Family Therapy and Addiction Treatment at Alcohol Rehab Centres in India

It’s no secret that mental health treatment can help people with mental health issues. More so than just addressing issues related to an individual, family therapy can strengthen entire family units by improving relationships and helping handle conflicts more efficiently. In addition to working directly with families who happen to be struggling with substance abuse or trauma-related problems, family therapy has proven quite effective as a complementary treatment option.

"Family therapy in substance abuse treatment can help by using the family's strengths and resources to find ways for the person who abuses alcohol or drugs to live without substances of abuse and to ameliorate the impact of chemical dependency on both the patient and the family, According to SAMHSA.”

Family therapy can help families become aware of their own needs and aid in the goal of keeping substance abuse from moving from one generation to another." [1]

Family Therapy is a must to help you improve your relationships with your partner, children, relatives, and any other family member. Family Therapy sessions are designed to help you solve family issues through discussions and activities.

Family counseling has its roots in the 1950s adding more of a systemic focus to previous understandings of the family's influence on an individual. Over the years, the models developed from family counseling vary and tend to look at either short-term treatment that addresses current issues as well as long-term counseling that involves helping members work on their inter-generational issues and ultimately help them better themselves. Family-based counseling in substance use disorder treatment reflects the model which focuses on how the family influences one member's substance use behaviors and how the family can learn to respond differently to that person's substance misuse. [2]

A family may choose to undergo family therapy when one of their members is suffering. It can also be used when the entire family feels that they need help improving their communication and relationships.

Families that have family members who are suffering from mental illness greatly benefit from engaging in family therapy. In situations like these, it is important to remind the afflicted individual of their ongoing treatment plan which includes taking medications as well as performing one-on-one therapy sessions.

Therapy activities that involve the entire family are very important in helping out when a situation becomes too much to handle, especially when it comes down to managing your emotions. It’s because being surrounded by loved ones will help you truly understand them better.

Family therapy for addressing substance use behaviors shares the same core principles of working with family systems. [3] These core principles include:

• Involving the entire family in a substance use disorder treatment program.
• Incorporating a non-blaming and supportive approach rather than an authoritative and confrontational method in which the counselor is the expert.
• Addressing harm reduction goals that are not abstinence through positive emotional, physical, and behavioral health such as healthy alternative lifestyle goals.
• Expanding outcome measures of “successful” treatment to include the health and well-being of the entire family, as well as the individual with the substance use disorder.
• Acknowledging the value of relationships within and outside of the family as critical sources of support and positive reinforcement.
• Appreciating how family counseling methods can be affected by the family's cultural beliefs and practices of the community they come from. [3]

Family counseling or family therapy activities exist because that’s exactly what this type of therapeutic care is used for. It’s a form of treatment that helps to build and grow relationships with your close family members. This relationship-building process is absolutely necessary because when your family is more likely to be there for you in times of trouble, you probably have more history with them than any other close friend.

Here are some common family therapy activities offered at most luxury rehab centres in India that you may come across during sessions with your therapist such as animal identification, family tree, genogram, talk while holding the ball, role-play, art therapy, etc.

Family Therapy in Top Rehabilitation Centre in India

If you are looking for family therapy options in the top 10 rehabilitation centres in India, make sure to keep in mind that more types of mental health professionals can provide helpful services. Among these, you can find clinical social workers, psychologists, or Licensed Professional Counselors. These therapists have graduate-level degrees or are licensed to offer couples therapy. Seeking marriage counseling? Make sure to look for a psychologist trained specifically to work with couples. A mental health professional specializing in family therapy will be able to help your family.

1. 1. Very well mind. Addiction Treatment Should Include Family Therapy- SAMHSA Releases Practical Guidelines for Counselors. Buddy T. Retrieved on 31st March 2022 from- https://www.verywellmind.com/addiction-treatment-should-include-family-therapy-67293
2. 2. Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Family Therapy: UPDATED 2020 [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2020. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 39.) Chapter 3—Family Counseling Approaches. Available from:- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK571088/
3. 3. Corless, J., Mirza, K. A. H., & Steinglass, P. (2009). Family therapy for substance misuse: The maturation of a field. Journal of Family Therapy, 31(2), 109–114. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6427.2009.00457. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229767119_Family_therapy_for_substance misuse_the_maturation_of_a_field

Dr. Niharika Singh received her MBBS degree from Kurukshetra University, following which she went on to complete MD Psychiatry from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore. During her residency program, she pursued her thesis on psychosocial factors and the personality profiles of early and late-onset alcohol dependence syndrome. With a view to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the field of mental health, she then continued to train regularly with premier institutes such as Harvard Medical School - McLean Hospital (USA) in Mind-Body Medicine, Beck Institute (USA) in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, NIMHANS (Bangalore) in Addiction Psychiatry, Behaviour Medicine, Clinical Neurophysiology and Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and has completed Fellowship in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation from Duke University (USA). After post-graduation, she decided to pursue her passion for writing and has a mission to inform the public about addiction issues. Her primary goal is to help those in need of treatment find the best option for them.

Asmita is a licensed clinical psychologist with experience in a wide variety of areas, including mood-related difficulties, anxiety, trauma, addictions, and personality disorders. She has completed her M. Phil in clinical psychology from the Post-graduate Institute of Behavioral and Medical Sciences (Raipur, India) in 2021. She has worked in diverse settings, including inpatient, and outpatient, and is currently practicing in a dual diagnosis facility. Asmita likes to simplify complex medical information on drugs, addiction, alcoholism, and treatment therapies to make them easy to read and understand and help this information reach those who need help.