Family Therapy Program

Steps Recovery Center recognizes how vital the mind, body, and spirit are in their connection to the whole person. We take a holistic approach to treating opiate addiction that includes treating the whole person, and find that it tends to be more successful, especially since addiction affects every aspect of a person’s life. With a customized and individualized program that includes family therapy, a holistic approach just makes sense. It affords an opportunity to meet the patient’s physical and psychological needs and allows them to engage physically, emotionally, and mentally

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What is a Family Therapy Program?

What Does Family Therapy Entail?

Family Therapy Models

What is a Family Therapy Program?

In a recovery center, often, you will see programs geared toward family involvement. This therapy is a collection of therapeutic approaches that share a belief in family-level assessment and intervention. When something happens to one part of the family, the rest is affected; therefore, for a family unit to function again, family therapy programs are needed. When using this point of view, therapy can strengthen and bring about change in various problem areas, including substance abuse.

Family therapy has two primary purposes: it seeks to use the family’s strengths and resources to help discover new ways to live without addiction, and it mitigates the impact of chemical dependency on both the individual and the family. Basic support is needed to marshal the family’s strengths in this process.

What Does Family Therapy Entail?

According to the National Institutes of Health, in family therapy, the unit of treatment is the family and the individual within the context of the family system. Therefore, the person abusing substances is regarded as a subsystem within the family unit and whose symptoms have severe consequences throughout the family system. The familial relationships within this subsystem are the points of therapeutic interest and intervention.

The therapist facilitates discussion and problem-solving sessions involving the entire family, or maybe just one participant, such as a parent or even the person with the substance abuse disorder. Note that family-involved therapy and family therapy is distinct in that the former educates families about the relationship patterns that generally contribute to the formation and continuation of substance abuse. Family therapy has its origins in the 1950s, adding a systemic focus to previous understandings of the family, in which it recognized that:

A whole system is more than a sum of its parts.
Parts of a system are interconnected.
Specific rules determine the functioning of the system.
Promoting or guarding against system chaos or disorder is a powerful dynamic in the family system, balancing change of the family roles and rules.

Family Therapy Models

Family therapy has evolved over the years, with many variations on the family therapy theme. One consistent thing is that it involves a therapist meeting with several family members. They could treat the addict’s spouse, children in age groups, or members of a residential treatment setting. It may or may not also involve the addict themselves.

Most family therapy programs meetings take place in private practice settings or a clinic or recovery treatment center. It can also take place in a residence, where privacy and a feeling of comfort can help overcome stigma, shame, and resistance. Also, meeting the family in their own home provides valuable information about how the family functions in real-time.

There are four main therapy models used as the basis for treatment and specific interventions for substance abuse:

Family disease model
Family systems model
Cognitive-behavioral approaches
Multidimensional family therapy

Goals of Family Therapy

Family therapy not only helps families become aware of their needs, but it provides genuine and enduring healing for members. It works to shift power to the parental figures in a family and to improve communication. Family therapy can answer questions, including

What impact does a parent abusing substances have on their children?
Why should children or adolescents be involved in the treatment of a parent or sibling who abuses substances?
What is the impact of substance abuse on non-addicts?
How does adolescent abuse affect adults?

Whether an adult or child abuses substances, it doesn’t matter. The entire family unit needs to change—not just the person abusing the substance. Family therapy assists the family in making interpersonal, intrapersonal, and environmental changes, thus helping to affect change in the individual abusing substances. It fosters openness and support and love for every member, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the addict.

Joy Downen

10 weeks ago

This place is so wonderful and all of the staff care so very much! They are very professional and they know what they are doing. Absolutely amazing facility and staff!!!

Nathan Frame

28 weeks ago

Steps Recovery is the place you go if you want a caring and understanding program. They have helped me gain knowledge about myself and what I want/need to do. The staff there can relate and help you through core issues and they push you to do better because being in this program you know you can do big and amazing things. Also the therapists there are awesome and walk with you through struggles of life and give you the tools you truly need. Overall this place is an amazing opportunity and you’d be missing out on a lot if you chose to not at least try this program.

Shaylesa Stulce

46 weeks ago

Steps Recovery in St. George has been amazing! I’m so excited to use the tools that I’ve learned here! The staff is amazing, and very understanding! I would recommend them to anyone struggling with addiction!

Adam Kelly

47 weeks ago

What I liked most about my time at Steps is the atmosphere that was presented during my whole stay. I have done a lot of treatment centers and this one is by far the one I have felt I gained the most from. I would highly recommend Steps to anybody struggling with addiction!

Gary Hanson

47 weeks ago

Steps saved our daughter’s life as well as her kids!

Natalie Painter

Jan 1, 2019

The staff and facility is amazing- Couldn’t ask for anything better. The program is well rounded with rec activities, equine therapy, gender therapy, group therapy, individual and couples therapy, and also attends various 12 Step support groups such as AA or NA. They also have family therapy and processing with options for individual settings or in a group. These help families understand what their loved ones who suffer from addiction is going through and how to support them, and also gives them their own support system.

BRIAN MEYER

Nov 13, 2018

This place saved my life! The therapists were very helpful, friendly and really cared about the clients wellbeing. The tech’s were alway helpful with meds and anything that was needed. House manager was amazing, had high expectations on job duties, and kept a very clean organized atmosphere. Food was always amazing. I never went hungry! The information and skills that I have learned and applied to my life are priceless. If you’re not willing to put forth the work to change your life this is not your place, but if you are this is the first Step to take. I Love everyone at Steps. Thank you for all your help

Matthew Cromar

Aug 10, 2018

I’d been to other recovery centers before but this one was the best, it stuck because I was willing to do the work, and with the help I received from staff I am now celebrating a year of sobriety in a couple of days. Update; I’m now 18 months sober as of yesterday and I still keep in touch with my steps family. The lessons I learned at steps will stick with me for the rest of my life. Thank you for giving me my life back.

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Family Therapy Program