Posted in: parents of recovering addicts
The integration of family therapy of substance abuse treatment is relatively rare. Family therapy in substance abuse treatment helps families become aware of their own needs and provides genuine, enduring healing. Family therapy works to shift power to the parental figures in a family and to improve communication. Other goals will vary according to which member of the family is abusing substances.
Another reason that family therapy is effective in substance abuse treatment is that it provides a neutral forum in which family members meet to solve problems. Such a rational venue for expression and negotiation often is missing from the family lives of people with a substance problem.
In the supportive environment of family therapy, this uneasy silence can be broken in ways that feel emotionally safe. As the therapist brokers, mediates, and restructures conflicts among family members, emotionally charged topics are allowed to come into the open. The therapist helps ensure that every family member is accorded a voice. In the safe environment of therapy, pent-up feelings such as fear and concern can be expressed, identified, and validated.
Often family members are surprised to learn that others share their feelings, and new lines of communication open up. Family members gain a broader and more accurate perspective of what they are experiencing, which can be empowering and may provide enough energy to create positive change. Each of these improvements in family life and coping skills is a highly desirable outcome, whether or not the identified patient’s drug or alcohol problems are immediately resolved. It is clearly a step forward for the family of a person abusing substances to develop a stable, functional environment within which abstinence can be sustained.
At Purple, Inc., we are committed to helping the whole family heal. As part of our men’s residential treatment program, we offer a bi-weekly family group session. This ongoing process allows the family to grow and change during the entire treatment process. Joel Bagley, the family coordinator, can be reached at 770.962.8215 for more information about our family program or visit our website at http://www.purpletreatment.com.