Maryhaven of Mount Gilead has developed the Families in Recovery Program to provide education, training and counseling support to families that are confronted with substance abuse problems.

Chronic substance abuse can have devastating effects on families. Although concerned others are often motivated to get help in persuading the substance abuser to seek treatment, they are often in dire need of help themselves. Numerous negative effects of ongoing substance abuse on family members have been documented. These negative effects include declines in psychological and social adjustment, deterioration in relationships, loss of family cohesion, and increased interpersonal conflict, including domestic violence.

Living in an intensely emotional environment of fear and manipulation, family members of an addict must deal with high levels of stress and anxiety. It is not unusual for family members to feel like they are losing their sense of normalcy and self as their loved one’s addiction makes the family dynamics increasingly dysfunctional.

Maryhaven’s Families in Recovery Program offers both individual counseling and family counseling services. A unique part of this program is the fact that families can access these services even if their family member is not currently in treatment with Maryhaven.

In an effort to cope with this uncontrollable situation, family members may resort to hiding the truth from themselves and others, avoiding genuine connection to minimize painful conversations, and feeling intense levels of guilt and shame. These coping mechanisms can keep family members from seeking help.

But just as the whole family suffers when one member is an addict, whole family is part of the recovery process. Without a family recovery program, family members may suffer effects that last a lifetime.

An integral part of Maryhaven’s Families in Recovery Program is the twelve week educational program that helps families understand the complexity of addiction and helps them develop positive skills to deal with the complex issues they face.

Dealing effectively with addiction is a learned skill that families must master and practice daily if they are to experience true healing from the trauma of addiction. You might feel hopeless in the face of the terrible addiction of your loved one. But with the help and support of Maryhaven’s Families in Recovery Program help is only a phone call away.

Participation in Maryhaven’s Families in Recovery Program is free and open to anyone residing in either Delaware or Morrow Counties. The program is funded by the Delaware and Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services Board.

For more information on the Families in Recovery Program contact Ben McDay at (740) 203-3800

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Staff report