Family Support Plays a Key Role in Recovery
When someone is going through the recovery process, it is important for them to know they have the support of family and friends. At that same time, families can often feel responsible, ashamed or frustrated over their loved one’s addiction.
Through “Families Supporting Families,” a program developed at Horizon Village, families learn how to support their loved ones going through treatment and become a support system for each other. Elements of the program include group sessions where families and residents are encouraged to list five reasons why they love each other and five concerns they have. The concerns get listed on a Family Agreement where counselors work with the family member and resident to make sure appropriate resolutions are reached to everyone’s satisfaction.
Family Alumni Nights give families the opportunity to come back and share their experiences about recovery with new families going through the process. Families talk through what to expect, the challenges and issues they may face, and answer questions.
Other elements of the program include:
- Social events to strengthen the family bond and teach families how to have fun without the use of alcohol and/or drugs.
- Special Saturday visiting times for children designed to enhance the bond that may have been damaged due to addiction.
- Teaching families to be a strong, sober support for the resident by making healthy decisions.
Through family counseling and support programs such as “Families Supporting Families” Horizon’s professional counselors work to enhance the family unit and teach new behaviors. In this way residents can be successful in recovery and look to becoming a responsible member of their family once again.
Horizon is the largest and most comprehensive outpatient provider of integrated mental health, chemical dependency and medical services in WNY. If you’d like more information about our residential rehab program in Western New York and Horizon Village, please contact us at 716.831.1800.
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