Family therapy is a program designed to support individuals struggling with addiction, reconnect with their families, resolve problems, and educate individuals on building, strengthening, and improving family relationships.
Through Impact Outpatient Program®s in Louisville, KY, clients can work with a family therapist as part of their treatment program. After working on their personal growth and sobriety, clients can work with their families to resolve the issues created by substance abuse. Addressing these concerns as part of addiction treatment can offer a more solid foundation for sobriety and supports clients in achieving their long-term sobriety goals.
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How is Family Therapy Used in Addiction Treatment?
Family therapy, concerning addiction, focuses on improving the family structure by repairing relationships, setting boundaries, and enhancing communication amongst loved ones. Family therapy can occur between a husband and wife, children, parents, and close loved ones. Family therapy is a way for individuals to learn to work together again.
Family counseling is designed to support each member of the family and address concerns that have arisen in the family structure based on substance abuse. Issues like codependency, aggression, absence, and abuse are common family psychotherapy topics when a loved one struggles with addiction.
By going through family therapy, individuals can relearn how to interact and communicate with each other in a safe and healthy way. In addition, through this process, individuals can learn to manage family stressors and address concerns as they arise so they do not lead to situations down the line that may trigger a relapse.
What are the Benefits of Family Therapy?
Family therapy is more than just education. Family therapy can help individuals with conflict resolution, communication, and how to move on from past situations.
A family therapist will help the family address conflicts and develop resolutions for those problems. For example, when a family engages with a therapist about disputes that stem from addiction, they will work with each family member to truly understand and help them work together to develop a resolution to this issue. Through this process, the therapist will model listening and conflict resolution techniques that can be used later on when other problems arise.
Communication is another skill that family therapists will work to develop. They can provide tips and sentence starters that help individuals communicate better. Family therapists will stress the importance of making I statements and explaining how individuals feel to make confrontations less argumentative. Saying “I feel…” versus “You make me feel…” turns a conflict into a conversation.
Lastly, family counseling can help individuals move on from past trauma related to addiction. Because so many individuals experience codependency, aggression, absence, and abuse when a loved one is addicted, it can be essential to focus on addressing the concerns and whether or not they want to move forward together. Making significant changes or reaffirming a relationship can be crucial for family psychotherapy.
How is Family Therapy Used in Rehab?
When it comes to family therapy as a part of rehab, it often comes later in the process. While family therapy is crucial and can help an individual progress in their sobriety goals and help loved ones process the trauma of family addiction, there are times when it is not helpful.
Family psychotherapy, as part of rehab, should occur after an individual has completed a significant amount of initial addiction therapy and are confident in their sobriety and support system. Family counseling can sometimes feel overwhelming and stressful, and for an addict, those feelings often trigger use. By waiting until an individual is confident in maintaining their sobriety, family therapy can help individuals process and safely work through their family concerns.
How to Find Family Therapy Treatment in Louisville, KY
There are several options for family therapy treatment in Louisville, KY. Impact Outpatient Programs offer clients the ability to focus on their physical and mental health treatment and then add family psychotherapy into the mix once they have successfully demonstrated their ability to maintain sobriety. Through this process, individuals can work with their counselors to progress with this goal in mind.
Contact Impact Outpatient Programs today to see how our Louisville intensive outpatient and outpatient treatment programs can help you, or your loved one, get on track with mental and physical health.