The family members of an addict usually play a very vital role in recovery and addiction treatment. The family members themselves also often benefit greatly from receiving therapy and participating in the therapy treatments of the resident.
The support that family members give to someone with drug or alcohol addiction can make a big difference in making recovery a success and avoiding relapse.
Family therapy is great because it can help to give family members a good understanding of their role in the treatment of their loved ones. It will help the loved ones to understand what they should or should not do to help their family get better and remain sober.
In addition, family therapy can also help to fix some broken relationships and heal some bonds within the family unit that may have come about as a result of drug addiction.
If you want to find out more about how family therapy can be helpful and the other types of rehab treatments available, get in touch with us today. We are here to help you and will happily give you all the advice you need to get started with your recovery journey today.
We would also be happy to answer any questions you may have about addiction, the treatments, or life in rehab – call on 01475 303998.
Family therapy is where family members and a therapist will work together to resolve any family conflicts and improve relationships between family members and the addict in rehab.
When family members express and process feelings in family therapy sessions, this can help to improve communication skills and help the family members develop much healthier and stronger family dynamics.
Family therapy can also help the family members better understand how they can support their loved ones through their recovery journey. For many reasons, family therapy is a very important part of recovery for both the addict themselves and for the whole family as a unit.
Family therapy has many benefits as it helps to resolve family issues and provides additional support to the addict. Facing some issues that have been created due to the addiction can help to restore balance and well-being within the family.
It’s common for family members and addicts to experience resentment, misunderstandings and estrangement during an addiction. This is why family therapy is so beneficial at our drug and alcohol rehab.
Family members can sometimes unknowingly hurt their loved ones by enabling their addiction. Therapy can help the family members understand how they can better help. Providing family support in therapy can be a big part of a person’s recovery from addiction and can have a big impact on the family as a whole.
In family therapy, everyone will share difficult emotions such as stress, disappointment, shame, fear, and frustration. This will be conducted in a safe and therapeutic environment that can ensure great results. Family therapy can focus on a range of different problems that the therapist may see as appropriate.
Some examples of the problems and themes that may be focused on in family therapy include the following:
Family therapy provides some new ways of relating to those closest. In addition to the therapist observing and taking note of the challenges within the family dynamics, the therapist may also include some additional approaches within their family therapy treatments.
These may include some of the following:
Cognitive behavioural therapy is a very common therapy that is used in family therapy in drug rehab. This is a method that allows for emotional regulation as it allows someone to start to become more aware of the way their thoughts lead to certain behaviours and other factors that go into the addiction.
Cognitive behavioural therapy is a very effective treatment for addiction and can help to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. When it comes to family interventions for addictions, family members will need to have a qualified specialist available who can assist in helping their loved one get the addiction help they need.
Family members can result in the family members reframing their pain, anger, and other negative emotions. It also allows people to get a much deeper awareness of how to continue with healthy relationships and healthy family functions.
Family members can also get some self-awareness to help them transform their relationships with themselves and others.
There is not a single roadmap for addiction treatment. Each case is different and the right time for you to seek family therapy may be different for everyone. In some cases, it is not recommended for the family to attend for therapy. Every addict is different.
Whether or not the family members are involved in the treatment will be down to the medical professionals. In some cases, the professionals may feel like the addict could respond poorly to family therapies and may even abandon their treatment.
If the family members of the addict feel like they would benefit from therapy, they should discuss this with the relevant professionals to investigate if therapy should become part of the addict’s treatment plan.
Finding a qualified family therapist can be very helpful in helping families heal their wounds that have been caused by the addiction. If your loved one is abusing drugs or alcohol, family therapy could be beneficial to the entire family system.
If you are interested in learning more about family therapy and how it could be beneficial to your or your loved ones, get in touch with us today.
Our team of friendly, helpful staff would be happy to answer any questions you have and provide the advice you need on your addiction and treatments – call us on 01475 303998 or email info@novarecovery.co.uk for more information.
John Gillen
- Author
- Last updated: August 11, 2025
John has travelled extensively around the world, culminating in 19 years’ experience looking at different models. He is the European pioneer of NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide) treatment to Europe in 2010; and recently back from the USA bringing state of the art Virtual Reality Relapse Prevention and stress reduction therapy. His passion extends to other metabolic disturbances and neurodegenerative diseases. The journey continues. In recent times, John has travelled to Russia to study and research into a new therapy photobiomudulation or systemic laser therapy working with NAD+ scientists and the very best of the medical professionals in the UK and the USA, together with Nadcell, Bionad Hospitals own select Doctors, nurses, dieticians and therapists. Johns’ passion continues to endeavour to bring to the UK and Europe new developments with NAD+ Therapy in preventive and restorative medicine and Wellness. In 2017 John Gillen was made a visiting Professor at the John Naisbitt university in Belgrade Serbia.
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