Mental health disorders don’t just impact one person in a home. They impact the entire family. Getting treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder, requires a treatment plan that incorporates family therapy.
If your family member is receiving dual diagnosis treatment, a method that addresses both of these conditions, and you want to make a difference, participate in family therapy. At Iron Bridge Recovery Center, we consistently support our clients and their families through the treatment process.
Understand What They Are Facing
Having a family member with co-occurring disorders means they need support from people who understand, want to help, and are ready to learn. Unless you also have these challenges, it’s hard to understand what your loved one is really facing. That’s why making it a point to learn about their disease and treatment processes can be the most important thing for families to do.
During family therapy, you’ll learn:
- What mental health disorders are and why they occur
- What SUDs are, what triggers relapses, and the mechanisms in the brain that control the process
- Signs of need for additional support and immediate help
- How to listen and not just tell your family member what they should do
- How to build a better relationship by committing to supporting your loved ones
Make it a point to learn about their addiction, mental health disorder, past pain, and future goals. When you take these steps, you create an opportunity for your loved one to trust you when they need that support the most.
Improved Communication
During family therapy, you’ll spend time working on communication. Most people who want to help a loved one recover don’t have bad intentions, but they also may not understand what their loved one is really facing. Make the focus of your communication listening rather than telling.
During therapy, you’ll learn:
- How to break through past pain and difficult statements that may be limiting your future
- Improve dysfunctional communication styles within your family
- Work through challenges related to codependency
- Create boundaries and communicate limitations with each other
- Break through enabling patterns
One of the most important parts of improving communication in these situations is understanding that it is not your fault and trying to blame one person or the other is ineffective and may be harmful. During your work with a therapist, you’ll learn how to overcome the pain you feel from broken communication, including all of the blame present.
Building a Support System
Your loved one will need a strong support system as they work through SUD treatment and recovery. As a family member, you will likely be one of the core members of that support system. It may also include their therapist, mentor, and local treatment support members who are there when they need it.
Creating a support system with your therapist helps establish an empathetic group with very clear boundaries and expectations. This type of unified support is what supports the difficulties that a person may face throughout the treatment process.
Recovery is not linear. It is very much an up-and-down process with numerous obstacles to overcome. By having a support system not only for their needs but also for your own, your family unit grows stronger and has more ability to navigate challenging events.
Treatment Adherence
Another important part of dual diagnosis treatment is for all parties to be on the same page when it comes to treatment. You’ll work with a therapist to address what your loved one needs, and then you’ll learn more about that therapist. That includes behavioral therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy. You will have the opportunity to explore treatment from a family context.
Once a treatment plan is in place, every member of the family has to work to stick to it. That includes the use of medication, managing stressful days, and working to get to every therapy appointment. There are sacrifices along the way, and it can be very challenging. Yet, when there is a clear path like this, everyone benefits.
Let Us Help You Build a Stronger Family Unit Moving Forward
Like any other disease, co-occurring disorders require support and guidance for your loved one as well as your own needs. As you learn more about their mental health disorders, make sure you invest time in your own therapy, so that you can work to build a stronger future for yourself and your loved one.
Iron Bridge is a starting point and the foundation for family therapy programs you can rely on. Trust us to put in place a strategy that keeps your family moving forward. Contact us now.
