Drug addiction and alcoholism is a disease that affects the entire family. When one member of a family suffers, oftentimes the entire family suffers. In some instances, loved ones who struggle with addiction may begin to engage in covert or otherwise questionable behaviors in order to continue their drug or alcohol abuse, often called enabling.
Some of these enabling behaviors can include:
- Lying
- Covering up for your loved one’s whereabouts
- Loaning them money
- Bailing them out of jail or providing legal support
- Continuing to provide treatment over and over again
The effects of addiction aren’t limited to the addicted person, and the causes of substance abuse can be varied and complex – family issues can contribute to and perpetuate the illness of addiction. In fact, addiction is sometimes referred to as a “family disease.” Successful treatment, therefore, often incorporates the family of the person struggling with addiction.
One of the most challenging roles to be played in an addict or alcoholic’s life is to be the interventionist, to confront the addict and ask him to seek help. This responsibility almost always falls on family members. Nobody admits mistakes. Denial is always what makes the process difficult. The first intervention team is always the family of the patient. But when all efforts fail, it is crucial to seek help from a professional or addiction treatment facility. Hathaway Recovery offers the following support services for families:
Addiction Education
If you find that your loved one is struggling with addiction issues, one of the first steps you can take is to educate yourself about the processes that play into addiction development, and ways that it can be treated. At Hathaway Recovery, we believe that addiction is a family disease. We include a family care component focused on addiction education. We believe the disease of addiction affects each family member at the same level as it does the individual and therefore, we treat the whole family system.
Addiction Interventions
An intervention is a process by which family and friends deliberately confront individuals struggling with addiction about the damage their addiction is doing to both them and the people they love. With the help of a professional interventionist, individuals may begin to see what their addiction is costing them – in terms of relationships, finances, and personal health.
Interventions serve to introduce “rock bottom” to your loved one. Rather than waiting around and risking serious injury or death as a result of your loved one’s addiction, interventions help your family take back some control. They confront individuals with the dangers of addiction while also offering solutions to get out of addiction. Don’t take a control in your hands call us and we will come to you and will hear you.
Emotional Support Guidance
Another aspect of family involvement in addiction treatment includes providing emotional support guidance. It can be scary navigating treatment, and even scary for loved ones who are unsure what to expect. Many times, those in recovery who feel alone will succumb to their cravings and go against their own desires to get well. This is due to the changes that occur in the brain as the body becomes dependent on a substance. Addiction can even lead individuals to continue their use of drugs and alcohol even in the face of negative consequences. At Hathaway Recovery, our staff provides emotional support guidance for families on how to navigate support their loved one in early sobriety.
Family Addiction Treatment in California
Hathaway Recovery offers comprehensive and individualized family addiction treatment. Throughout a client’s stay clients participate in educational groups focused on the family system. Individual family therapy sessions are offered under the discretion of the client and primary therapist and may include participation with anyone significant in the client’s life such as a spouse, significant other, parent, or sibling. Individual family work identifies the values and norms in which families operate as well as areas that may need work. It also addresses aspects of the family affected by addiction such as communication and trauma. As a leader in addiction treatment, Hathaway Recovery helps individuals restore healing within the family unit and create lifelong change.
