Tips for Attending Family Counseling in an Addiction Treatment Center

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “The family has a central role to play in the treatment of any health problem, including substance abuse.” Many individuals receive a number of benefits from attending family therapy sessions with their loved ones in an addiction treatment center, and the family members often find help as well. Below are some tips on how to attend family counseling in an addiction treatment center and make it work.

Come With an Open Mind

If you are open to what the counselor is going to tell you and your loved ones, it is much better than being angry or rigid about what you believe will be helpful to the family. In addition, if you are not willing to participate in the sessions, it will be much harder for anyone (especially you) to gain any benefits from the treatment. Therefore, you must always come to your meetings with an open mind and the hope that the treatment will create some sort of positive outcome for you and your loved ones each time.

Do Your Homework

It’s important that you do the homework your counselor gives you.

As stated by SAMHSA, “Sometimes the therapist asks family members to do homework before the next session. For example, the therapist might ask family members to watch for nice things that other family members say during the week.” They may also ask everyone to write down their feelings on a certain matter or answer a specific question in writing, to be read at the next session. When your counselor asks you to do these sorts of things outside of the therapy sessions, it is important to do them and to take them seriously. If everyone in the group sees that you are not contributing or joining in, it will make them frustrated. Make sure to put in as much effort as your expect from everyone else.

Be Honest––But Gentle Too

It is important to discuss your honest and true feelings in family counseling. This is the only way your counselor can get to the root of the issues between family members and begin to help them make a change. However, it is also necessary to be careful with the things you say and to avoid being too aggressive or hurtful. Your counselor will likely attempt to steer family members away from this sort of language, but it is still important to keep yourself in check.

Remember the Goal of Family Therapy

The goal of this treatment is to create a better functioning family unit, not just to ensure that the individual in the family who struggles with drug abuse stops doing so. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a person’s environment is a large portion of what affects their risk factor for becoming addicted to substances and behaviors, and one way to change a problematic environment is to ensure that the family understands one another and learns to work well together for the good of everyone.

Your Recovery Depends Upon Your Honesty

Are You Looking for Family Counseling in a Rehab Center?

Call 800-256-3490 today to find a treatment center in your area. You can also learn more about family counseling in general and how best to approach this treatment option.