How Your Family Can Play a Role at Your Rehab Center

One of the scariest parts of rehab is the idea that you have to go through it all alone and your family can also feel isolated by the idea of a rehab program, especially an inpatient one. It’s hard for people to know what role they are supposed to play when they don’t know very much about the function of a treatment facility.

In order to get the best care possible, you need to have a strong support system and there are some people in your life who are ready to fulfill the requirements of that role. How, then, do you incorporate their willingness with your treatment program?

If you are interested in receiving treatment for a drug and/or alcohol addiction and you need help finding an appropriate treatment program, look no further than RehabCenters.com. We can help you find resources and programs that can work for you and for your family. Give us a call at 888-646-0635Who Answers?.

What Is Family?

It is first important to recognize that there isn’t a single definition of family that is always applicable and correct. For every person in treatment, there is a slightly different definition for family. Some people look for support to a traditional family: parents, siblings, foster parents, and step families. Others will look to extended families: grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. Still others will find support from elected or intentional families—those people they are close to by choice and not by blood—peers, partners, and godparents.

The single common trait of family is an emotional bond. Regardless of distance caused by time or geography, family members remain connected and their connections have an impact on the success of the family dynamic.

Family therapy works to create positive changes for the addict and their loved ones.

Many people like to think of members of their support group as family, but it is important to remember that the family that comes to your rehab facility to support you should represent your closest emotional ties. Families are held together by commitment for each other and support groups are held together by commitment to a common goal. The two should not be confused.

Family Therapy

One major activity in which your family will engage at your rehab center is family therapy. Every family is made up of multiple parts. When one part changes the dynamics of the whole change. Family therapy looks to the family system and brings about positive change in a variety of problem areas.

According to a text created by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), family therapy has two main purposes. “First, it seeks to use the family’s strengths and resources to help find or develop ways to live without substances of abuse. Second, it ameliorates [betters] the impact of chemical dependency on both the IP [individual patient] and the family.”

There is a distinction between family therapy and family-involved therapy, both of which are activities for your family to participate in while you attend rehabilitation. Family-involved therapy seeks to educate family members about the patterns in your relationships that contribute to the development and continuation of addiction. This type of activity does not focus on the workings of the family system, as family therapy would.

SAMHSA reminds readers: Most substance abuse treatment centers offer such a family educational approach. It typically is limited to psychoeducation to teach the family about substance abuse, related behaviors, and the behavioral, medical, and psychological consequences of use.” In the same vein, children need age‐appropriate psychoeducation programs before they can join in with other family members participating in education and/or therapy.

Although education is helpful and family members will grow from it, family-involved therapy doesn’t work to correct habitually negative functions of your family unit.

If you have a group of people waiting for you to enter treatment, let them know that they play a part in the treatment as well. You aren’t the only one who can learn and grow in rehab. They, too, have an opportunity to develop as individuals and as members of the family unit. Over time, the participation of the whole family will make the family unit function more productively and that will leave everyone feeling better about themselves and their relationships.

If you would like to learn more about rehabilitation, contact RehabCenters.com at 888-646-0635Who Answers?.

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