Family Therapy Center Based in Westlake Hills Specializing in Conflict and Addiction
When a member of your family is experiencing a problem, the entire family system will slowly shift over a period of time in order to accommodate this individual.
These rules become fixed, lending way to dysfunction of the entire family system. While these hurdles seem too much to overcome, sitting down as a family and airing out your issues is the best way to find a solution for everyone. Working with families, group concerns, and addiction is a complex undertaking because it not only requires a knowledgeable and experienced therapist, but also willingness on the family’s part to learn to engage in new ways. Jobi Center for Counseling works with families around Austin, Texas to not only get to the root of their problems but to create a solution that everyone can work toward.
How do I know if my child or loved one has a problem with addiction?
When diagnosing addiction, we are not necessarily looking only at the physical use. Rather, we are looking at how their problem behavior impacts their overall functioning. Have their grades fallen below their usual performance? Are they missing school or work more often? Who do they predominately hang around with? If your answers are mostly “yes” or leave you with an uncomfortable gut feeling, your loved one may be suffering from addiction.
Addiction can wreak havoc on both the person suffering as well as their entire family.
Family systems are intricately bound in such a manner that when one person shifts, the entire system must reset itself to adjust. A family system will seek homeostasis (balance) first and foremost. This means that the system will fall into a dysfunctional, yet balanced pattern rather than remain inconsistent, even if somewhat healthier. When addiction enters the picture, this often happens slowly and unconsciously over a period of time. Family members will turn around and suddenly realize how incredibly different things are today than they were before. It’s a painful realization, but one that is necessary to initiate change.
Once the denial can be dampened, the family members have a significant opportunity to impact the whole more healthily. Addiction is a family disease. Strong participation from those involved can help to shift the picture dramatically. It may or may not motivate the person suffering to change, but it will change things for the family members. It will minimize the negative impact that one person’s disease has on the whole and will make it more difficult for the person suffering to continue in their dysfunctional patterns. Either which way, to not take action will almost certainly ensure continued destruction of the family system.
Getting outside help in these situations is critical because no one is born with the instinctive knowledge to work with addiction.
It can often be counterintuitive to what we want to do, or even what we should do. This disease often calls for inner work on everyone’s part. It challenges the entire system to look at the roles that they play and identify new ways of being both with themselves and with one another. Jobi’s compassionate, family-centric counseling sessions will leave each family member feeling heard, safe, and able to contribute toward the success of the family. If you're in the Austin area, please don't hesitate to give our office a call!