The facilities within Acadia Healthcare’s treatment network offer comprehensive services to help the loved ones of those who are struggling with mental health and/or addiction concerns.
Our Commitment
Substance abuse, addiction, mental illness, and behavioral health concerns can have a profoundly negative impact on the quality of an individual’s life. Physical harm, psychological damage, destroyed relationships, financial ruin, and a loss of independence are just some of the many ways that these challenges can affect an individual.
Yet, when a person has been abusing alcohol or other drugs, or has been struggling with mental or behavioral health conditions, they are not the only one whose life is disrupted. These challenges can also have a negative impact on the lives of family members, close friends, and others who care about and/or depend on the individual who is suffering.
At Acadia Healthcare, we understand the many ways that mental illness and addiction affect the loved ones of those we treat. We also recognize the significant role that friends and family members can play in supporting their loved one’s ongoing recovery. For this reason, we are proud to incorporate a variety of family support elements into the programming we offer at the treatment facilities within our international network.
Our commitment to family support begins even before a person enters programming at one of our treatment facilities. Our admissions and intake teams are happy to speak with friends and family members who contact our programs to inquire about treatment options for a loved one or to discuss the various services that we offer. Once the admissions process has begun, we also welcome the active and ongoing involvement of parents, spouses, and other important people in the lives of those who are receiving our care. Their insights can assist us in developing effective treatment plans, and their presence may have a calming and reassuring effect as their loved one prepares to begin treatment.
Once care at an Acadia treatment facility has begun, family support can take many forms. Every type of family intervention is designed to give loved ones the resources, support, and encouragement they need to help those in treatment, while also finding healing of their own.
Parent Support
When a child or adolescent enters treatment with us, we work diligently to ensure that parents or guardians remain an active presence in their child’s life. Starting with the admission process and continuing through until the time of discharge, we want parents to know that they have an essential role to play in their child’s treatment. We want to equip them with the skills and strategies that will allow them to best support their child both while they are in our care and after they return home.
Parents or guardians can expect to receive regular updates on their child’s therapeutic and academic progress throughout their time in treatment. We also incorporate family therapy sessions into the majority of treatment plans for children and adolescents. These sessions, which can occur in person or over the phone, provide a structured and supportive forum for parents and children to openly and honestly discuss the things that may have caused their family unit to deteriorate. They also provide families with opportunities to learn how they can better communicate with one another in the future.
Family Therapy
Family therapy is not limited to parents or guardians who have children receiving care at an Acadia treatment facility. The behavioral health and addiction challenges that adults struggle with will also have an impact on their family members and loved ones. Additionally, there are times when the loved ones of those in our care may be contributing to various aspects of their struggles. For these reasons, family therapy sessions can be an essential component of a successful treatment experience.
The specific relationships that the adults in our care have with their loved ones will determine who may participate in family therapy sessions. The needs of the person who is receiving care is always our priority, so the staff at our treatment facilities ensure that the people who become involved in their treatment is limited to those whom they are comfortable with. Family therapy sessions may include parents, spouses, partners, close friends, children, extended relatives, etc.
Clinical staff members at Acadia’s treatment facilities design family therapy sessions with the intention of achieving three general objectives:
- To provide a structured and supportive forum in which loved ones can address the way that their lives have been impacted by the symptoms of the mental illness or the addiction that the individual in treatment is suffering from
- To help heal wounds and divisions that may be preventing positive family growth and unification, and to help them learn how to function in a healthier, more productive manner that benefits all of them as individuals, as well as benefits the family as a whole
- To teach loved ones how to provide the support that their loved one will need to successfully pursue long-term recovery after they complete treatment
Family Education
Many of the programs within Acadia’s network of treatment facilities offer educational services to improve the ability of loved ones to understand what the individual in treatment has been experiencing. Family education can take place in a group setting, over the phone, or via resource materials that staff members provide. Examples of topics that may be included in family education sessions include the disease model of addiction, the impact of addiction on the family, and in-depth information about specific mental illnesses or behavioral health concerns.
Family Support
Just as we understand that treatment is just one component of the long-term recovery process for the individual receiving treatment, we also realize that family members can benefit from ongoing support. Many Acadia programs will introduce family members to support organizations and similar community-based resources that are located near where they live. Though these support services may not be directly affiliated with Acadia Healthcare, we understand the importance of ensuring that family members have access to such resources, and we are proud to provide referrals and similar introductions for the betterment of those we treat and their loved ones.
Learn More
For more information about how Acadia Healthcare is uniquely prepared to help friends and family members of individuals who are in need of behavioral healthcare services, please contact one of our treatment facilities in your area. We look forward to answering all of your questions and helping you discover the ways that we can help your loved one.