Marriage and Family Therapy

Your family, marriage, and everything you’ve built with your partner can be put in jeopardy when someone in the relationship is struggling with addiction.

This is not something you can simply switch off, but at least you don’t have to do this on your own. You’re loved one’s addiction might be challenging, but that doesn’t mean you can’t overcome this obstacle with some help.

Why is Marriage Therapy Important?

The life you and your partner built is yours. It belongs to both of you, and this fact can make it hard to see why marriage and family therapy is so important. For a long time, you had your challenges, and you’ve been able to deal with difficulties together without opening up to strangers.

Family therapy asks you to open up to a stranger, but it’s important to remember that is a trained professional. It asks you to wash your dirty laundry, but the therapist is there to help you begin healing your wounds. It’s often said that in order to heal, you need to feel, and this is extremely true. This can be difficult for some people, but the reality is you should see this another way. Your loved one recognized the need for help, which is why a intensive outpatient program can be helpful.

The problems you are facing with your loved one can be challenging. You shouldn’t face these issues without a support system and without the tools needed to navigate what you’ll be going through. A trained professional can lead you onto the right path and assist in building a strong foundation.

How Can Family Therapy Help Your Loved One?

Undergoing family treatment is going to be uncomfortable at first but can be helpful in various ways. Being able to offer emotional and social support to your partner right now can make a world of difference. If you do this, you can reduce the chances of your loved one falling victim to his or her addiction after recovering.

The following are some things that are working against your loved one:

There are potential triggers that your loved one might not know about.
Stress can be linked to cravings, on top of the regular stressors in life.
One may have an inability to connect with a support system if those people haven’t been trained properly.

These are just some things that are working against your family. Marriage and family therapy is here to help you two come out of this. You are an essential part of your loved one’s support system, so being able to help is vital.

Now, this doesn’t mean success rests solely on you, which is something some partners start to feel. One of the things you’ll learn in therapy is that you aren’t in control; the best thing you can do is try to steer your loved one in the right direction and try to assist with some accountability.

If you are considering treatment for yourself or a loved one, call us today.

(310) 881-9151

What Does Marriage Therapy Involve?

The family therapy method differs as it depends on your needs, but the goal of the program is to make you two whole again. The fractures you’ve been through as a couple are hard to overcome. The following are some things you can expect from this kind of therapy:

You’ll get psychoeducational sessions that’ll help you, your partner, and your entire family. Here’s where you’ll learn to cope with the unfortunate illness that has affected your partner.
Communication education is going to be offered to you as well. The chances are that your ability to talk to each other has been hindered. This type of education is meant to teach you how to open up to each other again, which is important right now.
The situations you two might go through will be used to teach you how to understand each other. Experiential activities create potential scenarios for you two to work through as a way to train for the future.
You’ll learn about the twelve steps your loved one will go through.

The family treatment you are going to get offered won’t end there. You’ll be given access to private therapy or counseling, and you’ll learn more about the program. If you can see how much your loved one is trying, it might make it easier to support your partner during this crucial process.

Keep in mind that things can get worse before they get better, but you two will be able to manage things better after marriage and family therapy.

How Does One Prepare for Therapy?

The next thing you have to do is prepare for this kind of therapy. At this point, you two probably have a few battle scars, and that could make it hard for anyone to feel up for all of this. This is normal, but it’s important to remember the bigger picture, which is repairing your relationship for a better future.

If you both prepare, then this therapy should not feel so bad. You are doing this for each other and the good of your family. What you want to do is talk to your partner about what you what from the marriage therapy and allow him or her to do the same.

It’s okay if you don’t agree on every single detail as long as there are some goals you do agree on. Do your best to be respectful of what your partner wants or what his or her concerns are. Don’t allow yourself to think that your partner’s problems are bigger than yours.

The issues you both experience are equally important. Talking to your partner about this and coming to an understanding should make therapy much easier. Being able to air out issues and being on the same page helps you two commit to the therapy, which is sometimes the hardest thing for people to do.

Nexus Recovery Services knows that it took a lot for your loved one to seek out a good addiction program in LA, and we know how much strength it takes to seek help with your relationship. If you’d like more information about how Nexus can help you and your partner begin repairing your relationship, contact us today.

If you or a loved one are suffering from alcohol or drug addiction, we’re here to help. Contact us today and speak with one of our trusted recovery advisors.