Clients often feel like they are isolated in recovery. Unfortunately, being isolated can lead to worsening mental health. For that reason, it is vital to create a support system with others at a treatment facility and with loved ones and family members. When family members are active participants in recovery, clients feel loved, supported, cared for, and accepted. This element of healing is so important that First Steps Recovery’s staff always works to include each client’s family in recovery when possible.
Why an External Support System Is Important in Recovery
Having an external support system is key to a successful recovery. Clients who finish their initial treatment may have difficulty transitioning back into their normal routines or finding a healthy rhythm to their lives now that drugs and alcohol are absent. Families, friends, and other loved ones are crucial elements in clients’ lives. These valuable support people can help clients with this transition. One way they can be helpful is by helping clients hold themselves accountable post-treatment.
Maintaining a sober life is not something that happens alone. Being surrounded by those who support one’s recovery journey is necessary. Clients must feel supported and understood while going through recovery in order to feel safe and secure in their social environments.
Involving Family in Recovery and Treatment
One’s external support system can also be involved in treatment. Facilities often help clients involve their families and loved ones in therapies. Clients also work on being more open, honest, and expressive with their therapist and others in recovery. Working on these communication skills with families and loved ones is also crucial in recovery as it allows families to understand the client on a deeper level in order to strengthen support.
As clients develop a support system outside of the facility, this helps them achieve more success with recovery. This support system can help them strengthen their social skills and find ways to build deeper and more meaningful connections with others. As they continue to feel supported, they will know they can turn to this external support system at any stage in their recovery journey.
The Importance of Loved Ones and Family in Recovery
Having the support of family in recovery is a key element in achieving long-term sobriety. Especially for younger clients, having one’s family involved in the recovery journey can be vital for their success. An article published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment explains how “supportive family relationships are a vital predictor of healthy development for youth.” There is also evidence that “supportive family relations remain critical for healthy development throughout emerging adulthood.”
What that means is that having one’s family involved in the recovery journey in a supportive and nonjudgmental way is beneficial to the recovery process. While young adults tend to feel the need to be independent and grow apart from their families, treatment centers remind clients that family is a crucial element in their lives. This is true whether or not they are in recovery. However, keeping families directly involved in the recovery journey helps rebuild and/or strengthen familial ties with clients in order to provide this external support. Having strong bonds with family in recovery helps to remind clients that they are not alone in their journeys.
This family-centered approach also helps therapists understand the environment clients are in. Therapists work with families and the client to develop a system that supports the clients while also meeting the needs of family members. Involving family in recovery brings understanding, compassion, and strength to all those involved.
How Does First Steps Recovery Involve Family in Recovery?
At First Steps Recovery, the staff works with clients to incorporate family in recovery. The facility emphasizes the importance of community-based recovery, in which families and their surrounding community help people sustain sobriety. By bringing the community into the recovery process, clients learn to build meaningful connections and strengthen relationships they already have. The staff works with clients to make individualized treatment plans and determine the type of family sessions that work best for all parties involved.
Treatment Paths Available for Families
First Steps Recovery offers a multitude of treatment paths that allow families to be involved. Family therapies are included in inpatient treatment, partial hospitalization programs (PHPs), intensive outpatient programs (IOPs), outpatient programs, and online treatment options.
Through participating in sessions, families learn what their loved one is going through and come to understand their journey more fully. Families also learn how they can be supportive and vulnerable during the journey. Additionally, it is important for clients to interact with their families in order to understand how their loved ones feel. Both sides of these sessions are heard and valued in order to create a healthier, more supportive, and more honest connection between all members.
It is important for clients to build stronger and more honest relationships with family members in order to keep a close-knit support group post-treatment. Families and clients learn what each member needs in the recovery process, which helps them find a good rhythm after treatment. This family support system is essential for building successful recovery.
Here at First Steps Recovery, we emphasize the importance of clients building a strong and supportive external support system. Specifically, we believe in family guidance as an essential component of community-based recovery. Clients build deeper, stronger, and healthier relationships with their families. Families can help clients in their transition from treatment to their normal routines, but can only do so if there is a common ground of understanding and support. Therapists work to create honest and fluid communication between all members of the family session. Family group therapies are offered in every treatment program at the facility. To learn more about our family services, please call First Steps Recovery at (844) 489-0836.
