family resources - Sustain Recovery

New Peer Support Group for Parents and Guardians

December 5, 2020 10:00 AM Leave a Comment

Sustain Recovery is proud to announce that we are now offering a peer support group for parents. The group will meet on Zoom every Thursday from 5:00-6:30 PST. We believe in the power of peer support and are excited to offer this opportunity to parents who need a group just for them. We invite you to visit our new group and see for yourself how you can benefit from being surrounded by other parents who understand your unique situation.

What Is Parental Peer Support?

While peer support groups are often thought of as only for people dealing with a specific issue, like a mental health challenge or addiction, peer groups for family members who want to support them have proven beneficial. A peer support group, by definition, is a group of people that share a similar experience and seek support in dealing with it. In a parental support group, the parents and guardians can benefit from receiving support and validation for their experiences. As parents who are trying their best to help their children who are struggling with important, potentially damaging issues, they deserve a sounding board like this. Parental peer support groups often meet in person but may also offer internet-based meetings or phone lists so members may contact each other 1:1, too.

Why Parents Supporting Each Other Is Important

Everyone is familiar with the rules airlines instituted for safety on their flights. In the case of an emergency, passengers who are parents are instructed to place the oxygen mask over their own faces before attending to their children. The reasoning for this is to ensure the parent obtains a position of being in control and better able to help assist their children by getting their oxygen masks in place next. The same applies to parents of adolescents and young adults managing their mental health and any co-occurring addiction to drugs or alcohol. A parent who is floundering, feeling unmired and out of control, and is running after their child trying to help them will soon be exhausted and ultimately ineffective.

Parents in a support group create a pseudo-family of peers who are in the same boat when it comes to dealing with adolescent children who are struggling with mental illness and other serious issues like addiction. Parents can trade stories with each other about their experiences, moments of success in helping their children, and ways to stay strong in their resolve to help their families heal. There is great value in parents being able to offer emotional support and a shoulder to cry on. Many parents also benefit from trading concrete ideas and information related to things like resources, referrals, and navigating an often complicated mental health system. They can also be steady reminders to each other about the need for parents to take time out for self-care.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that people who receive mental health services benefit even more when they take advantage of peer support groups. Participation has been linked to less frequent hospitalizations for those who have mental illness and reports of a higher quality of life. Other studies show that parents in a support group often feel less shame about their situations and less isolated. They enjoy a sense of more power and increased confidence in being able to care for their child.

Peer Support for Your Child

Once your proverbial oxygen mask is on and you are reaping the benefits of a parental support group, talk to your child about joining a group of his or her own peers. Similar to the benefits parents receive, adolescents and young adults who regularly attend support groups also find it can up their confidence factor and create a real boost in handling their issues. Younger people often find it difficult to believe others experience what they do, and they feel embarrassed to discuss it with those who have not been through it. Having a group of peers who truly understand their feelings because they have walked in their shoes can allow the child to open up and rededicate themselves to recovery and better management of their mental health diagnoses.

Every parent wants to dive in and save their child whenever they are in trouble. It’s one thing when your child is a toddler who skinned their knee or is frustrated over losing a favorite stuffed animal. When a parent is faced with much more grown-up problems like a child who lives with mental illness or addiction, fear, and frustration can quickly overshadow them and make it difficult to focus and implement a plan to help their child. Joining a peer support group may be the missing piece a parent needs to feel they finally have a handle on their family situation. We invite you to join our new support group on Zoom every Thursday from 5:00-6:30 PST. We look forward to seeing you there!

Parents of a child who deals with mental illness and abuse of alcohol or drugs spend an excessive amount of their time and energy trying to help their child. Too often a mom or dad neglects their own self-care without realizing it can negatively impact how much they are able to assist their child. Sustain Recovery is proud to announce a new peer support group for parents every Thursday from 5:00-6:30 PST on Zoom. Parents can come together to discuss their experiences and challenges of trying to help kids dealing with serious life issues. Peer support groups are proven ways to increase the effectiveness in positive parenting. Sustain Recovery also offers residential programs for adolescents who need assistance in managing their mental illness and other issues. Call our Southern California location today to find out how to get started with extensive treatment for your child while also learning how to take care of yourself. (949) 407-9052

The Family Drug Intervention Process

December 5, 2016 8:15 AM Leave a Comment

The intervention process involves careful planning and execution. It’s not just an opportunity for the family to let loose its dramatic feelings, although it’s certainly the time to do so. An intervention is a chance for the addict to start the treatment process—right then and there.

No one is an enabler on purpose. Sometimes it’s just too painful not to be an enabler. Either that or you don’t quite realize you’re enabling. It’s not easy to kick out someone you love or quite giving them money, and breaking a friendship can feel just as wrong and devastating.

