Family Advice for Drug and Alcohol Rehab
Addiction and mental health crises affect the whole family, and getting a loved one to accept help takes courage and patience. At The Cabin Chiang Mai, our counsellors support families before, during and after treatment, from the first phone consultation and intervention planning, to progress updates while your loved one is in rehab, and including lifetime access to our weekly group therapy sessions for clients and families after they leave.
Drug and alcohol addiction, and the mental health struggles that so often come with it, affect the person and their whole family. Oftentimes, we are asked by the family for advice to get their loved one into drug and alcohol rehab. Taking the initial steps to rehab is not always easy. It takes courage, determination and patience. Your loved one may be so deep in their drug or alcohol addiction that they may not want help. They may not even believe they have an alcohol or drug problem. It may take a few members of the family coming together to have an intervention and talk to a loved one about their alcohol or drug use and mental health.
The good news is that family members can have the most influence over someone struggling with addiction. As long as they come from a place of love, concern and compassion, a spouse or a parent may have the power to help a loved one see they have a problem. Getting a loved one into a drug and alcohol rehab programme is one of the best ways to help them begin healing and to rebuild their lives.
At The Cabin Chiang Mai, we understand the important role that family plays in getting a loved one into rehab.
We also know that addiction rarely stands alone. Many of the people who come to us are also living with depression, anxiety, burnout, PTSD, trauma or other mental health conditions, and for some, the mental health struggle is the main challenge. We treat the whole person, the addiction as well as the mental health conditions that so often sit alongside it or drive it. So whether your loved one’s main difficulty is drink or drugs, their mental health, or both, you are in the right place. You can read more about our approach to mental health.
Family Advice and Consultation Services – Pre-Drug and Alcohol Rehab
Our drug and alcohol rehab centre receives calls and emails on a daily basis from concerned mothers, fathers, spouses, brothers and other extended family members. We consult with worried family members who are struggling with a loved one’s addiction to drugs or alcohol.
No one wants their loved one to suffer, and will do whatever it takes to get them the help they need. Picking up the phone and calling our rehab centre for a family consultation is the first step in transitioning your loved one to rehab.
We understand that addiction takes a heavy toll. Oftentimes, the family members who contact us for a consultation have been through a lot, and our role is to help you take the next steps in getting your loved one into drug and alcohol rehab. The goal of our family consultation services is to make this transition as manageable as possible. Our counsellors can provide the guidance and encouragement you need during this critical period.
As part of our drug and alcohol rehab family consultation services, we will:
- Provide you with a phone consultation about your family member’s addiction to drugs or alcohol
- Discuss our different treatment options to determine what programme best fits your loved one’s drug or alcohol addiction needs, including any mental health conditions alongside it
- Consult with you and other family members on strategies to help get your loved one into rehab
- Review our alcohol, drug, or mental health rehab programme details, including treatment methods
- Help you to make travel arrangements to our rehab centre upon request
How to start the conversation
There is rarely a perfect moment, but a few things make the conversation more likely to land. Choose a calm, private time when your loved one is not under the influence. Speak from concern rather than blame, since “I love you and I am worried about you” opens more doors than “you need to sort yourself out.” Be specific about what you have noticed, and listen more than you plan to. The goal of the first conversation is often just to keep the door open, not to get a yes. If you are not sure how to begin, our team can help you plan it before you have it.
What to do if your loved one refuses
A no is not the end. Many people who eventually accept help refuse it the first time it is offered. You can keep the relationship and the door open without approving of the behaviour, set honest limits and hold them calmly, and get support for yourself in the meantime. When someone repeatedly refuses, or the situation is becoming dangerous, a professional interventionist can help, and we can talk you through whether that is the right step.
“The Cabin is an incredible place. From afar, the care and communication we received in respect of my brother was exceptional. If you are struggling with long-term addiction and mental health issues, this place will hold and support you; in addition, their accompanying family programme is brilliant and has been really helpful for us. This journey is not easy, but there is hope, and I will forever be grateful to The Cabin for getting us to this point so far. Thank you.”
Willow G.
If you are interested in The Cabin for yourself or a loved one, call our admissions Team today!
Family Therapy Services – During Drug and Alcohol Rehab
Drug and alcohol addiction affects the whole family, not only the person using. When one member of the family is struggling with addiction, it naturally leads to stress in the house and causes other family members to unconsciously adopt difficult beliefs and behaviours to cope with the situation. This is why it is important that the family also receive therapy at the same time as their loved one, and research supports family involvement in improving long-term recovery.
Here at The Cabin Chiang Mai, we work to involve the family throughout treatment, before, during and after. Where appropriate, family members are brought into their loved one’s care and learn about addiction and how it is treated. We also help identify the roles family members have been adopting and how to support their loved one’s recovery once they return home.
We understand that relationships are often strained by addiction and mental health crises, and assisting families in taking the first steps in rebuilding relationships is a fundamental part of this work.
Family Therapy Services – After Drug and Alcohol Rehab
Recovery does not end when your loved one leaves treatment, and neither does The Cabin’s support for the family. The weeks and months after someone comes home are often the hardest, and they are when steady family support matters most. Our family programme continues well beyond the residential stay.
Alongside your loved one’s continuing care, our Peer Support Network runs ongoing group sessions for families, led by our clinical team, with separate groups for spouses and for parents, because the strain and the questions are different for each. The sessions are practical and clinical rather than a self-help format, and they run online, so you can take part wherever you are in the world.
What this includes:
- Ongoing group sessions for families, continuing after your loved one’s residential treatment ends
- Separate spaces for partners and for parents, addressing the different pressures each carries, such as worry, resentment and codependency
- Practical guidance on setting boundaries, communicating, and understanding what you can and cannot control
- Delivered online, so distance is no barrier, at no cost and with lifetime access, for families of our clients
The period after treatment is where recovery is most fragile, and where families are most often left without support. Staying connected through this stage protects your own wellbeing and gives your loved one the steadier home that lasting recovery depends on.
Other Family Consultation Services available During Drug and Alcohol Rehab
We understand that as a family you will naturally be concerned about your loved one during their stay at our drug and alcohol rehab centre.
On advance request, we can provide you with:
- Updates on your loved one’s progress through their drug and alcohol rehab programme
- Coordinate an optional visit between family members and loved ones at our rehab centre if you are unable to take part in the family sessions. Please note that such a visit can only be facilitated on approval of the client’s personal counsellor.
If your loved one has been to rehab before
When someone you love has already been to treatment, and it did not hold, you are not simply back at the beginning. A previous attempt can tell you something about what was missing, what did not fit, or what became difficult after they came home. Recovery is affected by a complicated mix of personal circumstances, environment and support. Understanding those gaps can help make the next attempt more considered and more realistic.
Our Director of Admissions, Phil Biggins, has personal experience of a non-linear recovery journey and understands the difficult dynamics families go through, with insights to share into how things can finally change for the better, for everyone.
Questions Families Ask
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