When a person suffers from substance use, their focus may begin to narrow as they shift their sights and energy away from the most important aspects of their life and towards only the pursuit of finding and using a substance. When their focus shifts, they will begin to neglect their responsibilities and let relationships deteriorate. Parents, siblings, or children who suffer from this can ruin relationships and fall apart altogether.
This can cause resentment, negative emotions, blame, and feelings of loneliness and abandonment. If your family is experiencing addiction first-hand, a family integration therapy program could be helpful towards your family’s healing. Contact Evoke Waltham at 866.276.1920 for more information on our addiction therapy programs and how to mend your family.
What Is a Family Integration Therapy Program?
While every family is different, substance use and addiction by a family member can affect the whole family dynamic. When a child or a parent has a substance use problem, it can corrupt and even break some strings that tie the family together. When that person makes the courageous step to getting help for themselves, a family integration program can be integral in helping them, and the rest of their family heal.
Integrating a family into a treatment plan can benefit recovery and the family. A family can work towards fixing any damage done by working through negative thoughts, behaviors, and emotions and replacing them with positive and healthy ones on both ends. A family integration program is also unique and can further develop and apply positive coping skills that have already been learned during the program. This allows the person going through an addiction to re-establishing themselves positively in their family’s dynamic so that they can learn to heal together and work together as a family.
What Happens During Family Therapy for Addiction?
Substance use can burden a family heavily and make it difficult to overcome. When a loved one is going through addiction, it can be easy for others around them to pass around blame and judgment. These can put a bad taste in an already delicate situation and drive the wedge further into the family. We understand that these are normal responses to stressful and challenging conditions. Still, we also know that a successful recovery rests on your family’s ability to overcome these obstacles and return to a strong family unit. We can also help you and your family point out unhealthy behaviors that could set you back in your progress or even make the addiction worse.
A family integration program can also help family members to recognize a few things for themselves. It can help by:
- Realizing what you do and do not have control and responsibility for
- Confirming your needs and teaching you how to take care of yourself rather than focusing all your attention on your loved one stuck in the cycle of substance use
- Recognizing and correcting any unhealthy and harmful communication patterns
- Pointing out ways you or your other family members may be enabling drug or alcohol use and teaching you more healthy patterns to support them
- Identifying and overcoming family conflict
- Overcoming judgment and blame and begin to reforge trust
- Establishing healthy boundaries
- Establishing your family unit’s direction and working towards setting achievable goals
Recreating healthy family support is most beneficial for the one suffering from substance use and addiction. Your loved one will have a better chance at a long-lasting life in recovery when they have their family’s support and love in their life.
If you're ready to start your journey to recovery, we're here to help.
A Family Integration Therapy Program at Evoke Waltham Can Help
The best way to begin supporting them is to learn about addiction. Knowing about addiction and the recovery process gives the strongest support. Often, even though intentions are good, a family member may say or do something that may push a person in addiction even further away. This is because you may not fully understand the complexities of addiction.
At Evoke Waltham, we understand addiction and how families are affected by it. We offer a family integration program to help you and your family heal together. We will teach you about addiction and how to support your loved ones through their journey. Our program is designed to help you:
- Communicate effectively
- Rebuild trust
- Set boundaries
- Work through conflict
- Learn how to support your loved one in their recovery
- Establish achievable goals for your family
If you or someone you love believes your family could benefit from Evoke Waltham’s family integration therapy program in Waltham, Massachusetts, please reach out to us at 866.276.1920, and we will help get your family on the path towards healing.
