The question of how to best support your loved one in treatment is a common one. Having the desire to help and offer support is strong, especially among family members. This urge is also present among friends and found family, proving that love is not an exclusive concept. Treatment for an addiction, mental health disorder, or condition can be difficult. Those who attempt to undergo treatment with no support are less successful than those with an active support network. However, what type of support you give can also make a difference in your loved one’s treatment and recovery.
That’s why at Driftwood Recovery, care is taken to nurture and strengthen the relationships between those in treatment and their loved ones. If you want to know how to best support your loved one, nothing beats being able to speak with a mental health care professional. There, they can walk you through what healthy and unhealthy support looks like, leaving you able to properly and lovingly support your loved one.
Treatment is not just a place for an individual to achieve recovery. It is also a place of education about mental health. This foundation learned at a treatment facility can then be applied to other avenues in your life, creating more healthy and wholesome relationships.
To better learn how to best support your loved one, it’s good to know what unhealthy support looks like.
How to Not Support Your Loved One
It’s not unusual to want to support your loved one during treatment. However, there is a right way and a wrong way of going about it. Many people believe that “tough love” is helpful, berating and insulting their loved one in the hopes that they will “shape up.” This is extremely detrimental to a person’s mental health, and this tough attitude can banish the confidence and drive needed to seek and stick with treatment.
Enabling is another serious problem, especially for those with loved ones recovering from addiction. Never bring prohibited items to your loved ones while they are in treatment. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but these items and substances are prohibited for a very good reason. Sneaking in items that your loved one should not have can trigger a relapse and set back recovery. If you are unsure of what is and isn’t allowed while visiting your loved one, speak to a staff member.
Giving no support at all is perhaps the worst thing you can do. Those in treatment with an active support network achieve successful recovery faster and more smoothly than someone without one. Not interacting with your loved one in treatment can make them feel abandoned and even depressed. After all, why work hard if the people they love won’t acknowledge their accomplishments? Providing healthy support, however, can make all the difference in the world in terms of their drive to succeed.
Supporting Your Loved One Through the Courageous Family Program
Thankfully, there is a way to learn how to healthily support your loved one while they are in treatment. At Driftwood Recovery, it is strongly believed that the connection between loved ones is important for the healing and recovery process. That is why families of those in treatment have access to the Courageous Family program. This program exists as a way to bridge the gap between clients and their families by promoting healthy relationships and furthering understanding. Running two and a half days each month, this program helps you better support your loved one by:
- Improving communication skills
- Understanding the nature of addiction and other conditions
- Experiencing what treatment is like
- Fostering compassion and understanding for everyone
Utilizing this program also teaches family and friends how to provide healthy support. At Driftwood Recovery, new clients spend their first week with limited contact with loved ones to help them reflect and acclimate to treatment. After this period, clients and their loved ones are encouraged to make regular contact. This is not a place where clients are locked up with no contact. Family and friends are welcome to schedule visits, make phone calls, and send letters.
If you have a loved one in treatment at Driftwood Recovery, be sure to speak with a staff member. They will help you utilize the Courageous Family program, as well as help you get treatment for yourself. Having a loved one struggling with a condition can be difficult. Individualized and family therapy can help everyone get the help they need for a healthier family unit.
Small Acts That Support Your Loved One
There are many small ways that you can support your loved one in treatment. The easiest of them all is to simply remind them that you love them. Many conditions, such as addiction, carry a lot of shame and stigma. Knowing that you are loved despite it all can give someone the drive they need to stick with treatment.
Staying in contact is another small way to support your loved one. You can write a heartfelt letter or make a phone call. Letters are always appreciated, as they can be kept and reread during times of difficulty. Sometimes, something as simple as a letter urging your loved one not to give up can be enough to keep them focused on treatment.
Educating other family members about conditions and their treatment is another way to show support. It helps other family members understand their loved one better, as well as de-stigmatize mental health treatment. Being active and involved in a loved one’s recovery shows that you took the time to understand and support them instead of ignoring their journey. This mindset often is what keeps people in recovery and can prevent a relapse.
The love we hold for each other can be incredibly healing. With this love and support, anything is possible, including recovery.
For those who have loved ones in treatment, it can be hard to know the best way to support them. It’s common to worry about offering the wrong support or doing something that will jeopardize their recovery. It can feel like you are alone, and their success rests solely on your shoulders. That’s why at Driftwood Recovery in Driftwood and Austin, Texas, care is taken to bridge the gap between clients and their loved ones. Those with loved ones in treatment at Driftwood Recovery gain access to compassionate mental health care professionals who offer advice and guidance. If you have a loved one in treatment and want to know how to best support them, call (512) 759-8330 today.