Family Focused Drug Treatment | Project Courage CT

At Project Courage, we care about your entire family. We want to help your family begin a journey toward healing.

Addiction is something that affects the entire family. You need help and support as much as your loved one does. The help and support we offer families here at Project Courage will give you the tools you need to be a supportive resource to your loved one recovering from a substance use disorder.

Having someone you love struggle with an addiction can be overwhelming, confusing, and scary. However, as a parent or loved one our suffering often goes unaddressed.

For example, while some of the effects of parenting a son or daughter with an addiction are visible, other effects are invisible. Parents must endure the pain of the loss of trust in their relationship with their child.

Addiction forces parents to question their ability to effectively parent and love. Parents must watch, often feeling helpless, as their child suffers.

Additionally, living with a loved one who has an addiction can expose parents to physical or mental abuse. Oftentimes, parents are reluctant to report such incidents.Parents may begin to suffer from feelings of depression, helplessness, and anxiety. Some family members may begin to self-medicate in order to deal with their pain.

Unfortunately, stigma about addiction still exists, despite recent efforts to raise awareness about the disease. Fear of judgment by others often keeps families quiet about addiction and prevents them from seeking help for themselves and their loved one. Furthermore, family members fear that discussing their loved one’s addiction problem or the pain they feel will lead to being ostracized by their friends, colleagues, and community.

Here at Project Courage, we meet families and their loved ones where they’re at. While we provide treatment for your loved one, we also offer you, as a family member, support.

Whether it is through educational sessions, parental coaching, or family therapy sessions, we can provide you with the tools and support you need as your loved one recovers from substance abuse.

We provide the following opportunities for you to be involved in treatment:

Psychoeducation Group– This group is critical for family members . It will cover changes that happen in the brain that put an individual at risk for a substance use disorder, as well as what happens to the brains of those who care for someone with a substance use disorder. Additionally, family members will begin to identify boundaries and expectations for their loved one that are realistic, healthy and increase the odds of recovery. Finally, strategies for self-care will be covered so that family members can increase the odds that they don’t lose sight of their own health while trying to care for their loved one.
Support Group – We offer opportunities for you to connect with other families to discuss what you’re experiencing. Connecting with other families will help you feel less alone. It also provides you the opportunity to give and receive support from others traveling the road to recovery with their loved ones.
Family Coaching – Our coaching sessions are very directive and are designed to help family members reestablish healthy boundaries, which are often compromised in their care for those using substances.
Family Therapy – Typically, one family members have had some education, coaching and support (as described above) they are then ready to enter into family therapy with the their loved one. At this point, mending and repairing relationships that are critical for family members can begin.