At Clearbrook Massachusetts, we understand that addiction doesn’t just affect the addict, so we created a program that will not only help the patient on their recovery journey but will also allow the family to be a part of the healing process. Our Massachusetts treatment center offers support groups for families of addicts in which clients and their loved ones have a safe space where they can heal together. Family members will learn more about addiction while the family unit strengthens communication and interpersonal relationships through therapy.
How Addiction Affects Family
While battling a substance use disorder is often seen as a personal experience, one person’s drug use can impact everyone in their life, especially their family members. Spouses, children, and parents may all be impacted by a person’s addiction. Peaceful, loving homes can be divided by the strain caused by drug and alcohol abuse.
Some major effects of addiction on family include:
- Lack of trust
- Stealing and lying
- Secretive behavior
- Enabling behaviors
- Codependency
- Reckless behavior within the home
- Financial hardships
- Parental anxiety and grief
- Breakups, separation, and/or divorce
In a home affected by addiction, conflict becomes normal as family members fight to engage with the individual who’s abusing drugs or alcohol. Trust begins to erode, and relatives become more guarded if a relative abusing substances acts with aggression or becomes secretive. Communication becomes difficult, marriages can end, and families can essentially break up. This highlights the undeniable fact that addiction is a family disease, leaving at least some kind of impact on all those who care for the person at the center. For these reasons, we believe it’s important to provide individualized and group support for families and addicts.
Family Roles in Addiction
The family dynamics of addiction will have a significant impact on how the unit as a whole handles the disease. The entire family structure may be severely impacted when one family member battles addiction. Families living with addiction tend to take on several common roles, each of which contributes to the overall health of the family.
- First, there is the “enabler,” who is typically a well-meaning family member who unintentionally encourages the addict’s conduct by protecting them from repercussions or providing justifications for their behaviors. Enabling behavior, though it may originate from a place of love and care, can unintentionally prolong the addiction and obstruct the person’s road to recovery.
- Another typical role is that of the “scapegoat,” who is frequently a family member who misbehaves or acts to deflect attention from the addict and their difficulties. This person may be unknowingly trying to find a sense of purpose and control amid the chaos brought on by addiction.
- On the other hand, the “hero” takes on the duty of upholding the family’s reputation and frequently goes above and beyond. The hero may experience extreme strain and burnout as a result of this position, which serves as a diversion from the fundamental problems.
- In some situations, there might also be a “lost child” who isolates themselves to cope with stress and dysfunction by withdrawing from the family and avoiding conflict.
What Happens in Our Family Program for Addiction?
During our support groups for families of addicts, we are here to offer guidance and addiction education to patients and their loved ones, as well as answers to any questions or concerns they may have. This includes guiding a family through enabling, setting boundaries, codependency, ultimatums, and other family-related matters.
Our family program services include:
- Coaching
- Intervention Services
- Weekly Family Counseling and Support
- Monthly Saturday Family Workshops
- Tri-Annual Family Weekend Conference
What Is the Goal of Family Therapy?
Common goals of family therapy include enhancing communication, resolving conflicts within the family, recognizing and managing unique family circumstances, and fostering a more functional home. Furthermore, it also entails:
- Investigating the family’s dynamics and its relationship to psychopathology
- Utilizing the family’s practical resources and inner strength
- Reorganizing the unhealthy interactional family structures (including through better communication)
- Enhancing the family’s ability to solve problems.
It is important to the addiction recovery process that everyone involved in the addict’s life is dedicated and supportive of each other. It’s equally important for those who have been impacted by a loved one’s substance abuse to effectively cope with the impact it’s had on their well-being.
Support for Families of Addicts in Aftercare
Additionally, our support for families of addicts doesn’t end when they’ve left our program. Our specialists continue to reach out to the family for the first year following their participation in the Family Program to ensure everyone is on the right track. Our drug rehab specialists pride themselves on ensuring that everyone is focusing on their long-term recovery goals.
What to expect after our Massachusetts substance abuse treatment:
- Call, text, and email for support.
- Check-ins will continue within the first year following admission.
- Check-ins from Family Support focus on how you are doing from the family perspective.
Our support group for families of addicts can also aid in the following areas of concern:
- Being motivated/following through with issues
- Lack of change
- Relapse
- Prevalence of old behaviors
- Resources
- Recovery planning
- Relapse planning
- Intervention inquiry
Clearbrook Treatment Centers uses our specialists and the love and support of family to create a safe and productive environment for the addict. This program is specifically designed for the families of drug users to facilitate further healing and reduce the risk of relapse in the future. Furthermore, when you receive drug or alcohol treatment at our Northeast addictions treatment center, you become a part of the Clearbrook family.
Get Help for Families of Addicts Today
Our team of experts is here to help every step of the way. In our Family Program, you and your loved ones will be able to heal from addiction together. In addition to offering help for family members of drug addicts, we also incorporate a variety of other drug therapy programs to assist patients in recovery.
If you or your loved one is struggling with substance abuse or mental health issues, contact Clearbrook today to get started with the healing process at our Massachusetts rehab center.
