Why Family Engagement Is Important in Treatment and Recovery

Family involvement can play an essential role in your recovery process. The effects of addiction are something that not only affects you but your loved ones as well. During treatment and early recovery, it can be helpful to take on the healing process together. Unfortunately, “though families are powerful resources for enhancing treatment and recovery success among youth with SUDs, they are not routinely included in clinical practice” (Family Involvement in Treatment and Recovery for Substance Use Disorders among Transition-Age Youth: Research Bedrocks and Opportunities, Hogue et al, 2021.) Lantana Recovery understands how important family engagement is to addiction treatment and recovery. We have multiple resources available for families.

3 Benefits of Family Engagement for Recovery

While mental health recovery has been defined as a deeply personal process, a continual journey toward wellness, satisfaction, and meaning, the consequences of substance abuse are experienced by everyone you engage with, both family and friends. Self-destructive behaviors that often accompany addiction may have created a negative environment for those around you. When you can have your loved ones’ support and participate in your journey to recovery, it can increase your chances of maintaining your sobriety.

Here are three noted benefits that family engagement can have on your recovery process:

1. Addiction and Recovery Education

There is always more to learn about addiction and recovery. The more you and your loved ones understand addiction, the more willing you can become to commit to sobriety. Additionally, when your loved ones understand the goals you are working on in treatment, the better they can support you in achieving them. Loved ones that have a full understanding of addiction and recovery can help end stigmatization surrounding addiction as well as help put an end to feelings of isolation that often accompany those with substance use disorder (SUD).

Your loved ones may also need additional education and acknowledgment of how they have been affected and how they can recover, too. Working with your family in recovery can help everyone to begin to heal. Everyone will have the chance to do some introspective work and decide what coping skills they need to develop. There will also be opportunities for everyone to set healthy boundaries with each other. Extra education and support for everyone can be critical in early recovery.

2. Healing Broken Family Ties

A crucial part of healing from substance abuse requires you to mend relationships with your loved ones. One of the benefits of your family being involved in your recovery process is the chance to have support while healing these relationships in your life. You will be able to have support from a trained professional to help you navigate this process. Learning to communicate with each other effectively is one of the most important tools you can develop.

Holding on to painful feelings, memories, and behaviors will only hold you back during treatment and recovery. Fully utilize your treatment program options to have open and honest conversations with your loved ones. Once you’ve properly addressed the behaviors from your past, you can start to make goals for the future with your loved ones.

3. Peace and Hope

There is one thing that holds true for everyone, and that being we all need love and support. This is especially true during treatment and recovery. The process of treatment and recovery is going to be a hard time for you and your loved ones. When family members can be involved in the process, it will help everyone who has been affected by addiction.

You will be able to see the positive effects of your treatment process through your interactions with your loved ones. They will be able to see the progress you are making and better understand how to support you. There have been many studies that show a strong connection between family involvement and success in sobriety. Leaning on each other and supporting each other will bring everyone a sense of peace and hope for the future.

Bottom Line

The Lantana Recovery team recognizes how important a network of loved ones can be to your long-term recovery success. We see a common connection between SUD and family dysfunction. Loved ones may have shifted their attention, roles, and schedules in an effort to help the family member struggling with addiction. These changes in dynamics can often result in codependent relationship patterns, which can be problematic for lasting recovery.

At Lantana Recovery, we have built our treatment program around the idea that human beings need a community-based circle of support. This includes support from the family unit. Addiction affects one out of every seven people in the United States at some point in their lives. Behind every one of those people, there are family and friends that are also affected, too. We believe that treatment for addiction recovery is the most efficient when there is family involvement, and we aim to reinforce this idea by supporting families.

We offer resources such as family counseling sessions and family support groups. It is our goal to help friends and family members develop healthy ways to communicate with their loved ones who are in treatment. We want to help change habits and thought processes that are no longer productive.