Family Therapy in Illinois

Known for its thriving agriculture, numerous power plants, fascinating architecture, and scenic landscapes, Illinois is a state that seemingly has it all. However, there’s an ugly side to the Prairie State hiding in its serious drug abuse problem.

The rate of overdose deaths in Illinois is increasing at a devastating rate that has experts calling for all hands on deck. Opioid deaths, for example, jumped by 8.2% in 2022, an alarming sign that more efforts need to be invested in combating the state’s substance use issue.

Providing addiction treatment centers, implementing effective treatment techniques, and raising awareness are just some of the ways to help control this lethal epidemic. However, it’s also important to realize the impact of addiction on the community by understanding the consequences that not just the patients suffer from, but also their families.

Addiction is a chronic disorder that wounds many families in Illinois. The financial, legal, medical, and emotional aftermath affects parents, children, spouses, caregivers, friends, and loved ones of patients everyday.

One individual’s drug abuse struggle can cause the entire family structure to collapse. It breaks trust and isolates family members, leading to strained or severed relationships. This leaves patients hurting and without support and leaves their loved ones feeling abandoned and at loss.

This is why addiction treatment must address patients’ families just as much. Nowadays, treatment plans focus more on the family as an integral component of the recovery process. This guide will explain how all this works.

Table of Contents

The Impact of Addiction on Families
What Does Family Therapy Mean in Addiction Treatment?
How Does Family Therapy Affect Addiction Treatment?
What Are the Types of Family Therapy Available?
Conclusion: Seeking Family Support in Addiction Treatment
- References

The Impact of Addiction on Families

Addiction doesn’t only harm the person struggling with it, but rather everyone around them. The closer they are to people, the more these people get affected. That’s why we see parents, siblings, children, significant others, and friends suffering alongside patients all the time.

The family system can end up crumbling down under the stress of the hardships that addiction typically brings about. Some of the family issues that substance use disorders commonly causes among families include:

Financial Burdens

Probably the fastest and most easily noticeable impact of addiction on a family is the quick decline of their financial state.

Individuals with substance use disorder start draining the family’s resources to fuel their addiction and they usually lose control of when to stop.

It becomes more and more difficult to pay bills and stay employed, so they dig into any family savings and begin asking other family members for money to cover essentials like food.

Abandoned Responsibilities

A person suffering from addiction becomes more reckless as their problem develops, typically ending up neglecting their responsibilities. In this case, other family members are often forced to pick up their slack and fulfill their roles, usually at the expense of their own time, health, and financial stability.

Additionally, the irresponsible behavior of the individual with substance abuse disorder typically puts their family in a tight spot where they have to juggle their own life priorities along with the added responsibility of being present for the family member with the drug problem.

Distorted Relationship Dynamics

As a result of the person with the addiction abandoning their responsibilities, a shifting of roles occurs accompanied by a change in the relationship dynamics as other family members are pushed into taking on more responsibilities.

Not only can this cause feelings of worry or resentment from the family members, but also the patient may feel guilty and isolate themselves.

Higher Risk of Addiction

The presence of a person suffering from substance use disorder within the family increases the risk of other family members developing an addiction.

This can happen because living with such an individual can be extremely overwhelming which may push individuals into escaping the stress by taking drugs. Another possible scenario is when the person with the addiction problem is highly influential in another family member’s life that they start copying the devastating habit.

Increased Rate of Abuse

People suffering from substance use disorder are more prone to demonstrating irrational or erratic behavior. These outbursts are the result of drugs’ effects on the brain and they can be hurtful or even violent.

Yes, addiction can facilitate the occurrence of abuse, whether it’s verbal, physical, or sexual. This abuse can affect both adults and children, with data showing the following:

More than 1 in 10 children in the US live in homes where at least one adult has substance use disorder. The chances of those children suffering a form of abuse are nearly 100%.
Around 50% of individuals who commit acts of domestic violence have a drug abuse problem.
Parents with addiction typically overindulge their children with illicit substances, and 72% of these children experience verbal abuse, 27% are subjected to physical abuse, whereas 15% are victims of sexual abuse.

Higher Risk of Developing Mental Illness

Living or dealing with a family member suffering from addiction can turn into a major source of emotional distress for the entire family. Such a traumatic and draining situation makes people more vulnerable to developing behavioral problems and mental health conditions such as eating disorders, anxiety, and depression.

What Does Family Therapy Mean in Addiction Treatment?

In addiction treatment, family therapy is a type of talk therapy (scientifically called psychotherapy) that a marriage and family therapist provides. It’s also referred to as family counseling or family therapy.

This type of therapy focuses on resolving issues among family members of the patient with addiction. It utilizes a range of techniques, both short-term and long-term, tailored to each family’s unique needs and teaches them valuable coping mechanisms such as communication, expression, and problem-solving.

Family therapy considers the emotions and struggles of the whole family as a unit, not just the patient’s feelings and traumas as in individual therapy. It aims to reestablish the trust among members of the family to restore the sense of security and comfort for everyone impacted by the addiction.

As part of the treatment plan, the family therapist meets with the patient’s family members, close relatives, or any loved ones. The sessions are scheduled for a certain number of times per week and last a few hours.

How Does Family Therapy Affect Addiction Treatment?

Family therapy can be highly beneficial for addiction treatment as follows:

It reduces stigma and blame, promoting an understanding attitude and better mental well-being.
It eases tension and emotional distress among family members, providing support for everyone involved in the recovery process.
It reduces rifts and feelings of isolation by fostering a sense of belonging and rebuilding connections.
It improves the communication and expression of concerns and feelings, which helps patients discover the roots of their addiction.
It helps in recognizing enabling behaviors and developing healthier ways to deal with patients as they recover.

What Are the Types of Family Therapy Available?

Mental health professional use four main approaches when providing family therapy, including:

Systemic therapy: During this approach, the healthcare professional observes how the members interact while staying neutral or distant. It focuses on unconscious cues and underlying meaning associated with certain words or actions.
Strategic therapy: This approach concentrates on giving family members growth tools such as assignments that enable a more direct intervention.
Structural family therapy: This approach is based on active involvement and generally addresses family dynamics and boundaries.
Bowenian therapy: This strategy implements an intergenerational approach to pinpoint negative patterns and establish healthy communication techniques. It’s often the go-to choice for patients who don’t want their family to be involved in their recovery.

Besides these four approaches, there are multiple family therapy practices and types that a therapist can introduce, such as:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): A type of behavioral therapy that focuses on creating links between feelings, thoughts, and actions.
Functional Family Therapy (FFT): A type of therapy that aims to help families with adolescent addiction patients. It focuses on enhancing family interactions and eliminating underlying problematic dynamics.
Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT): This technique is also used to curb unhealthy dynamics in families of adolescent patients by adopting structural and strategic methods.
Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT): This type of therapy targets long-term couples and uses positive activities and rewards to encourage not taking drugs. One commonly employed tool here is “Recovery Contracts”.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): This type of behavioral therapy is a branch of CBT and aims to help patients and family members pinpoint the triggers of their urges and substance use habits. It helps in developing better coping strategies for controlling cravings and regulating feelings.

Conclusion: Seeking Family Support in Addiction Treatment

Overcoming addiction can be a challenging journey for both the patient and their family. If you need support to help you reconnect and navigate the recovery journey, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.

At Illinois Recovery Center, we’ll provide a personalized treatment plan using evidence-based approaches depending on your needs and goals to ensure effective recovery, rebuild relationships, improve family functioning, and avoid relapse.

References

Published on: 2024-07-13
Updated on: 2024-09-10

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