Addiction is a family disease. When individuals struggle with drug or alcohol dependency, the effects of substance abuse extends beyond themselves. It touches those closest to them, and for many, this means their family. Family therapy and family counseling are vital for recovery. It teaches family members how to support and encourage healthy coping helps individuals identify and address their familial problems, which may have contributed to their substance abuse.

At TruHealing Baltimore, we are committed to working with every client and their loved ones to help them create healthy healing strategies, set healthy boundaries, and deal with family issues head-on. Upon starting any of our levels of care, our staff will assess an individual’s family situation, client’s strengths and needs, and begin reaching out to loved ones when appropriate. We are dedicated to working with a client’s family as a whole, emphasizing education, examining codependency, and learning successful strategies for setting healthy boundaries. We are here to help you build a foundation for success.

Why Family Therapy Is Useful

Family therapy hasn’t always been a part of addiction treatment. In previous years, treatment centered only on the person with the addiction. Many professionals focused solely on the individual’s substance abuse disorder. People often left their home environments to receive residential rehabilitation.

However, while they returned home sober, they often re-entered a toxic family situation that resulted in relapse. More recently, family therapy is no longer an afterthought. Instead, qualified facilities conduct it in conjunction with other forms of treatment, including medical detox and individual addiction therapy. Furthermore, the definition of “family” now also includes your entire support system, whether or not they’re biologically related to you.

Working with the entire family has several benefits. The person with the addiction can gain an awareness of his or her own needs and patterns. At the same time, family members can come up with strategies that allow them to care for their own needs and those of the addict. Having an outside perspective can also help everyone recognize codependent and enabling behaviors that contribute to the addiction. Finally, family members can better understand the cycle of addiction to ensure that future generations don’t also suffer from this disease.

Conflict Resolution in Recovery

Despite the change of focus in the field, many still think they can address their addiction or someone they love without bringing others into the mix. Before making this decision, individuals need to ask themself the following questions:

• Have family members objected to your substance abuse, but you ignore their objections?
• Has your addiction affected the physical or mental health of those you love?
• Do you or other family members believe they have contributed to your addiction?
• Do family members want to learn ways to help you stay sober and avoid relapse?

If the answers are “yes” to any of these questions, then the individual and their family would benefit from family help as part of a larger addiction treatment strategy.

Discover How TruHealing Baltimore Can Help

Individuals struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction have numerous aspects of their life, affecting their dependency. However, their behaviors affect much more than just themselves. The people they care about, including their biological family and close friends, often feel the impact as well. In many cases, these dynamics may be contributing causes of the substance abuse problem. For that reason, addiction treatment often involves a family therapy component.

Here at TruHealing in Baltimore, Maryland, we believe getting family (either biological or chosen) involved in treatment can go a long way towards healing and helping clients make a lasting recovery. Reach out to us today at 833.782.2241 to learn more about our treatment programs.