Family Therapy Program: Addiction Treatment in Washington State
Addiction is a physical and psychological dependence on drugs and alcohol. It is a serious disease that often requires inpatient treatment in Washington State. Various treatment modalities are used to help a person recover from substance abuse. One of these modalities is family therapy.
Family therapy programs at rehabs in Washington State involve the person who is abusing drugs or alcohol and at least one other member of the family – for example, a spouse, a cohabiting partner, or a parent of an adolescent.
If you or a loved one is struggling with a substance use disorder, read on to find out how this treatment modality can help you and learn where you can get family therapy in Washington.
What is Family?
The concept of a family in the United States has changed over the past century. In the year 2000, only 24% of households in the US consisted of married couples with children. The word family now signifies many different arrangements, from blended families to divorced single parents to never-married individuals with children to cohabiting heterosexual couples to lesbian and gay families. Therefore, for practical purposes, in terms of family therapy in Washington, it’s convenient to define family as people with close emotional connections. At Discover Recovery, clients seeking outpatient or inpatient treatment in Washington State are allowed to decide who they would like to include in a family therapy program.
Addiction Affects the Whole Family
Substance abuse affects a person’s physical and mental health, but it also has a wide-ranging influence on the person’s family. In families affected by addiction, members often have to deal with unemployment and financial difficulties. People who are abusing drugs or alcohol may be abusive towards their loved ones, creating strife and breakdown in relationships. Some individuals with addiction get embroiled in legal problems and involve the family with government agencies like social services, child protective services, and the criminal justice system. Suffice it to say, the social and economic costs of addiction are felt by each member of the family. That’s why it’s important to get timely help at a rehab in Washington State.
Families play an important and complex role in addiction treatment. Loved ones can be a source of strength to a recovering addict, but they must also deal with the consequences of the person’s addiction. Involving loved ones in recovery through a family therapy program can greatly improve the effectiveness of inpatient treatment in Washington State. During such a program, the individual goals and issues of each member of the family are addressed. Family therapy in Washington therefore improves outcomes of substance abuse treatment.
What is Family Therapy?
Inpatient treatment in Washington State often focuses on the needs of the individual who is battling an addiction. However, this treatment approach does not address the needs of other family members who are affected by substance use. Once the inpatient treatment in Washington State begins, the recovering addict is often unprepared to cope with the reactions of family members to the changes in family dynamics. That’s why it’s important to seek help at a top-rated rehab in Washington State like Discover Recovery. Family therapy in Washington at Discover Recovery Treatment Center uses the family’s strengths and resources in the best possible way to reduce the impact of addiction.
For family therapy at a rehab in Washington State to be effective, members must work with the therapist and demonstrate mutual understanding, adjustment, and flexibility. The therapist can help reconcile divergent views to make addiction treatment more effective. For instance, the therapist can help develop the goals of treatment with a focus on the client, reducing the opportunity for various family members to introduce individual perspectives into goal setting. Divergent views on goals of treatment are just one example of things that can derail the recovery. Family therapy is therefore a modality that can facilitate healing for not only the recovering addict but the whole family.
If someone in your family is struggling with a substance use disorder, family therapy in Washington at Discover Recovery can make it easier for every member of your family to adjust to the changes that will occur during recovery. Experienced family therapists can help bring about positive changes in your family dynamics to improve relationships and at the same time help in your loved one’s recovery from drug use.
Benefits of Family Therapy
The family plays a central role in the treatment of any health condition, including addiction. There are several advantages to involving loved ones in substance abuse treatment with family therapy in Washington, some of which are listed below:
- Family therapy meets the needs of every family member.
- Family members learn to break unhealthy patterns of accommodation and coping (for example, not bringing friends home due to a parent’s alcoholism).
- The therapist helps the family adjust to the affected individual’s abstinence (sometimes, newfound sobriety can lead to a breakdown in communications or difficulties with intimacy).
- The therapist facilitates discussions on neutral ground and problem-solving sessions with the entire family or a subgroup of members.
- The therapist helps clarify boundaries between various family members and creates a place for rational discussions and expressions of opinions without tempers flaring.
- If multiple members of a family are using drugs, the therapist can help the client detach from family members who are actively using and focus on their own recovery.
- Participation in family therapy reduces the risk of intergenerational drug and alcohol abuse (studies show that if one person abuses drugs or alcohol, the remaining family members are at high risk of developing addictions).
- Family therapy at a rehab in Washington State can help create a healthy family structure, such that adolescents can say no to drugs despite heavy peer pressure.
Put simply, family therapy in Washington can help make the interpersonal and environmental changes necessary to promote the substance user’s recovery.
Family Therapy in Washington State
Therapists at Discover Recovery rehab in Washington State are experienced in brokering and mediating conflicts among family members dealing with addiction. Our highly-trained counselors have the skills to navigate complex relationships between various members of the family and address their interdependent nature, suggesting ways to bring about productive changes. In the safe environment of therapy, each member of the family is accorded a voice and given a chance to express pent up feelings, opening up new lines of communication. As a result, family members gain a new perspective on what they are experiencing and what they can do to create a positive change.
Do not delay seeking inpatient treatment in Washington State for drug and alcohol addiction. If someone in your family is battling a substance use disorder, family therapy in Washington at Discover Recovery can help you develop coping skills and improvements in family life, even as your loved one moves forward towards the resolution of their addiction.
