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Drug Addiction Facts > The Family Approach to Drug Addiction Treatment

The Family Approach to Drug Addiction Treatment

By Stephanie Loebs

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When you visit a trusted center of rehabilitation for drug and alcohol treatment, you may hear how the involvement of an addict's family is important to the recovery process. Indeed, the love and support of parents, siblings, and other close relatives can help diminish an addict's desire to abuse drugs - by offering a saner, healthier alternative to the substances used to fill various voids.

Yet, for some family members, there may not be immediate awareness of a problem. Once there is, some may have difficulty deciding how to approach the addicted loved one and help with getting him or her to recovery. Thankfully, many reputable drug rehab clinics have in place effective family programs that educate everyone involved.

If you suspect a family member of abusing marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, or painkillers, it is important to remain calm and weigh your options. Time, of course, is of the essence, as you will want to act quickly before further physical and mental damage can be done. Consulting with counselors and physicians at a reputable rehabilitation clinic can prepare you for the proper intervention procedures needed to get your loved one into recovery.

Ironically, the abuser's ability to get "high" from the alcohol or drug gradually decreases as his body adapts to the presence of foreign chemicals. They must take more and more drugs or alcohol, not just to get an effect but often just to function at all.

Once enrolled, your loved one may benefit from a program where family members are actively involved in counseling and support. Group therapy and similar exercises allow family to become closer in this time, perhaps learning more about each other - dreams, conflicts, and desires - than had been previously known. Some activities one might engage in during a family recovery program include:

  • Meaning of Serenity, the Serenity Prayer
  • Understanding Addiction
  • Disease and its Progression
  • Identifying & Understanding other types of compulsions
  • Relapse Prevention
  • Family Illness of Addiction
  • Definition of Co-Dependency
Researchers say it is not clear what mechanisms link early alcohol use to behavior problems later in life. It may be that alcohol disrupts the development of adequate social and academic skills that are needed to succeed later in life. Or early alcohol use may signal that an individual is predisposed to use drugs and develop other behavioral problems.
  • Enabling defined & Behaviors Identified
  • Growing up with addicted Parents
  • Needs in Recovery for Family Members
  • Al-Anon
  • How to Get Started
  • Detachment
  • Understanding Family Recovery
  • Communication & Feelings

More importantly, family recovery programs allow loved ones to communicate better with each other. The more open the dialog, the better the chances of recovery for the addict, and the better the chances for prolonged sobriety.

Drugs are chemicals that tap into the brain’s communication system and disrupt the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. There are at least two ways that drugs are able to do this: (1) by imitating the brain’s natural chemical messengers, and/or (2) by overstimulating the “reward circuit” of the brain.

Stephanie Loebs is the executive director of Williamsburg Place, one of the top drug rehab clinics in the nation. Williamsburg Place aids those who suffer from drug and/or alcohol addiction, and specializes in caring for health care professionals. For over twenty years Williamsburg Place and its joint rehabilitation center, the William J. Farley Center, have helped thousands of people from all walks of life take back their lives and overcome substance abuse.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_Loebs

Although it is true that for most people the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary, over time the changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person’s self control and ability to make sound decisions, and at the same time send intense impulses to take drugs.

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Nearly all drugs, directly or indirectly, target the brain’s reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that control movement, emotion, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which normally responds to natural behaviors that are linked to survival (eating, spending time with loved ones, etc), produces euphoric effects in response to the drugs. This reaction sets in motion a pattern that “teaches” people to repeat the behavior of abusing drugs.

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