Family involvement is crucial in anyone’s recovery journey. At The Blanchard Institute, we empower families to participate actively in the healing process. By learning and applying specific strategies, families can significantly impact the recovery trajectory of their loved ones.
Our family-centered approach is designed to educate, support, and empower families to play a crucial role in the recovery journey of their loved ones. Family members need to understand the complexities of addiction and their role in the recovery process.
To help them understand those complexities, Blanchard Institute offers a family workshop and a weekly resilience group for family members also open to the wider community.
The virtual resilience group meets every Thursday and is led by a licensed therapist. The professionally facilitated group helps family members and loved ones cultivate the experience, tools, and coping strategies necessary to establish a healthy understanding of recovery.
“It got pretty big last year,” explains Blanchard’s extended care and alumni services manager Casey True. “To address the different needs of parents and spouses, we had to split them up into separate process groups.”
The groups aim to encourage family members to speak about their experience, and their feelings and not about the identified patient. “Many participants want to jump in with ‘my son goes to Blanchard’ right away and immediately go off on a tangent,” says True. “But we encourage them to speak about their own experiences and if they’re struggling with boundaries for example.”
It’s usually a mix of participants. Most are local but some are logging on from other states. “That’s why we kept this forum virtual,” says True. “Not too long ago, we had a family who moved to New Jersey and they were still able to participate.”
Some people stay in the group for quite some time while others only participate while their loved one is in treatment at The Blanchard Institute.
BOUNDARIES A COMMON TOPIC
Returning home from a treatment program can be incredibly difficult without healthy boundary-setting, an important recovery skill. Those with addiction—and their loved ones—should establish shared expectations, advised Psychology Today in a 2021 article. “Going to treatment for substance use disorder can be one of the hardest and scariest decisions someone must make. What people often don’t realize is leaving treatment is generally the most intimidating part. Understanding what those boundaries are and what boundaries need to be set can give someone a leg up in their transition back to the new normal.”
Participants in our resilience group regularly talk about their experience with boundaries—especially early recovery.
The Blanchard Institute cultivates a safe, comfortable environment for clients and their families across North Carolina. Our recovery management and alumni program support a life-long recovery. Your journey to recovery doesn’t end with day or outpatient treatment, once you’re with Blanchard, we’re always there for you.
For more information about our resilience group or other aspects of our program, call us at (704) 288-1097—our experienced admissions specialists will guide you through the process and treat you with the dignity and compassion you deserve.