Addiction is a chronic and progressive disease that affects millions of Americans each year. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 48.7 million people struggled with a substance use disorder in 2022.[1]
Unfortunately, addiction affects the entire family. It is often referred to as a family disease because the behaviors of an addicted individual can impact their loved ones as well. Because of this, addiction treatment centers frequently work with the family system through therapy sessions to ensure everyone heals as a unit.
Family therapists use a variety of techniques like strategic family therapy and functional family therapy to help you and your loved ones recover from the effects of addiction. During family therapy sessions, your family members will be educated on the disease of addiction and learn how to support you better. Your therapist will also help you heal broken relationships in the family unit.
In this article, you will learn:
- What family therapy is
- What are the benefits of family therapy in addiction treatment
- How family therapy can help your family heal from past harms
What are the Benefits of Family Therapy for Addiction?
Family therapy is a type of group therapy that involves an individual and their close family members. It might include you, your dad, your mom, and your siblings. Whoever your immediate family is will be included in the therapy sessions.
The purpose of family therapy in addiction treatment is to help your family recover from past harm, improve communication, and develop coping skills. The overall goal is to ensure that your family has repaired important relationships and is better able to support you throughout recovery.
The main benefits of family therapy for substance abuse recovery include:
Education
Oftentimes, family dynamics become strained when one individual develops an addiction. This can stem from many things, however, it often comes down to a fundamental misunderstanding of substance abuse and why it occurs. Because of this, family therapists include psychoeducation about addiction and mental health conditions in their sessions.
If you agree to family therapy, your loved ones will become educated on addiction. This can help them better understand the gravity of the issue you are dealing with. It can also lessen resentments they might be holding associated with your drug and alcohol misuse.
Increased Support from Family Members
Once your family members are educated on the disease of addiction, they will also begin learning how to best support you throughout recovery. Because addiction can feel lonely and isolating, this is a major benefit. Your loved ones will finally know exactly what you need from them, increasing the support you have at home.
Strengthening Communication Skills
Family therapy offers a structured environment where everyone can openly discuss their feelings and experiences related to addiction. Your therapist will help everyone learn how to have these sensitive conversations healthily. Family functioning can suffer when your communication skills aren’t up to par, as it often leads to arguments and hurt feelings rather than progress.
Your therapist will facilitate these conversations and give tips on how to word things better. They will also provide helpful insight as to why people are behaving in certain manners, increasing understanding among the family unit. Everyone will learn vital problem-solving skills that help arguments turn into compromises and mutually beneficial solutions.
Identifying Enabling Behavior
Enabling is a type of problematic behavior that makes it easier to continue abusing substances and staying stuck in the cycle of addiction. Examples of enabling include offering money while you are actively abusing substances, bailing you out of trouble, or completing your responsibilities for you when you fail to meet them.
Your family therapist will help your loved ones identify when they have engaged in enabling. Then, they will learn how to set healthy boundaries that help them stay safe while also encouraging you to continue on the path of recovery.
Repairing Broken Relationships
Family therapy programs will also help you mend any relationships that have been harmed by long-term substance abuse. Oftentimes, addiction causes us to become different people. You might have behaved in ways or said things you didn’t mean while you were under the influence. Your therapist will help you apologize in a meaningful way and put plans into place to heal the harm you’ve caused.
If a family member has caused you some form of harm, your therapist will guide them through the process of healing the relationship as well. Repairing broken relationships is vital to success in recovery, as you’ll need all of the support you can get.
Find Help for Alcohol and Drug Addiction
If you or a loved one suffers from substance abuse, it’s time to seek professional help. Addiction can affect the whole family, so you should choose a program that encourages family visits and therapy sessions. Archstone Behavioral Health, offers individualized and evidence-based treatment that includes support for families as well.
We understand that people in addiction recovery have good days and bad days. We treat our patients with the same amount of compassion, patience, and energy that we’d want to see in someone helping our family members. We know that addiction is a family disease. It causes our loved ones to act like people we don’t know. At Archstone, we provide support for the entire family when necessary. There is nothing better than watching someone reconnect with family members who had all but given up hope.
Contact us today to learn more about our drug and alcohol rehab program.
References:
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): HHS, SAMHSA Release 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Data
