Ways to Support Early Recovery
Parents, other family members, and close friends can all support early recovery. Assistance and support from family and friends can often make a big difference in a teen’s sobriety.
Participate in Treatment
Parents can actively help their child(ren) by engaging in the recovery process and treatment. At ASAP we offer two hours of groups a week targeted towards parents. During these groups, parents and other significant adults in a child’s life gain knowledge and skills to be better able to help their teen through recovery. Some groups focus on recovery based topics such as enabling and setting limits, while other are more general tips which can apply to all families. There is also time for networking with other parents and asking questions of our staff.
Mutual Support Groups
You may be familiar with NA and AA meetings for those with addictions. Smart Recovery is another type of mutual support group. A friend or supportive family member can offer to drive a teen to a meeting and wait outside until it is finished. Teens sometimes have trouble getting to meetings if they do not yet drive or have lost their license due to their use.
There are also organizations for adult and teen family members of users and addicts. Nar-Anon and Al-Anon are great organizations which work with adult family members of addicted persons. They sponsor meetings around the world to provide help and support through this process. AlaTeen and NaraTeen are meetings for teens who have been affected by addiction but do not use themselves.
ASAP allows NA and Nar-Anon as well as Smart Recovery and Smart Friends and Family to use our group rooms for weekly meetings. Meeting information can be found at www.aa.org, www.na.org, www.al-anon.org, www.nar-anon.org, and www.smartrecovery.org.
Control Your Own Use
Those who have contact with addicted persons can be willing to stop using or drinking around that person. For parents, it might mean forgoing a traditional cocktail or glass of wine with dinner. Family members can be instructed not to offer alcohol or drugs to someone who has a problem with substances.
For some teens, avoiding situations where drugs or alcohol may be present can be important. Plan family parties to avoid alcohol or other drug (AOD) use completely. Friends can help by not using and by planning fun sober activities to do together.
Support Early Recovery
It can be difficult for parents, family members, and friends to admit that they may have been enabling someone’s behavior. Learning more about addiction and enabling can be a good starting place to support early recovery in a friend or loved one. Ask your friend or family member what help they need. While the person in recovery can guide you in being supportive, you can also make gentle suggestions and plan sober friendly activities.