During the teenager years, it’s natural for individuals to start distancing themselves from their families and becoming closer with peers. Although this is part of normal teen development, the family is still an important support system—especially for teenagers who are recovering from drug or alcohol addiction.
Because of this, family therapy is an essential part of recovery for teens at treatment centers like Safe Landing, which offers inpatient and outpatient treatment in Miami, Florida. Understanding the benefits of family therapy can help teens—and their loved ones—recover for the long term.
Understanding the Roots of Addiction
Teen substance abuse doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but is affected by circumstances and relationships at home, at school and among friends. Family therapy can help teens and their counselors understand circumstances that have that contribute to the teen’s addiction. For example, family counseling helps to unveil and address external factors such as tensions within the home or recent changes to the family dynamic caused by divorce, death or remarriage that might cause a teen to start or continue abusing substances.
Spotting Patterns of Use or Relapse
Although it’s important for a teen in recovery to understand their own triggers, parents and siblings have often become adept at understanding what will trigger drug abuse. Because of this, loved ones can often help a teen to recognize their patterns of substance abuse. By better understanding these patterns, teens are able to take back control over the disease of addiction by being prepared with healthy coping mechanisms when challenging situations arise. In addition, talking about triggers openly can help family members recognize the signs of relapse and intervene early if the teen is in need of help.
Forming Allies in Recovery
At the same time, family therapy allows siblings and parents to learn about the recovery program that a teen is undergoing. They learn to speak the “language” of sobriety, and can understand the self-examinations that their teen is doing. With this information, family members are better able to support their loved one when treatment ends, becoming allies on the road to recovery.
Rebuilding Family Bonds
Addiction doesn’t just affect the teen who is using, but also touches everyone who loves them. Parents might feel guilty or that they have failed their child, while siblings may have resentment toward to teenager who has caused their family so much strife. Family counseling provides a safe space to address these feelings, helping families to heal the wounds cause by addiction so that the repercussions of addiction don’t last for years to come.
Breaking the Cycle of Addiction
Often time, addiction is passed from generation to generation through a family. Although there is a biological aspect to addiction, the hereditary aspect of the disease can be exacerbated by unhealthy communication and coping patterns in families that struggle with substance use. Family therapy addresses these issues, bringing substance abuse to the forefront and forcing all family members to acknowledge the ways that addictive behaviors have affected them. This open communication sets the stage for healthier patterns for all family members going forward, and helps solidify the entire family’s commitment to recovery.
Safe Landing is a recovery center for teens in Miami. Learn more by calling 1-877-624-1030 or emailing info@safelandingrecovery.com.
Sponsored DISCLAIMER: This is a paid advertisement for California Behavioral Health, LLC, a CA licensed substance abuse treatment provider and not a service provided by The Fix. Calls to this number are answered by CBH, free and without obligation to the consumer. No one who answers the call receives a fee based upon the consumer’s choice to enter treatment. For additional info on other treatment providers and options visit www.samhsa.gov.
