How Family Therapy Can Boost Long-Term Recovery

Recovery Goals of Family Therapy

Like other treatments belonging to an individualized plan of substance abuse care, family therapy is most effective when it addresses the specific needs and goals of the particular family affected by substance abuse. These will depend on family structure, which in twenty-first century America can vary widely: a “family” may constitute the more traditional, two-parent household; it may also refer to childless couples, single parents with children, gay or lesbian couples, unattached elderly persons or co-habitant best friends. Families considering therapy thus do well to consult a certified family therapy provider for an initial assessment of their specific needs and goals.

In more general terms, however, family therapy seeks to achieve the following goals, the completion of which often predicts better recovery outcomes:

• Improved family functioning
• Increased self-awareness about patterns of relating
• Stronger mutual understanding, emotional connection and support
• Improved daily coping and problem-solving skills

Family Therapy for Teen Substance Abuse

One of the ways family therapy has proven effective is in the area of parental drug abuse intervention (and prevention) with at-risk teens. Child and adolescent mental health depends to a great degree on the strength of the parent-child relationship, after all — so much so that early disruptions in this critical relationship carry negative repercussions that persist well into adulthood. Greater susceptibility to substance abuse is one of these repercussions.

Still other studies have emphasized the important role of parents in addressing underage drinking. Strong family bonds and strong parental involvement, including parental monitoring and clear rules of family conduct, are among some of the most crucial factors in protecting teens from alcohol abuse, according to a research-based guide for parents by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

It follows that family therapy which promotes parenting skills, family functioning and adolescent health, and which addresses home and school-related problems, yields positive treatment outcomes for teens at risk of substance abuse. And so the studies indicate. For example, when researchers at Columbia University followed 63 families receiving therapy for teen drug abuse, they found the following treatment outcomes just one year later:

• A marked decrease in symptoms of teen drug abuse
• Greater family cohesion
• Less family conflict
• Strong gains in family functioning and youth outcomes

Elsewhere, researchers at the University of Miami have documented a number of clinical studies showing how “Brief Strategic Family Therapy” (BSFT) an approach that identifies and corrects unhealthy patterns of family interaction, reduces teen drug abuse.   In contrast to the families that received generic group therapy, the families that received BSFT reportedly experienced “significantly greater reductions in self-reported marijuana use,” with 60 percent of the BSFT-receiving teens reporting an improvement there.

Among the University of Miami findings was another study showing that BSFT boosted drug-using adolescents’ engagement in recovery — and the greater the engagement, the better the long-term treatment outcome.

Family Therapy for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

An extensive body of research in the area of alcoholism and alcohol abuse also attests to how family therapy can facilitate recovery and prevent relapse, as summarized by the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA). These empirical findings include the following observations related to individuals with alcohol use disorders:

• Family involvement boosts both their compliance with treatment and their treatment outcomes.
• The participation in therapy of just one “supportive significant other” (not just spouses but also an adult’s parent, grandparent, child or best friend) improves both their retention and treatment outcomes.
• Their motivation to change depends greatly on the support and pressure of family members and “significant others.”

Family Therapy for Co-Occurring Disorders

The presence of a mood disorder or other co-occurring mental illness correlates with a higher risk of substance abuse and can compromise treatment outcomes for drug or alcohol addiction. In this overlapping domain of mental health, family therapy has proven effective, too, thereby also boosting substance abuse treatment outcomes. For example, patients with depression who received couple’s therapy alone “did significantly better” than those who received an antidepressant alone, according to findings published in the journal Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. Additionally, schizophrenic patients with relatives receiving family intervention evidenced both higher rates of medication compliance and lower rates of relapse, in a 2010 study.

Related Articles :

Why Addiction Is a Family Disease

How Family Therapy Can Improve Communication Skills in Recovery

How Family Involvement Improves Recovery from a Dual Diagnosis

Families in Recovery

How to Talk to Your Family about Participating in a Family Program