Substance misuse affects much more than the individual using drugs or alcohol alone. In fact, it can also severely impact the family surrounding the person who is suffering. Fortunately, teen family therapy can help repair damaged relationships and improve communication. Call Foothills at Red Oak Recovery at 866.300.5275 to start a teen family therapy program today.
What Is Teen Family Therapy?
Teen family therapy is just one part of a comprehensive substance use treatment plan. It recognizes that often, substance use disorders can severely impact family relationships and that this emotional damage can have a lasting impact on recovery.
Family therapy benefits everybody involved. It helps the person struggling with a substance use disorder to make amends. It also helps families learn about the nature of substance use disorders. Furthermore, it can illuminate specific patterns of behavior or beliefs that may be making your child’s problems worse.
A teen family therapist plays an interesting role. On the one hand, they are there to help teens who struggle with substance use to set right the wrongs of the past. But on the other hand, they are passionate advocates for their clients and aren’t afraid to call out harmful patterns of behavior from family members.
As much as it may be painful to admit, sometimes the situation at home can be a contributing factor to a teenager’s substance use. This includes factors like:
- Pressure to succeed from parents
- Unhealthy communication styles
- Emotional or physical neglect
- Substance misuse from other members of the family
Teen family therapy benefits families by bringing these situations to light in a safe, controlled, and professional environment where healing can begin. Without such therapy, recovery is problematic.
Teen Family Therapy Options
Teen family therapy options typically fall into two camps: direct work with one family at a time and group family therapy with several sets of clients and their families. Each of these styles of therapy focuses on the same goals and can provide benefits for the family receiving them.
In therapy with a single family at a time, therapists, teenagers, parents, and siblings can work directly on issues that pertain solely to them. This setting provides an intimate space and is often the most comfortable for families to talk about their private lives. It may also be easier for your teenager to talk openly about their problems in this setting.
Group family therapy sessions bring multiple families together at once. This provides peer support for both parents and their children, which can help families work toward common goals of recovery and healing.
Family Therapy Effectiveness
Family therapy effectiveness is spread across several different goals. First, family therapy is an excellent way to improve the likelihood of your teenager’s long-term recovery.
Whether they are dealing with substance use problems or a mental health concern, family sessions can build meaningful support structures and help teens stay on the right path.
Family therapy is also tremendously effective at helping families deal with difficult emotions and situations. It teaches families how to overcome challenges together, focus on their unique strengths, and help each other in areas where they may have difficulty.
Family therapy doesn’t always solve conflicts or make a difficult situation disappear. However, it can help families learn to communicate their problems, support each other through them, and bring the entire family closer together.
Discover Teen Family Therapy Options at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery
If your child is struggling with a mental illness or substance use disorder, reach out to the team at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery by dialing 866.300.5275. Our treatment center for teenage boys has the tools, knowledge, and expertise to help teenagers and their families achieve recovery.
