THE FAMILY PROGRAM

Often, this leads the family to feelings of helplessness, guilt, and confusion.  These changes in the family dynamics can develop into resentment and enabling behavior.  It is our goal at Cape Cod Recovery Center to provide help not only for the client but to assist families with the recovery process as a whole.

Although all of the individuals at our substance abuse rehab in Massachusetts are seeking help for an addiction, each individual is unique in their family situation.  Although they may look similar, “rock bottom” is different for everyone.  Regardless of what that “rock bottom” looks like, it dramatically impacts family relationships and family dynamics.  It is important to understand what that looks like and individualize the process of working with the client and family.

It is important to help the family to identify the roles each person has taken on to effectively manage the addiction within the family.  Our goal is to restore a healthy family dynamic by educating families on behaviors such as enabling versus being supportive, rejection versus setting healthy boundaries,and having the family acknowledging their own needs without feelings of guilt.  As part of the therapeutic process, we will work with families on how to identify these needs and educate them on services such as Alanon groups, continuing to engage in family therapy after the clients’ discharge, and reaching out to the available services before the situation turns into a crisis.

This process must begin while the individual is at the Cape Cod Recovery Centers to assist with a plan upon the client’s return to the home.  To effectively create this type of plan, early involvement with the family is essential.  This would include, but is not limited to:

• Weekly family meetings
• Phone calls and involvement in the recovery and healing process.

During this therapeutic process, it is important to involve all family members, and often this includes children.  It important to acknowledge and understand the child’s experiences and how the addiction has affected them.  This should be done in an age-appropriate manner that would include allowing the child to express their honest feelings without feeling judged or shunned in the process.

Understanding the family’s feelings surrounding the addiction and understanding the dysfunctional family dynamic, regardless of whether this dysfunction was evident before the addiction or is a result of, is essential in the success of the recovery process.

Our goal at Cape Cod Recovery Center is to help the individual with the recovery process while restoring a healthy family dynamic.