Substance abuse doesn’t happen in a vacuum and addiction doesn’t just affect the addict.
The reality is that drug addiction and alcohol abuse are messy and as much as the user is suffering, to watch someone you love go through addiction is damaging too – albeit in different ways.
From waning and diminishing trust and the distance that addiction creates which can lead to a sense that all hope is lost, there’s inevitably frustration that the family of someone fighting a substance abuse disorder experiences and the very relationships and familial bonds become strained under the weight of it all.
This is why treatment and ultimately healing from addiction must include the family. For recovery to last, those relationships need to be repaired and strengthened.
What Is Family Drug Rehabilitation?
Family drug rehabilitation is something that takes into account the widespread harm that a substance abuse order creates in the family dynamic.
At Inneractions, family members and significant others are offered the opportunity to participate in client/family sessions with other families, program therapist and counselor.
As echoed in the Treatment Improvement Protocols series from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), “family therapy is a collection of therapeutic approaches that share a belief in family‐level assessment and intervention. A family is a system, and in any system each part is related to all other parts. Consequently, a change in any part of the system will bring about changes in all other parts. Therapy based on this point of view uses the strengths of families to bring about change in a range of diverse problem areas, including substance abuse”
Why Is It Important for the Family To Be a Part of an Addicts Recovery?
Despite the injurious and deeply distressing effects of addiction on the family, the role that they play in recovery is a critical one, as SAMHSA drives home, “the family has a central role to play in the treatment of any health problem, including substance abuse”.
For the addict, family support is a crucial component in the process of creating a firm foundation on which to build sobriety.
There’s a sense of alienation that can come with addiction. A feeling of loneliness that might be exacerbated as drug use gets worse and follows into the early days of treatment. Bringing the family together to deal with this challenge together is a major reassurance for an addict. A way of showing, rather than saying, they’re not alone in this.
Family support is also vital in giving an addict the confidence to carry on through the tough times and valleys they might encounter in a rehab program.
Moreover, family involvement can shed more light on the nature of the addiction, add context about the family unit and how relational dynamics have been affected and ultimately present the therapist or counselor with more information and insight to work with.
It can help inform the treatment program itself, the Treatment Improvement Protocols noting that family therapy “seeks to use the family’s strengths and resources to help find or develop ways to live without substances of abuse.”
For the family, in many ways they need treatment too and reputable rehab centers understand that. While family drug rehabilitation itself isn’t quite therapy or a replacement for it for a family member that may very need it, it is a key component in a holistic and robust treatment plan for someone recovering from a substance abuse disorder.
Let Inneractions Help Your Loved One Today
At Inneractions in Southern California, we’ve long understood the importance of including family in recovery and know the deep value that repairing the familial support structure brings to an addict over the long run. If your loved one is suffering from substance abuse and you’re not sure what to do, reach out to us and we can offer advice on the next steps.