Why treatment for families?

Families are in need of their own treatment to help demystify and assist in ridding themselves of the shame one experiences as a result of being affected by this disease. We learn to understand that if the family system supports denial and lives in fear; the individual cannot get better, even in treatment. It is imperative that families understand and have compassion, not only for the addict or alcoholic loved one, but for themselves. Avoidance and enabling are some of the ways families react to addictive behavior in their loved ones, only prolonging the inevitable and creating an atmosphere of guilt. Control is a natural response to fear, which is ultimately disrespectful to everyone involved. Without new information and support one is doomed to repeat old ways.

Through treatment, families will benefit from encouragement and begin to gain new tools, new ways of coping with living with a disease that does not look like a disease. Learning to separate the person from the disease fosters compassion. Families will begin to experience hope. They will gain peace of mind, serenity and have a new outlook on life.