Interventions aren’t always necessary, but for people caught up in awful addiction cycles, they’re an important tool to consider using. Addicts avoid seeking help by nature; that’s why they’re addicted. They need to be pushed, either by someone else or by hitting rock bottom. The latter, we like to avoid—which is why a good intervention comes early.

Even the most hardcore addicts tend to open up during interventions, and that’s because they see, for the first time, a quick and simple escape from their hell: Literally, they can walk out the door, hop in the car, and get situated at the clinic within hours. For a moment, there’s no stigma, only love.

Consult with a Licensed Intervention Specialist

You’re not required to consult with a specialist, but you certainly should. When an addiction is this serious—enough to warrant an intervention—it’s always best to seek professional help. Mental health crisis management is tricky ground.

Plan Details

Who’s involved, where you’ll all meet, what time – etc, etc. Interventions are a bit like planning a surprise party. The addict doesn’t know it’s happening, so you have to plan for contingencies. Know for certain when and where he or she will show up.

Speak with Love, Care and Respect

Any resentment you feel toward the addict takes a back seat during an intervention. It’s okay to let them know they hurt you, so long as it reflects on their own problem. Keep the focus on their situation and their happiness.

Stay Calm

That’s the beautiful paradox of interventions: the collected, organized manner in which emotion is let loose conducted. Don’t abandon your script, even if you feel tears or anger coming on. Normally, these elements mark the end of a rational conversation, but not today.

To get in contact with an intervention specialist, or to discuss treatment options for yourself or a loved one, give us a call: 949-637-5499

Court-Ordered Rehab For Teens; Does It Work?

September 21, 2016 9:45 AM Leave a Comment

Drugs and alcohol play into the majority of adolescent crimes, which is why so many teens are sentenced to rehab instead of jail time. Plain and simple, treatment is a lot more productive than prison. Since the mid-1990s, the number of teenagers admitted to rehab has increased by over 60 percent, and more than 50 percent of those teenage admissions are court-ordered.

Still, the concept of mandatory addiction treatment remains a topic of debate. For one, people often mistake it as letting the teen off the hook for their crime. Secondly, it interferes with a popular, yet false refrain: That in order to benefit from rehab, you have to seek it out willingly.

Court-Ordered Rehab For Teens

Court-ordered rehab is an expensive operation, but for good reason — Studies show that it does indeed help, much more-so than the alternative. Of six adolescent treatment centers in Wisconsin, it was reported that 71 percent of court-ordered clients completed their program with significant improvements in behavioral patterns, and 71 percent were happy with their progress. Not only does court-ordered rehab for teens work, but it appears to work even better than adult rehab—which is why so many experts stress early intervention as the key to preventing crime in the US: addiction leads to crime.

Few drug or alcohol addicts attend rehab all on their own accord — If it’s not the justice system that nudges them, it’s being faced with an ultimatum from loved ones, getting kicked out of the house, hitting rock bottom, or simply realizing that they will either quit using drugs or die. There’s an upside to being an impressionable teenager with rapid emotions: building optimism and motivation can be easy if you’re properly guided.

The statistics seem grueling — While most teens seem to benefit from rehab, less than half stay clean for the long-term. Critics of court-ordered rehab system often argue that addicts don’t retain their motivation once treatment is over. In a sense, they’re correct: Most recovering addicts relapse after they end their treatment—which is why treatment should never end. After completing rehab, you’re supposed to maintain sobriety exercises–like group meetings–for the foreseeable future. The sad fact is that many recoverees lose steam after just a month or two. They feel cured, so why continue?

Those who maintain relapse-prevention strategies for the long term have much better odds of staying sober — The mandatory side of the treatment isn’t meant to be the solution–just a much-needed push in the right direction. Aftercare programs — therapy sessions, 12 step programs, and support groups — are seldom court-ordered. It’s up to the teen and their family to make sure the treatment continues.

Yes, you probably know someone who did all the right things and still wound up back in the clinic. Even hardworking, motivated teens can relapse–but that doesn’t mean the system is flawed. Relapses happen. Even the strongest desire to quit can be trumped by a stressful experience like a breakup or a heated fight with parents. When it happens, it’s an indicator that the teen should continue his or her treatment, and with more veracity–not that the treatment doesn’t work.

Adolescent Addiction Treatment is a successful alternative to the dangers of active addiction and court-ordered programs can work for endangered teens. It’s important for an adolescent to continue treatment with aftercare programs after rehab to ensure lasting success. Contact Sustain Recovery for information to help you and your family on this journey.

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