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For Your Loved One


Programs Medical Detoxification Inpatient Rehabilitation Residential Rehabilitation Partial Hospitalization Halfway House
Individualized Programs Dual Diagnosis Women’s Program Men’s Program Young Adults Professionals Family Outreach

 

Treating the Addict, Treating the Family

Addiction is a disease that affects the entire family. At The Addiction Recovery Center we are very concerned with all that are affected by this devastating disease and are committed to each individuals healing. While your loved one is undergoing the treatment process, we invite you to take part in our free Family Therapy workshops where you can learn about addiction and address the issues that have damaged relationships because of it. All staff at The Addiction Recovery Center provides support to promote a healthy family dynamic, and cultivate trusting relationships. The Family Program is uniquely designed to provide family members of addicts with tools that will empower them to create life free from the influences of addiction. These skills include a broadened self-awareness, understanding of family dynamics, and increase communication abilities.

The Addiction Recovery Center’s Family Program Vision

The Family Program is committed to:

  • Counseling sessions that help to restore healthy family dynamics and heal mutually supportive relationships.
  • Therapy sessions that address issues that have developed due to substance abuse.
  • Giving tools that promote happy, profitable and functioning lives.
  • Providing helpful resources, distinctive to The Addiction Recovery Center, for you to use before, during, and after your loved one enters treatment.
  • Helping family members understand addiction and how it has affected the life of their loved one going through treatment.

The Watershed Alumni Program

The Alumni Program endeavors to provide critical support to members of The Addiction Recovery Center family. We enjoy keeping in contact via phone calls, emails and social media. The Addiction Recovery Center Alumni Program is designed to keep the patients, along with their families, involved and connected with us after treatment is complete. Family members play a critical role in the lives of recovering addicts by helping them stay connected to people that have a positive influence in their life. Not only will it maximize the potential for long-term sobriety, but it will also enrich their lives with the opportunity to help others that are battling addiction just as they did.

We stay in constant contact with our alumni to encourage a powerful bond, and we encourage you to get in touch at 1-888-510-2481 or through our Alumni website,http://www.livesinrecovery.com.

The Family Program: What to Expect

Thank you for entrusting us with the care of your loved one. We know you might have questions and concerns, and here at the Watershed, we are happy to provide support and discuss any issues. We desire to educate you about this illness which will allow you to acquire important skills to navigate the life-long journey of managing the disease of addiction. We encourage you to check out our family resource sites at:

https://www.thewatershed.com/treatment/individualized-programs/family-outreach/

http://www.livesinrecovery.com

The Addiction Recovery Center provides the following comprehensive addiction treatment programs:

Addiction According To Watershed Professionals

Jackie Glass, program director of The Addiction Recovery Center Family Weekend Program, sheds light on how addicts think about their addiction and recovery:

"Addicts and alcoholics don't just use to self-medicate; if it's a good day they'll want to use and if it's a bad day, they'll want to use," says Jackie. "Addicts tend to associate drug or alcohol use with things like celebrating a pay raise, anniversaries, holidays – even the fact they've achieved what they believe is significant clean time." Jackie says the primary reason people relapse is because of denial, the hallmark of the disease of addiction. Denial is an acronym, of sorts, for "Don't Even Know I Am Lying."

Because chemical dependency is a brain disorder, the brain subscribes to denial and defense mechanisms such as euphoric recall and magical thinking. Euphoric recall is romanticizing the ritual, use and effects of the chemical and denying, minimizing or ignoring the consequences of the use. Magical thinking is the addict believing that he or she can "control" their use or believe that others won't know or find out.

It is impossible to predict whether your family member will find lasting recovery, but many people who receive treatment do get better. The longer people stay in treatment, the more likely they will remain drug and alcohol free. About half the people who complete treatment for the first time continue in their recovery. However, this means that about half will return at least once more to drinking alcohol and using drugs (relapse) before they finally give them up for good. Adolescents are even more likely to use drugs or alcohol or both again. It is not uncommon for a person to need to go through treatment more than one time. Often the person needs to return to treatment quickly to prevent a slip or relapse from leading to a chronic problem.

Do not be discouraged if your family member uses alcohol or drugs again. Understand that relapse is often a part of the recovery process. A treatment program at The Addiction Recovery Center will involve you in relapse prevention planning and help you learn what to do if your family member relapses. Your family member will benefit if you do not drink or use drugs around him or her, especially in the first months after his or her treatment begins. As you both begin to understand and accept the illness, the risk of relapse decreases immensely. The changes in attitudes, behaviors, and values that you both are learning and practicing will become part of your loved one’s new recovering lifestyle.