The Importance of Family in Recovery
Some of our greatest wounds are with our parents
“If I ask a client about their values and what they care about, 75% of them are going to say family, even the ones that hate their family.
I think that this relationship is crucial and important, whether that relationship is “Hey you guys can’t talk for two months” or “Hey we need you to come in weekly for sessions” that relationship is crucial. More participation.
In general, I think parents need to be more engaged. There’s complexity there because often some of the great wounds are with parents, but I’ve found often one of the biggest motivators, especially for young people in recovery, is their relationship to their parents.
If I go through with clients and ask them about their values and what they care about, 75% of them are going to say family, even the ones that hate their family. “They’re my parents they’ve stuck by me no matter what.” You know?
I often wonder when somebody’s child is so far down the drain with addiction, especially if they have means, why don’t they take some time off of work? It’s an interesting thing.
If I have means, if I’ve saved some money and my kid is killing themself with addiction, why wouldn’t I take several months off of work to focus on trying to get my kid better?
I think it says a lot about American values that a lot of the time we try to help fix our kid’s deadly problem on the side. And that’s not all parents, and I’m not saying that I would be any different, I’m just reflecting that back, that we often maybe don’t put in the time and the energy necessary to address a problem that everybody would say is a priority to address.
It’s the same thing with the clients. Clients come in and it’s like, “Well, you know, I want to change my whole life, but I don’t want it to get in the way of my life, so can we do that? I’d like to not change anything and just get rid of this addiction of mine” well you know, actually it’s a little — it’s a little more complicated than that, you know.
So, I definitely think more family involvement, specifically what that involvement looks like is different, you know, for each client, but that relationship is crucial.”
At Recover Integrity, we work alongside you to encourage the mending of these wounds and greater family involvement. Gain professional insight into what we can do for your healing process. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation with us.
