The Aviary’s Family Wellness Program Can Help You Create an Environment for Recovery

While a person struggling with a substance use disorder may feel as though they are all alone in their difficulties, their entire family is affected by the addiction. Relationships are tested and sometimes broken. Anger and sadness and guilt well up and can threaten to overwhelm family members. Communication is undermined, and it can seem as though no one can hear what anyone else is trying to say.

All of these challenges (and others like them) can prevent a person from seeking the treatment they need to get sober—or they can undermine a person’s sobriety in the early days of recovery. Neither of those two situations is desirable, of course, but with all the different stressors and personalities in play, it can sure seem as though things will never get better.

At The Aviary Recovery Center, we understand the many ways in which one person’s substance use disorder can upend the entire family. We want to help families overcome common challenges so that they are better able to support their loved one’s recovery—and so each member of the family can develop healthier approaches to both shared and individual difficulties.

Let us introduce you to our Family Wellness Program.

Adjusting the Family EnvironmentShare Now

It probably goes without saying that nearly all families have their share of troubles. Often, it can be quite difficult to come together to find workable solutions to problems that crop up and threaten to divide families in damaging ways. This is certainly true when the problem in question is a family member’s substance use disorder.

The odds are good that each member of the family will want their loved one to get—and stay—sober. But the odds are also good that family members may have no idea how to help, especially when they are feeling hurt themselves. 

The Aviary’s Family Wellness Program has been carefully designed to engage whole families in the process of helping and supporting their loved ones. We pride ourselves on providing a positive, safe, supportive, and educational experience that includes conversations about communication and accountability. We provide the tools to promote healthy behaviors and lasting recovery. And we offer families resources and strategies—like participating in support groups—for caring for themselves while also providing a supportive foundation for their loved one’s ongoing sobriety.

Tools for Managing Life Under Stressful Circumstances

The Family Wellness Program classes are led by a professional with expertise in mental health and addiction and provide families with a wealth of information related to creating, embracing, and fostering an environment of recovery. Topics include:

  • Understanding the impacts of a substance use disorder on:
    • the brain
    • a person’s day-to-day life
    • the lives of those around them—including loved ones
  • Understanding substance use disorders as a brain disease
  • Defining and building on family dynamics
  • Establishing and maintaining boundaries
  • Practicing safe and effective communication techniques
  • Developing conflict resolution and prioritization skills
  • Developing coping and self-care skills and practices
  • Managing transitions
  • Planning next steps when a loved one leaves treatment
  • Handling perceptions of a loved one’s past or continued substance use
  • Preparing your loved one to return home and to work 

Importantly, The Aviary’s Family Wellness Program gives family members the opportunity to practice new skills and make adjustments based on feedback from the treatment team, other participating families, and—essentially—their loved one who is in treatment for a substance use disorder.

High Value, No Cost

The Family Wellness Program offers a wealth of information, resources, and support. And it does so at no cost to participants.

The program is offered as free service to the St. Louis area community each Wednesday from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm in The Aviary Recovery Center’s Kirkwood office. 

We offer this service at no cost because we understand the importance of families when it comes to providing a firm foundation for recovery from a substance use disorder. We want to help you help your loved one maintain their hard-won sobriety in ways that are healthy and sustainable—not just for the person in recovery but for the entire family as well.

You Can Count on Our Commitment to You

At The Aviary Recovery Center, we are fully committed to personalized, compassionate, evidence-based care that helps individuals get sober and gives them the tools to stay sober.

We are equally committed to helping families navigate the difficulties caused by substance use disorders. If you would like more information about the Family Wellness Program, please call us at 636-660-0986.