Let’s face it, family roles in addiction treatment is scary. This initial step on the road to recovery can leave one feeling vulnerable, exposed, and unfairly judged. Due to these innate fears, many treatment-seeking clients are hesitant to involve those closest to them in order to prevent unease or embarrassment.
Although there are many serious considerations clients have as they begin treatment, the decision to welcome outside involvement is among the most important. Here at Asheville Recovery Center, our addiction experts provide guidance and knowledge, ensuring that clients make an informed decision on the matter.
How Family Roles In Addiction Treatment Can Be Beneficial
Sharing intimate details of addiction can present its own struggle on the road to recovery but, in most cases, this struggle is a necessary one. It is no secret that treatment is uncomfortable – physically, mentally, emotionally. However, by fully disclosing the truth, a client rids themself of the burden of secrecy. Consequently, they become prepared to rebuild and, more importantly, rebuild alongside informed family and friends. In short, discomfort is often a sign that you’re doing something right.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Family and friends can play critical roles in motivating individuals to enter and stay in treatment…Involvement of a family member or significant other in an individual’s treatment program can strengthen and extend treatment benefits”. By opening the door to friends and family roles in addiction treatment, a client likely opens the door to support and accountability. Those who are welcomed into the treatment process will not only become educated on the client’s personal addiction but on addiction as a whole. Once family and friends become educated in the matter, their involvement can prevent relapses and increases the likelihood of successful recovery. As stated by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, “The family roles in addiction treatment must be factored into the understanding of the disease development and maintenance as well as be included in the efforts necessary for successful ongoing treatment. The earlier we can intervene in the progression of a substance use disorder, the better the outcomes for all family members”. Therefore, in deciding to help oneself, the client subsequently helps their loved ones.
How outside involvement can be detrimental
Although family roles in addiction treatment often yields higher success rates, there are situations where this inclusion can be damaging. If a history of physical, emotional or sexual abuse exists within the family or friend unit, the abuser’s inclusion in treatment may not only prevent a client’s full recovery, but worsen the client’s addiction entirely. Likewise, friends and family members who also struggle with or enable addiction also present a threat to the client’s completion of a treatment program. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, these involvements are not advisable as they can reverse progress, prompt relapse, and even exacerbate addiction. In these situations, outside involvement is deemed unnecessary and even detrimental to recovery. An addiction specialist’s top priority is to act in the client’s best interest, therefore, the client must be willing to disclose details of their personal relationships to their therapist, allowing them to design an appropriate treatment program specific to the client.
Where does Asheville Recovery Center stand on outside involvement?
Due to its many benefits, specialists at Asheville Recovery Center often encourage outside involvement; however, clients of the center are ultimately free to make this decision for themselves. In order to ensure quality, individualistic treatment, every client’s situation is evaluated on a case-to-case basis. In the event that a specialist recognizes a link between the client’s addiction and their interpersonal relationships, family and friend involvement would then be considered necessary in moving forward. Turmoil within relationships can both trigger and reinforce dependence, therefore, successful treatment must begin by targeting addiction at its source. Asheville Recovery Center is among many rehabilitation centers that stress the importance of family roles in addiction treatment. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Family Counselling was provided by 81 percent of all U.S. facilities in 2019.
Upon examining a client’s interpersonal relationships, the specialist may then suggest who should or should not be involved in treatment. Occasionally, specific family members or friends are deemed a threat to the client’s recovery and therefore excluded from involvement.
An abuser may trigger a client to relapse or increase usage when faced with past trauma. Likewise, those who support, promote, or enable the client’s addiction may severely diminish the possibility of full recovery. In order to nurture a relationship built on respect and honesty, the client must disclose the elements of their interpersonal relationships. The specialist will then be able to make informed suggestions for treatment while keeping the client’s best interest in mind.
The staff at Asheville Recovery Center recognize the uniqueness of each individual’s circumstances and strive to accommodate the specific needs of every client. Among its many services, the center offers individual therapy, group therapy, and family counseling. If family counseling is assumed to be detrimental, group or individual therapy would be a viable alternative.
When an individual decides to seek treatment, they are making the decision to expose the addiction for what it is. Who they reveal it to is based on their specific circumstances. Only after deeply examining their personal relationships can an individual determine the role family and friends play in their dependence. Those who are likely to delay recovery or intensify addiction would be excluded and alternative methods would be introduced. Those who are supportive and open to becoming educated on addiction are very likely to enhance the client’s treatment and increase the chances of successful recovery.
Regardless of the method, the decision to begin treatment is a difficult one. There will be struggles and there will be truths that are hard to face. Despite who is involved in a client’s treatment, the team at Asheville Recovery Center is prepared to offer their unwavering support every step of the way. By supplying clients with the tools needed to reclaim their lives, our addiction specialists establish a community focused on the future, not the past.
