How Family Therapy Can Help Families Affected by Addiction

Blog | Harmful habits

As a family and couple therapist, I believe that the family is one of the most important aspects of life for most people. However, sometimes family relationships can become strained or damaged by various factors. One of the most common and challenging issues that families face is addiction - whether it is alcohol, drugs, substances, or gambling. Addiction can have a devastating impact on the well-being of the addicted person and their loved ones. That is why I recommend seeking professional help from a family therapist, rather than trying to solve the problem on your own.

Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy that works with the whole family, not just the individual. The main idea behind family therapy is that the family environment shapes the person’s personality, behavior, and mental health. Therefore, to improve the situation, the family therapist helps the family members to communicate better, understand each other’s perspectives, and resolve their conflicts. In healthy families, people show love and respect for each other, listen to each other’s opinions and needs, and cope with stress and difficulties together.

Family therapy can be especially helpful for families that are affected by addiction. Addiction is a complex and chronic disease that affects not only the addicted person, but also their relatives. Family members may develop unhealthy patterns of coping, such as codependency, enabling, denial, or avoidance. They may also experience anger, guilt, shame, fear, or depression. Family therapy can help them to break these patterns, support the recovery of the addicted person, and heal their own emotional wounds.

Some of the goals of family therapy are:

To provide emotional and practical support for the addicted person during their treatment and recovery;
To reduce interpersonal conflicts and increase harmony in the family;
To create a positive and supportive atmosphere in the home;
To cope with personal crises and transitions;
To deal with infidelity and restore trust in the relationship;
To improve the quality of parent-child interactions and foster healthy attachment;
To overcome codependency and establish healthy boundaries with the addicted person;
To enhance the intimacy and satisfaction in the couple’s relationship;
To create a positive and supportive atmosphere in the home;
To identify and treat psychosomatic disorders that may result from family stress;
To prevent and stop any forms of physical or psychological abuse in the family;
To promote the social and personal development of each family member;
To adapt to the changes in the family structure and roles.

Before starting family therapy, it is important to set clear and realistic goals. The family therapist will help the family to identify their strengths and weaknesses, their needs and expectations, and their desired outcomes. The family therapist will also explain the rules and procedures of the therapy, such as confidentiality, frequency, duration, and fees. The family therapist will then work with the family to achieve their goals, using various techniques and methods.

Some of the tasks that the family therapist will do are:

Support the family members through the crisis and change processes;
To observe and record how the family members communicate and interact with each other;
To explore and reveal the hidden or suppressed feelings and thoughts of the family members;
To teach and practice constructive ways of expressing and managing negative emotions;
To pinpoint and analyze the main sources and triggers of the family conflicts;
To facilitate and mediate the dialogue and negotiation between the family members;
To challenge and change the dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes of the family members towards the problem;
To help the family members to develop and maintain caring and trusting relationships.

Author: Stephi Balash

30 January 2024

What are the benefits of a free consultation?

Getting to know the psychologist: You can talk to the psychologist to see if they are a good fit for you in terms of their work style, personality, and specialization.

Defining the problem: You can describe your problem in detail and get qualified advice from the psychologist, which will help you better understand the nature of your problem.

Developing a plan of action: You can get recommendations on how to solve your problem, which methods and approaches may be the most effective.

Feeling supported: You can get emotional support and feel that you are not alone, because the psychologist will listen to you attentively.

Who is a free consultation suitable for?

Those looking for a psychologist: A free consultation can help you make the right choice, as you can talk to several psychologists before making a final decision.

Those who are unsure whether they need psychotherapy: A free consultation can help you understand whether psychotherapy can help you solve your problem and whether it is right for you.

Those who have a limited budget: A free consultation is an opportunity to get qualified help from a psychologist for free, to see if you need further psychotherapy.

Those who may be nervous or hesitant to start psychotherapy: A free consultation gives you the opportunity to overcome your fear of the first meeting with a psychologist, get answers to your questions, and feel more confident.

Important:

A free consultation is not a substitute for psychotherapy.

In a free consultation, the psychologist cannot give you a final diagnosis or prescribe treatment.

The purpose of a free consultation is to help you determine if a psychologist and psychotherapy are right for you, and to give you the first steps to solving your problem.

Potential benefits of a free initial consultation

During this first session: potential clients have the chance to learn more about you and your approach before agreeing to work together.

Offering a free consultation will help you build trust with the client. It shows them that you want to give them a chance to make sure you are the right person to help them before they move forward. Additionally, you should also be confident that you can support your clients and that the client has problems that you can help them cope with. Also, you can avoid any ethical difficult situations about charging a client for a session in which you choose not to proceed based on fit.

We've found that people are more likely to proceed with therapy after a free consultation, as it lowers the barrier to starting the process. Many people starting therapy are apprehensive about the unknown, even if they've had sessions before. Our culture associates a "risk-free" mindset with free offers, helping people feel more comfortable during the initial conversation with a specialist.

It's important to note that the initial consultation differs from a typical therapy session:

It can last from 15 to 30 minutes, with the specialist determining the appropriate length for this introductory meeting.

The free initial consultation is not intended to be a full therapy session. It is an opportunity for the client to learn more about the specialist and their approach to therapy, and to decide whether they want to work together.

The specialist should set clear boundaries for the free initial consultation, including the length of the session and the topics that can be discussed.

The specialist should be prepared to answer questions from the client about their experience, training, and qualifications.

The specialist should not give specific advice or recommendations during the free initial consultation. This should be done during a paid session.