Addicts in Colorado drug rehab cannot be successful in treatment without support from friends and family members that care about them and want to help. It is not easy, however, to provide the support an addicted family member needs in order to recover. Family members of addicts need to find support themselves in order to give support to their addicted loved one.

Reasons Support for Family Members Matters

Addiction is a complex disease, and the reasons why someone falls into addiction are not always easily understood. Family members may be tempted to blame themselves for the addiction. They also may not understand how some aspects of family dynamics contributed to the disease’s development. Getting support like family therapy can help you get a better understanding of your loved one’s addiction.

Anger, shock, and discouragement are perfectly understandable reactions to learning that a loved one is struggling with addiction. Support groups and therapy are also good ways to work through these feelings and get help in dealing with them before they become destructive to yourself and even to the addicted family member.

Where to Find Support

Just as recovering addicts may attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), family members of addicts in or out of recovery can attend Al-Anon or Nar-Anon to get support for themselves, learn about the addiction, and learn how to best help their loved ones as they go through treatment and into recovery.

There are many other groups besides those related to AA or NA that provide support for families and help them figure out how to deal with an addicted loved one.  The following groups are more specific to various needs under the umbrella of addiction.

Codependents Anonymous deals with the common situation in which addicts and their family members become codependent on each other in unhealthy ways that contribute to the addiction. A family member who repeatedly helps an addict get drugs or alcohol or bails them out when they get in trouble may be codependent and need help to understand and stop these harmful behaviors.

Dual Recovery Anonymous specifically provides help for family members that have a dual diagnosis of addiction and a mental health disorder.

Learn To Cope is available in Massachusetts and online, and focuses on addictions to opiates and other prescription narcotics.

Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (PAL) Groups provide a supportive environment for parents whose children struggle with addiction.

Inpatient treatment facilities may also offer family therapy and family support groups. If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with addiction, Recovery Village at Palmer Lake is a Colorado drug rehab that provides treatment for addiction to alcohol and all kinds of drugs and also offers family therapy options. Contact us to find out about all our programs and how we support family members of those we treat.

Medical Disclaimer

The Recovery Village at Palmer Lake aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers.