Research indicates that the family unit is the smallest unit of society that can directly impact the lives of someone in recovery. Family members are a source of social support for those who are trying to work through their sobriety, and it helps build confidence for those who are currently undergoing a drug rehab program.
Why is Addiction Family Education Important?
Every member of a family is impacted by substance abuse, from spouses to children, siblings, and parents. This means it can create psychological and physical problems for other family members as well. Most drug rehab programs are designed to help the person struggling with addiction, but this can still leave the family members with unresolved issues that were perpetrated on them or unresolved feelings due to inaccurate information about addiction.
The family support system is critical to overcoming addiction, but this healing process means that all members of the family have to change their sentiments or attitudes toward addiction and help empower one another through the rehab process.
Addiction family education can provide support, advocacy, and hope for family members as they support a new lifestyle and help their loved one return back to normalcy.
What to Expect from Family Education in Recovery
So, what can you expect from family education programs?
Educating family members can take place in the following ways:
- Group therapy sessions
- Family therapy sessions
- Family education sessions
In any of these situations, there will be slightly different goals, and slightly different techniques or lessons learned.
How Addiction Works
One of the first components of any type of family education with regard to addiction and recovery is how addiction works.
Some family members might have incorrect information about how addiction actually works, what causes addiction, or what makes it worse.
Providing information about the way addiction changes the brain or changes behaviors can help lay the groundwork for things like forgiveness, especially among family members who have been personally hurt by the behavior of a loved one.
What Enabling Is
Another component is enabling. Not all family members recognize that their behaviors are detrimental to the long-term success of a loved one struggling with addiction.
Addiction family education can provide insight into the concept of enabling, what it looks like on a daily basis, and what measures to employ instead of enabling. This can be particularly difficult for family members like spouses who want to be there for their loved one, who want to support them in the best way possible, but find it difficult to enforce boundaries or repercussions.
How to Communicate Effectively
That said, learning to enforce boundaries or enact repercussions can come from education about effective communication.
Often, addiction has a detrimental impact on the roles that family members previously assumed versus currently assume, like a child who has to become the parent for their mom or dad or a spouse who is basically a single parent, handling the household on their own while also taking care of their spouse struggling with addiction.
This can interfere with effective communication, especially when emotions run high. However, the right type of family therapy sessions can offer all family members an opportunity to work with a trained therapist who will review how they communicate with one another and offer feedback on more effective or safe ways to express feelings or set boundaries.
How to Support Recovery
As loved ones transition through the recovery program at some point they will likely return home or at least back to their normal lives. During these stages it’s important for family members to understand how they can best support their loved one, what types of support they might need, and how to connect with resources like support groups.
Signs of Relapse
Equally important is recognizing the signs of relapse so that a loved one can be directed to continued support if they are starting to struggle.
Getting Family Education with Sequoia Recovery
At Sequoia Recovery, a big part of our program is to include family support in your recovery.
Studies have found that family perceptions can support those who are in recovery, and as such, family educational services in collaboration with drug rehab programs can play a strong role in providing emotional and informational support to those struggling with addiction.
Other research has indicated that perspectives on addiction and recovery can be greatly influenced by the people with whom the individual is closest so if that means family members, then addiction family education is essential to recovery. How? It helps provide valuable education to family members that might change their attitudes, beliefs, or communication for the best.
At our drug and alcohol detox center, we want to make sure that addiction education services are provided to family members in collaboration with rehab programs so that an individual gets support from those with whom they are closest.
Call our team today to learn how you can get family education and your loved one can get addiction treatment at the same time.
