If you or a loved one is considering addiction treatment, you may have heard that the family has a role to play. In fact, many treatment centers offer family therapy as a basic part of the program. But what is the role of the family in addiction treatment?
Addiction is an illness that can seem confined to the individual affected. After all, it is not contagious, nor is it something that external parties can easily understand. People who are suffering with substance use disorders often feel extremely isolated for this very reason.
Still, you might have heard it said that addiction is a family disease. It’s not just a cliche or meaningless platitude. Experts take the role of the family very seriously when treating addiction. In many cases, this specific kind of healing is at the forefront of a person’s recovery.
Wondering what’s the role of the family in addiction treatment? Let’s take a look at how addiction manifests in the home and affects one’s closest relationships, before discussing how the best treatment takes this all into account.
Why is Addiction a Family Disease?
When a person is addicted to alcohol and drugs, they are not the only one affected by the substances they consume. Their loved ones may not be getting high or drunk, but the energy and behaviors of the person have an external impact. That impact is felt most significantly in the family home.
In some instances, the home environment is a major factor in triggering the person’s use of substances. In others, the seeds of the addiction were planted elsewhere. But, either way, everyone in the family ends up affected.
Let’s look at an instance in which the home environment is monumental. A child grows up in a house with a father addicted to alcohol and a mother addicted to drugs. They constantly witness this behavior in place of healthy coping mechanisms and don’t learn to regulate their emotions. The dysfunction and neglect create an unsafe environment, making the child feel even more at sea. Eventually, the child starts using substances when they don’t know how to cope with a growing sense of unease.
Alternatively, a child grows up in a home without significant struggles and no issues with substances. However, they start drinking at high school parties and find that it eases their social anxiety. They use it more and more often, until they cannot stop. While the problem didn’t start at home, the person carries it with them, lying to their parents and even manipulating them when they try to intervene. Different family members unknowingly take on different roles, all of which perpetuate an environment that facilitates the addiction.
Common roles taken on by family members of addicts include:
- The enabler who tries to protect the person from the consequences of their actions, unintentionally facilitating the continuation of these behaviors.
- The hero who tries to keep the family together and resolve issues, domestic and legal, by holding onto control and overachieving.
- The scapegoat who deflects attention from the addicted person by acting out or getting into trouble.
- The lost child who withdraws emotionally and ends up being neglected due to their ‘invisibility.’
- The mascot who tries to diffuse conflict by deflecting with humor or charm.
- The co-dependent who becomes overly involved in the addict’s needs at the expense of their own wellbeing.
While these roles are all rooted in good intentions, each only exacerbates the problem. The family also becomes accustomed to these roles and resistant to letting them go, even when it’s necessary for the recovery of the addict.
The Family’s Role in Treatment
The role of the family in addiction treatment has two main purposes:
- Preventing relapse when the person comes home.
- Supporting the person’s recovery.
Preventing Relapse
Whether there was already dysfunction in the family or it was caused by the addiction, the home environment is now an environment in which it flourishes. As such, no matter how hard the person works in recovery, they will face an uphill battle to maintain their sobriety back home. The same triggers will be present while the family plays out the roles which facilitate addiction.
In addiction treatment, the family needs to be treated too so as to prevent relapse. Family therapy for addiction can help each individual recognize the role they’ve taken on. They can begin to heal as a collective, working on breaking the habits which have only made matters worse.
With time, the home becomes a nurturing space which encourages healing, rather than a stumbling block in its own right.
Supporting Recovery
But the family is not only included in treatment as a preventative measure. In fact, the family has a much more significant, positive role to play. They can be the recovering addict’s biggest supporters, helping them implement what they learn in rehab and acting as their cheerleaders. Many people in recovery struggle to appreciate their achievements – when the family gives them that validation, they learn to see themselves in a more positive light.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to recovery becomes a major advantage this way. The family goes from sustaining the perfect environment for addiction to cultivating a nurturing and healing space. Supporting a loved one in recovery is also very meaningful for the family themselves and provides a sense of agency.
Conclusion
Addiction is a family disease. The roots of the addiction often come from dysfunction at home and, at other times, addiction creates an environment of dysfunction. This is why the family needs to heal, both for their own wellbeing and for that of their loved one.
The best rehabs offer family therapy, ensuring that everyone’s context is considered when implementing the most effective treatment.
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