Couples & Family Counseling
Couples &
Family Counseling
Don’t know which way to turn? Does everything you try have results less than you had hoped for? Every family face challenges that may be difficult to navigate as a normal part of living. When one or more members of the family are using substances, it can become increasingly difficult to navigate alone. Substance use affects everyone in the family and can create an unhealthy, stressful, lonely, and captive environment for all involved whether it be directly or indirectly. Everyone can feel trapped by the individual that has a drinking and/or drug problem. The person using may hold the rest of the family hostage with threats of leaving, or using more if…, etc. This can be a scary and very lonely place for a spouse, parent, sibling, or close friend or colleague. I understand this dynamic and want to help you and your family develop healthy boundaries and have a more balanced family system.
Every family situation is unique. At Caldwell Counseling Center, we see every type of substance-related family dynamic that may include but is not limited to:
- An individual and spouse that both have drinking/using issues
- An individual drinking/using while spouse is not or does not have the same issue
- A family member that does not have a substance use issue but another family member does
I have extensive experience working with individuals and their families. If substance use has affected your family, I want to help you through this challenging time. I can help you and your family navigate the best treatment options and support. As one family member begins to heal, it is important that the other members have education and support as well so that family unit can run as smoothly as possible. I will meet with the family with or without the individual with the substance use issue to work on setting healthy boundaries. Just like in individual counseling, it is an important part of the process to identify priorities and begin to set goals for your priorities as well as develop a plan of action to meet the stated goals.
You may hear words such as “enabling and codependent” tossed around without really understanding how those terms apply in your family situation. I want to help you understand how those terms are manifested in your family unit. There may be few things that are more frustrating than trying to help and find out you may be doing more harm than helping. Codependency may create a helpless feeling based on a loved one’s actions and/or feelings. When an individual has a substance use issue, many times they feel hopeless to change and are unhappy, angry, disruptive, and/or sad much of the time. This can hold a family captive by their loved one’s moods, actions, and/or feelings. Along with counseling, there are many books, groups, and meetings designated to helping families in this confusing time.
You and/or your loved one(s) meet with Dan, a master’s level licensed professional counselor (LPC), licensed chemical dependency counselor-certified clinical supervisor (LCDC-CCS), certified clinical trauma professional (CCTP), and a nationally certified interventionist (NCIP) for family counseling sessions to discuss your family/relationship dynamics related to substance use or abuse. Topics may include but are not limited to: setting healthy boundaries, education on the recovery process, relapse prevention, strategies for stress management, and resources for family healing. You and your loved one(s) will have a safe, nonjudgmental space to begin or maintain each of your individual journeys of recovery. Counseling sessions are 45-50 minutes and can be done one of several ways. You can come for an in-person face to face session at the office or you can engage in a virtual counseling session online (also called teletherapy or telehealth) using a secure HIPAA compliant portal provided by Caldwell Counseling Center using hosting by Simple Practice. You can do a combination of both if that is what works best for you and your schedule. Once you have made a decision to proceed with therapy at Caldwell Counseling Center, the process to begin is to provide a working email address and phone number. Dan will email you all of the required paperwork to get started through a secure client portal. All of the paperwork is completed electronically so there is no need to download, print/scan, and resend as it will automatically be sent back to Dan.
I am happy to help you and your family anyway that I can during this trying time. We will work on healthy boundary setting, communication skills, stress management techniques and personal growth as to be able to deal with difficult situations as they arise. If there is a need, I will be happy to connect you with other therapists in the area as I have acquired an extensive network of solid, ethical professionals that are willing to help.