Drug addiction affects more than just the addict. Addiction is a family disease. 46% of adults in the United States report having a family member or close friend who’s struggled with addiction issues. 32% of all Americans have directly experienced an addiction issue within their own home.
With addiction, the home environment matters. Negative family dynamics can play a huge role in a person’s battle with addiction.
For an addiction treatment program to be effective, it must involve the family and the person suffering from addiction. At No Matter What Recovery, we take the family-first approach. We provide family counseling in Los Angeles for those families affected by substance abuse.
Addiction issues start at home. A person’s relationship with their family is a complicated thing. Problems can be present in even the most well-adjusted household.
In order to overcome addiction and develop positive, long-term coping strategies, a good family therapy program will target families as well as the addicted party. Family therapy in Los Angeles incorporates an inclusive approach that involves the addicted individual as well as their immediate family members.
Each patient has a different definition of family though. Important family members include:
Families are critical to a person’s recovery efforts. Everyone is a product of their relationship with their family. Interaction with family members helps to mold a person’s identity and values, including their:
The bonds formed during a person’s childhood influence the adults they become. Family therapy seeks to involve all the important people who have positively and negatively impacted the addict’s life.
Understanding the role that families play in addiction treatment can create better relationships in the future. In turn, better awareness of relationships and their problems can have a positive effect that extends beyond addiction. The result? A happier family.
Codependency is a huge factor when it comes to addiction and the family unit. Codependency is a complicated relationship where a person structures their life around pleasing someone else. The other person structures their life around being pleased, creating a negative loop.
Family therapists in Los Angeles seek to understand and correct unhealthy relationships which encourage addiction. Some of the more negative family roles include:
In a codependent relationship, the enabler acts as a referee between the addict and the rest of the family. An enabler is sometimes called a caretaker, and their actions give the addict permission for self-destructive behavior.
There’s nothing heroic about a hero when it comes to addiction. A hero is driven to overachieve. This takes attention away from the addicted family member’s behavior. In fact, the hero role serves to take attention away from the addict’s self-destruction.
The scapegoat is the opposite of the hero. A scapegoat will deflect away from the addict by drawing negative attention to themselves. Because the scapegoat engages in negative behavior, they are likely to develop addiction problems as well.
The “class clown” distracts from the addict’s behavior by relieving the household’s tension. This causes the addict and other family members to avoid confronting problematic behavior.
With addiction, every family member plays a role. In order to foster a healthy family dynamic, it’s important to address the addict’s behavior AND the family’s dysfunction. This can be accomplished through family therapy.
Family therapy is often built on the family systems model. The family systems model views the family as a unit. The trouble with one part of the system affects the whole system. It’s crucial to address the entire family through therapy when engaging in addiction treatment and recovery.
Treating the entire family instead of just the addict has many advantages. Recovery isn’t just about getting clean; it’s about staying clean.
Family therapy can help dysfunctional families:
The addict and their loved ones can build a better, healthier future through family therapy together.
Family should be a source of comfort not a source of pain. Sometimes families need help strengthening their relationships for therapy to work. No Matter What Recovery stresses positive family interactions. They are an important part of the healing process.
If you or your loved one needs help with addiction recovery, we can help you with family therapy services in the Los Angeles, California area. Contact us today to begin the recovery process.
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