If you are in rehabilitation or another treatment facility, addiction recovery couples therapy could be an essential component in your healing process. While addictions need to be addressed separately through a 12 step program that creates regular accountability, couples who attend addiction recovery together (even though only one partner has the disease) may see faster and more effective recovery.
Overcoming Addiction Together
Relationships are complex; when one party struggling with addiction knows their partner is literally on/by their side to help them overcome the illness therapy they are more likely to succeed. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though. Overcoming addiction is hard for the person struggling with addiction, but also for their spouse or partner. Both need help dealing with day-to-day-life, learning methods to communicate effectively, and establishing new routines and respect for one another.
Why Addiction Treatment & Relationship Therapy are Best Combined
- Reduce Stress– In order to prevent a relapse, it’s important to limit life stressors that may compel the addict to engage in the addiction. One of the biggest stressors in a person’s life is relationship stress. It is incredibly painful to be at odds with your spouse, the love of your life who is now hurting you on a routine basis. If your marriage is in shambles, it’s a good reason to feel stressed out and down in the dumps. It’s a perfect scenario to lead you back to your addiction. Effective marriage counseling can help you repair your relationship, decrease the stress, and increase the joy so you lower the odds of recidivism.
- Prevent Premature Exits– Even if you don’t feel acute stress or tension in your marriage, if you feel disconnected, or unsafe to express yourself in your relationship, the next logical step is to look elsewhere to get your needs met. Your addiction is usually a go to so you can feel that temporary thrill. While in the end, it’s not worth it, it may be the only thing you can turn to that will give you the pleasure you are not finding in your marriage.
- Support– Recovery is not easy, especially if you are going at it alone. Having your partner with you by your side to truly understand what you are going through and be a source of support is crucial. Marriage counseling will help you strengthen your relationship so it can be a refuge for you as you go through this challenging time. Therapy can help the addict learn how to recognize the pain and anguish their partner feels and channel that energy into their recovery. The partner in a relationship with an addict needs help learning how to cope with what has happened, come to terms with their feelings about it, and set clear boundaries and expectations moving forward including ongoing addiction treatment.
- Exploring underlying issues– Counseling sessions with your partner can help both parties understand the underlying issues that are causing problems in your relationship, and also what is fueling the addiction. Therapy will help you both explore the real root cause of issues in your relationship and life in general. This will give you greater insight into what makes you tick, what pushes your button, and also why you may desire the addictive behavior.
While attending couples therapy with an addicted partner can be effective, it should not be the sole modality for addiction treatment. Addiction is a disease, or medical illness, and the person under the spell of addiction needs addiction recovery treatment from an experienced substance abuse rehabilitation counselor as well. When the partner of an addict attends counseling with their partner, the session is a valuable tool to help improve their marriage and directly help them help their partner overcome the addiction.
Addiction Recovery Counseling for Couples | Free Consultation
There’s nothing quite like the power of gaining clarity on a confusing situation. We have counseling offices in New York City, New Jersey, and Baltimore; Online marriage counseling via video call; private marriage retreats with intensive counseling; and affordable group couples retreat workshops. Complete the form below to talk with Rabbi Slatkin to see what he thinks would be best for you and your unique situation.
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