Addiction is a family disease. When it affects any one member, it also affects the other members of your family. When your loved one enters treatment for addiction, it is critical that you and your family stay engaged and involved throughout the program and beyond. Family involvement in addiction recovery can mean the difference in your loved one’s success in overcoming a substance use issue.
The Face of True Family Involvement
More than a fourth of the population has an immediate family member affected by an addiction disorder. Almost 90% of individuals who are addicted live at home with their family or with a significant other. The lifetime prevalence of addiction disorders is high and, with a tendency to manifest initially in late adolescence or early adulthood, the addiction quite often affects family life.
True family involvement means recognizing the addiction, guiding the loved one to be able to access treatment, and then staying in communication with the treatment program. When the addiction treatment center communicates your loved one’s progress at each step, it can significantly help the family as well as the individual who is addicted.
BRC Recovery believes in true family involvement, calling families weekly to update them with a progress report on their loved one. We also offer a family portal so family members can stay involved in their loved one’s addiction treatment progress. When you are concerned enough about your family member to help them get treatment at BRC, you stay involved.
Why Family Involvement is Essential
Your involvement is key because it can help to keep you educated, make you and your loved one feel safe, and keep you engaged in your loved one’s life in recovery. When they succeed in their treatment program, everyone in the family is then better informed and more understanding.
Family involvement can also help your loved stay in treatment. Researchers have found that most individuals addicted to drugs or alcohol need at least three months in treatment to be able to reduce or stop their substance use. Your loved one may be tempted to leave treatment prematurely, but your family involvement is essential to ensuring they remain in treatment for an adequate amount of time.
Engagement is key. Engagement between the individual who is addicted and the treatment program and between the individual and the family can make a difference in the success of addiction recovery. Behavioral therapies can include individual and family-involved counseling, addressing the individual’s motivation to change, building skills to resist substance use, improving problem-solving skills, and facilitating better relationships with family members. Participation in these therapy sessions can help the individual maintain their abstinence.
What Family Members Need to Unlearn
Part of the importance of family involvement in addiction recovery is also to help your family members understand what they may need to unlearn. Living with an individual who is addicted to drugs or alcohol can be stressful. You may worry that their addiction is your fault. You may also be in constant fear of your loved one’s behavior. You may also engage in enabling behaviors that end up hurting you and your loved one more than helping.
When you enable your loved one, you reach out in an effort to help them, often by trying to rescue them from the consequences of their behavior. You may offer them a place to stay, give them money to pay their bills, make excuses for them with a boss or at school, and even put up bail money for them if necessary. However, these enabling behaviors actually reduce the impact of their behavior and ends up prolonging their active addiction. Enabling your loved one can diminish your self-esteem as well as your resources.
In addition, it is critical to realize that your loved one’s addiction to drugs or alcohol is not your fault. Addiction is a chronic disease and needs to be treated as such. Family-involved therapy can help you realize the underlying causes of your loved one’s addiction, another key factor in successful recovery for everyone.
Your Family Becomes Part of the BRC Family
The BRC family includes centers for detox, addiction treatment, spiritual coaching, intensive healing, and sober living. It also includes you and your family. We encourage and support family involvement in addiction recovery because we know it can make a significant difference in the success of addiction treatment for your loved one and for your family members. We include you every step of the way and offer our resources to all family members who are impacted by the addiction.
The Importance of Continued Family Meetings
Your involvement also includes family meetings, during addiction treatment and indefinitely after treatment, so you can stay engaged in the success of your loved one’s addiction recovery. BRC Recovery’s Family Program is here for you and your loved one.
BRC RECOVERY IS HERE TO HELP YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
At BRC Recovery, we recognize that addiction is a family disease. It can negatively impact every member of your family. We are here to help you and your family with an addiction treatment program that is individualized specifically for your needs. We offer you holistic healing in a warm, supportive, community-driven environment that will help you rebuild and reclaim your life.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we offer a safe, clean environment so you can continue receiving the highest quality of care. To learn more about our services and to get the help you need, please call BRC Recovery at 1-866-291-2676 to speak to our team.