Family Support Groups

When a member of your family is an addict, it affects the whole family and anyone else involved. Most family members are desperate to find a way to help that individual, they just don’t know how. Life becomes focused around the addict and their problems. Family members live with fear and tend to blame themselves. If you are looking for help, Aspire Counseling Services offers help not just for the individuals struggling with alcohol and substance abuse, but also provides help for their family members.

Addicts whose family members attend support groups tend to have higher rates of successful recovery. That is because the family members learn skills to help the addict, help themselves, and help others within the group. Support groups teach family members how to establish healthy boundaries and avoid enabling their loved ones. Sharing experiences with each other helps families to relieve the stress they are dealing with, gain insight from others, and develop coping techniques.

Because we love our family members we want to support and protect them. Often that leads to us providing support that is actually harmful to the addict. If we protect them from the consequences of their addiction, there is little motivation to stop the substance abuse. By paying their bills, or providing them with housing, or lying to cover for them with work, family, or friends, all we are doing is enabling that individual to continue their addictive behavior. Until they are forced to face the consequences of their addictive behavior, they will likely not begin their journey to recovery.

Family members may know and be aware that they are enabling their loved one’s addictive behavior, but not know how to stop because of worry and fear of what will happen. This is where the family support groups help. Learning that others feel the same way, about the success and failures others have experienced, and how others have learned to develop healthy boundaries, helps family members to heal themselves and face the challenges. It is hard to stand by and watch your loved one reach rock bottom, maybe by becoming homeless or being arrested. Sharing that fear and shame with others who have experienced similar situations helps family members to heal and manage those concerns.

The goal of family support groups is to help family members learn to change their focus from their addicted loved ones to themselves. Family members will learn to deal with their own problems and heal themselves. Once they learn to focus on themselves, and how to develop healthy boundaries, then they can truly help their loved ones to fight their addiction.

Aspire Counseling Services has expert counselors that lead the various family support groups offered. The experienced counselors create a safe space for family members to share their fears, frustrations, sorrow, and anger. By sharing and listening to others share, family members will grow, learn, and be able to help their loved one in the fight against addiction. If you have a family member dealing with addiction, contact Aspire Counseling Services for help.