Family Addiction Therapy Program

Home » Services » Family Addiction Therapy Program

Our Family Program

Addiction has often been referred to as a “family disease.” Family dynamics often contribute to the way individuals view life, behave, and inherent specific roles. Addiction negatively affects the entire family system. Family addiction therapy in Texas is beneficial for individuals attending a drug and alcohol rehab program. Behavioral treatment combined with family therapy has been proven to reduce the rates of relapse, reduce psychiatric symptoms, relieve stress, and promote continuous sobriety.

How Addiction Affects the Family

At Casa Colina, we believe that family members deserve just as much support as the client in treatment. That’s why we’ve created an all-inclusive family services program that includes weekly updates, monthly visitation, and an intensive family program workshop where the whole family can find healing and direction.

Alcoholism and drug addiction has the power to undermine even the strongest of loving relationships while affecting family members on emotional, psychological, financial, and social levels. Addiction causes stress, disrupts routines, and often causes frightening and chaotic conflicts within the family unit. As a direct result, members of the family develop unhealthy coping skills as they strive to maintain peace within the household. Children within the household of an addicted family member are particularly affected by substance abuse. Children of an addicted parent often have difficulties in school, relationships, and are at a much higher risk of developing an addiction later in life. Adopting dysfunction and fragile behaviors, the family unit often contributes to the addiction by way of adopting destructive behaviors as a direct result.

Addiction undermines the loving, safe bonds that sustain a healthy family system. Children are often forced to step into parental roles while spouses hide their substance use from their partners. Parents will go to great lengths to rescue an addicted child. Certain family members inherit too many responsibilities while trying to take on the lack of responsibility of the addicted family member. Communication within the family unit is often negative while positive interactions are limited. Homes in which addiction exists often creates a lack of structure and non-existent boundaries. Addictive behaviors within the family unit can lead to social isolation, resentment, mental health disorders, conflict, financial stress, and many other negative consequences.

Families Coping with Addiction

Families often cope with addiction in unhealthy and destructive ways, such as living in denial regarding the addiction or by covering for their addicted loved one. More often than not, family members of addicts revolve their lives around the addiction. Codependent and enabling behaviors are not only a direct result of alcohol and drug addiction but also foster substance abuse as well as make recovery challenging for the addicted loved one and the other family members.

We believe that the family is an important part of the treatment team. You knew your loved one long before us and will be there to support them long after they complete treatment. Weekly updates and coaching ensure that you always know what is happening with your loved one’s treatment and are getting the best guidance on how to support them.

Family visitation is often the bright spot of our client’s month: giving them a chance not only to receive encouragement and support from their family but also providing a time to try out new communication skills, practice new coping mechanisms, and put new relational skills to the test.

Codependency

Codependent behaviors are learned, thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors that lead to neglecting an individual’s personal wants and needs in favor of obsessively concerning themselves with a loved one’s addictive lifestyles. Codependent behaviors often include:

Living in denial about a loved one’s addiction. Individuals may lie to others about their loved one’s substance abuse or isolate to avoid having to make excuses.
Obsessively worrying about a loved one’s addiction and the consequences of their addiction.
Reacting irrationally, overly emotional, or violently to events correlated to a loved one’s substance abuse.
Having low self-esteem as a result of neglecting personal physical, spiritual, and emotional needs while focusing solely on the addicted loved one.
Misplaced anger at children, pets, or other members of the family
Engaging in unhealthy patterns of behavior to cope with the reality of a loved one’s addiction
Mood dictated on the mood of the addicted loved one
Neglecting responsibilities and other relationships due to obsessively catering to the addicted loved one.

Enabling

Enabling behaviors support a family member’s addiction by removing consequences for their actions out of love or fear. These types of behaviors make it easy for a loved onto to continue to abuse drugs and alcohol. Enabling behaviors include:

Refraining from discussing or showing emotions in order to keep the peace with an addicted loved one
Accepting a loved one’s justifications for his addiction
Using drugs or alcohol with a loved one
Protecting your loved one’s image by minimizing the consequences of his addiction by lying, making excuses, or taking care of their responsibilities.
Obsessively attempting to make everything appear normal at home.
Feeling guilty when unable to prevent natural consequences from affecting an addicted loved one.
Removing or bailing an addicted loved one out of financial, legal, parental, relational, and other consequences.

The hallmark of our family services is the Family Intensive Workshop. This three-day workshop is a time where you and your loved one will experience an intense and interactive environment that addresses family dynamics and the effects of your loved one’s addiction. The intimate environment facilitates therapeutic breakthroughs and profound healing for all members of the family. Led by our seasoned masters-level therapists, your family will embark upon a journey of discovery that just may provide the missing piece for your loved one’s recovery.

Call us today for a free consultation on how Casa Colina can help transform your loved one and your family.