One of the most important factors involved in helping a client overcome his/her addiction is involving and educating the client’s family. Families must learn to identify a potential relapse and respond appropriately.

Many family members lack a true understanding of addictions. They direct their anger at the addict and fail to recognize addiction as an illness rather than a deliberate course of action. Through this understanding, family members develop a desire to support the addict and rebuild a trusting relationship.

While educating the addict’s family, we focus on seven areas:

• Development with Family Dynamics:
• We teach families about addiction, treatment, and recovery, and the ways in which family members are involved in the process.
• Therapy helps families resolve conflict and reduce the risk of relapse.
  
  
• Triggers & cravings:
• Families learn about chemical triggers in the brain that correspond with pleasure and reward.
  
  
• Alcohol & Drug Recovery:
• The family learns about the nature of alcohol and drug use.
• The family also learns about the challenges of recovery.
• We discuss recovery programs and mutual-help groups with families.
  
  
• Coping with the Possibility of a Relapse:
• The family learns strategies for coping with the possibility of relapse.
  
  
• Restoring trust:
• The family learns about the recovery process and how they can work together to avoid relapse. The process involves healing broken relationships in the family.
  
  
• Living with an Addict:
• The family learns about the ways in which recovery can affect family life. They discuss the challenges involved and develop strategies for walking alongside their loved ones during the recovery process.
• Counseling provides a forum for exchanging information and ideas for a treatment plan, and developing behavioral management contracts and ground rules for continued family support.
  
  
• Communication Skills:
• The family learns about the important role that communication plays in maintaining healthy relationships. They also address the problems that can hamper effective communication.