them suffers from addiction. This is why family therapy has a special Behavioral couple therapy (BCP) unit.
This is where a trained individual will sit with the couple in question:
- Where the person practicing abstinence expresses their sincere intent not to drink.
- Enlist all their wrongdoings towards their partner under the influence, and promise to make amends.
- Acknowledge their mistake in the relationship.
- Asks for assistance from the partner to help maintain their sobriety. This is where the therapist will also provide suggestions to the sober partner.
Overall, help the two communicate better in the future regarding the addiction issues and build their relationship back again.
2. Family Interventions For Teen Substance Abuse
There is nothing more difficult than controlling their teenage child under substance abuse. This is already a delicate time of their life when they are dealing with a plethora of hormonal changes. The discomfort of ‘coming of age’ matched with substance abuse is deadly.
In these cases, the addiction doesn’t really remain non-comorbid. 9 out of 10 teenagers with substance abuse have been found dealing with other mental disorders as well. Family therapists encourage them to go through the 12-13 sessions of BSFT (Brief Strategic Family Therapy).
This essentially teaches the parents how to approach the subject with the utmost sensitivity. How to plan an intervention for the teenager and communicate your concerns better in the future.
Helping The Family Understand Addiction
Many families do not know the first thing about dealing with addiction. This is why they feel so helpless when confronted with a family member suffering from it. This is why you should seek personalized FBT (Family Behavioral Therapy).
This is because, sometimes, everyone surrounding the patient has to make a few shifts to accommodate the treatment. One might have to improve the overall home environment for the greater good of seeing their loved one sober and happy again.
The Environment Can Help Change Perspective
Family therapy plays a crucial role in alcohol recovery for several reasons. But, if you are still not convinced, here are some of the convincing testimonials.
Firstly, it provides an opportunity for the entire family to understand the impact of alcohol addiction on both the individual and the family unit. Through therapy, family members can learn about the dynamics of addiction, enabling them to offer support and empathy to the person in recovery.
Family therapy also addresses codependency(one of the biggest reasons for patients to relapse in a family environment) issues and helps family members establish healthy boundaries, fostering a supportive and alcohol-free environment. Moreover, it allows for open communication, healing past wounds, and rebuilding trust within the family system. Overall, family therapy significantly enhances the chances of successful and long-term recovery from alcohol addiction.
