Family Therapy for Addiction

Family therapy is a necessary part of successful addiction treatment. Addiction affects the entire family, not just the afflicted individual. In addressing healing on every level, healing the family unit and identifying problems within the inner dynamic. If someone is the parent of an addict, family therapy can be essential for establishing trust and support to support healing.

Family therapy often involves the people who live with the person who struggles with addiction. Also, it involves other people who are important parts of the individual’s life. Trained therapists lead sessions and often use cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to help facilitate communication. Strategic family therapy can help further the healing cycle and can even set up the family of an addict to be closer after treatment.

The approach focuses on beliefs and behaviors. Families learn more about their thoughts, responses to situations, and more. Therapists help them learn strategies to change problematic behaviors, manage distress, and manage emotions with dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Families learn about addiction and how it works to help them better understand how to support a loved one. Additionally, family therapy helps people who struggle with addiction see how it affects those closest to them.

Modern family therapy involves studying family dynamics and specific needs within the family system. Individual behavior, responses, and engagement in surrounding systems vary based on several factors. Therapists try to learn the broad context of those factors to better understand each person. As a result, the therapist can better understand relationships, communication, and issues within the family unit.

There are different processes and behaviors in families that can prevent beneficial changes. Therapists must determine what those hindrances are and help to remove them. In many cases, families do not realize certain hindrances within their dynamic that can lead to other problems. They may not realize how family issues impact their relationships with peers, colleagues, and others outside the family unit. Therapists set goals with families based on key therapy guidelines, which family therapy sessions and individual needs can also inform.

During the admissions process, we will conduct a full evaluation that will help determine what types of therapy would best serve your recovery. This will help us to understand your particular needs and create a recovery plan that’s right for you. Recovery from drug addiction can be difficult and uncomfortable. However, a treatment program designed to make the process as smooth and safe as possible can help heal deeper wounds and aid in relapse prevention. If the family unit is more peaceful than before, this stronger support system may make all the difference.

There are unique challenges addiction presents for families. For example, the needs of a family going through a divorce are different than the needs of one trying to help an addicted loved one. However, there are many different potential family structures and needs. As a result, family therapy for addiction must take all those factors into account.

With modern family therapy for addiction, there are several core goals that may be set by the therapist:

• Using a collaborative and non-blaming approach instead of a confrontational one.
• Helping families develop strategies to manage chronic mental health needs, and to communicate in a way that takes this into account.
• Emphasizing the value of family involvement by including all family members.
• Broadening the success measures for one person’s individual treatment to include the entire family’s well-being.
• Establishing harm-reducing goals that can benefit the family, both physically and psychologically.
• Taking into account the cultural practices of families within their communities and using them to reframe goals for addiction treatment (and unification of the family).
• Recognizing the importance of families’ other networks or communities as support and reinforcement sources.

In addition to using the above guidelines, therapists work with families to hear and consider their specific goals.

Working toward goals as a family can have positive long-term outcomes that last beyond addiction. Significantly contributing to the recovery process, family therapy can enhance communication and strengthen relationships.

For instance, a valuable potential outcome of family therapy is preventing substance misuse from continuing to future generations. This may be possible when families understand their own needs and how to help one another. All the goals listed in the last section can lead to other possible beneficial outcomes for the family as a group.

These are some top benefits of family therapy for addiction:

• Learning what addiction treatment is and knowing what to expect during initial drug and alcohol detoxification.
• Understanding addiction as a brain disease and how it influences a person’s behavior.
• Learning productive and valuable ways to communicate better.
• Knowing how to create boundaries and how to tell the difference between providing support and enabling the addicted person.
• Developing skills to protect individual mental well-being.
• Learning how to identify, correct, and prevent codependent behaviors.
• Rebuilding trust and learning how to forgive.
• Having a safe space to share feelings, concerns, and struggles.
• Creating an effective, nurturing support system for an addicted loved one.
• Understanding triggers and how to help a loved one prevent relapse.
• Learning self-assessment techniques to understand individual needs and family relationships.

Another benefit for some families is discovering unmet mental health needs. This may be true for the individual with an addiction or other family members. A co-occurring mental health disorder often causes a person to seek substances for relief or to self-medicate. But this can often spiral into addiction and eventually needing treatment for both mental illness and substance abuse.

However, some family members may also struggle with a mental health disorder. If that happens, family therapy may reveal that unmet need. In this way, it offers the opportunity to reveal a source of distress or pain. Discovering and treating an issue may prevent that family member from turning to substances, or at least build understanding within the family about the disorder and build healthier conflict resolution skills.

In some families, there may be strained relationships. Not everyone may be willing to participate in therapy meant to restore or repair the family dynamic. Other family members and the person with the addiction should not take this personally. Family members who are unwilling to participate may be fearful of change, skeptical of the effectiveness of therapy, or have other concerns. Therapists start with the family members who are willing to participate. Others may simply need time, and they can join when they are ready.

In comparison with treatment that lacks family therapy, programs that include it are usually much more effective. Because of the complexities of addiction, choose a family therapist who focuses on addiction or has experience with it. If a loved one is going through treatment at a facility, that facility may offer it.

Finding the right therapist can vary based on location, insurance, and more. For example, someone who has insurance may search a database of covered providers. A person who lives in a specific area may search for nearby therapists. Professional treatment facilities are the first place to look, and many facilities can answer questions about insurance.

Family therapy for addiction is one of the services Eagle Creek Ranch Recovery offers in our Nampa, Idaho facility within driving distance of Boise. We also provide individual therapy, dual diagnosis treatment, and other services to support recovery. If you have a loved one who is struggling with addiction, we can help.

Our goal is to help people with addiction learn how to achieve sobriety and stay in recovery. To learn more about addiction and family therapy, please contact us.