Support Program for Families

Recovery from substance use disorder is difficult for everyone involved. That’s why the Mississippi Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center (MDATC) has created a family program to provide support and assistance to the loved ones of those who are living with addiction in the Biloxi community.

Before an individual enters drug and alcohol treatment, they and their loved ones may have a lot of questions and concerns about what rehab involves and how it will impact their lives during and after recovery.

The Importance of a Family Support During Rehab

Drug addiction affects the whole community, not just the person who’s struggling with substance use disorder. When your loved one is suffering, you suffer right along with them.

That’s why offering a family program for addiction helps keep families together even when they have to be apart for a little while. It’s all about repairing and strengthening those important connections.

Drug addiction doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Many times, it begins as a coping mechanism that users rely on to handle stress, trauma, and mental health issues. This type of self-medication tears families apart. It also creates barriers between the person and their loved ones. Loved ones often stand by helplessly as their parent, child, or sibling sinks further into a well of despair and self-destruction.

Family support during the addiction recovery process is not just a means of showing unconditional love during rehab. It also serves to educate family members on the nature of substance use disorders and provides them with tools to help their family member maintain their sobriety once they leave the program.

Each member of the family plays a role in the addictive behavior whether they realize it or not. That’s why it’s important for family and friends to learn what those roles are and how they can change the dynamic during addiction recovery.

The ultimate goal is to strengthen the family unit while providing practical guidance and support. This is essential for the recovering person and their support network during the initial treatment phase and for all of the years after they leave our program.

Family Program for Addiction: How MDATC Helps Patients and Their Families

At Mississippi Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center, we understand that addiction doesn’t just affect individuals. Our family program was created in order to take a comprehensive, holistic approach to treatment that’s meant to offer assistance for everyone involved during each phase of the recovery process.

Our Family Support Program mirrors the addiction recovery program in several key ways:

• As part of the 12-step component of recovery, we invite Al-Anon to speak during some of our family sessions
• We provide resources for support groups
• We educate family members on the difference between being supportive and being an enabler
• Our clinician conducts family sessions that focus on redefining family roles and developing healthier communication techniques

Maintaining and nurturing family connections is essential to the participant’s state of mind during and after recovery. It’s also essential for families to get rid of doubts, fears, and resentments that build up while the individual is in the throes of addiction.

Family involvement is important while in treatment. Family visitation, at the primary therapist’s discretion, takes places on Sunday’s following family group therapy. During these visits, participants take part in a family/group therapy session that starts at 9:00 am, this visitation is followed by a short visitation at the facility.

This type of program, conducted in our relaxing, homelike setting, gives patients and their loved ones an opportunity to address and remove barriers to recovery under the guidance of healthcare professionals. It also gives families a chance to see their loved one face to face, interact with staff, check out our facility, and gain reassurance that their family member is in good hands during the early stages of the recovery process.