A supportive family is a blessing!!
It is even more true when you are suffering from physical or mental illnesses. A warm hug, a supporting shoulder, an understanding gaze, and a gentle squeeze of hand can help you take long strides towards improvement.
Residential treatment, in particular, needs continuous involvement of family, friends, and loved ones. The recovery phase is crucial for patients suffering from various mental or substance use disorders. In this phase, the family can act as a critical component of successful treatment. However, the role of family is often underestimated in many areas.
This article is dedicated to exploring the vital role of families in bringing their loved ones back to normal life.
How Can Families Support Residential Treatment?
Learn About the Disorder
Understanding the suffering and mental state of your loved one is the first step. Learn about their condition, and educate yourself about their symptoms, triggers, treatment options, and moral support elements. Having appropriate knowledge can help you better understand the phase that a loved one is going through. You will be better able to empathize with them and offer support wherever necessary.
Participate in Family Therapy
Family Therapy sessions are most commonly arranged in residential treatment centers. These sessions aim to address any underlying issues, rebuild trust, and improve communication. People with mental health disorders are often hard to understand, and they fail to develop trust with others. The family therapy sessions help to redeem that trust and catch up on each other’s lives. These interactions boost positivity and encourage the establishment of a safe place for the struggling ones.
Create Homely Environment
Provide a supportive and homely environment to your loved one. The more at home they feel, the earlier they start to improve and get back to their daily lives. The environment at home helps them to feel safe and regain a normal lifestyle. To create a supportive environment, you can:
Ensure that the home is devoid of any triggers that can cause relapse.
Add elements that encourage regular sleep.
Establish healthy routines like meal times together and fun physical activity.
Be available for them and help them through struggling times. Stay positive to give off healthy energy.
Long-Term Support System After Recovery
Now that your loved one has recovered, long-term support is of vital importance. Here’s what you can plan and make a healthy routine of to keep up with long term support.
Aftercare Planning
Maintenance of progress is as essential as regular meals. Only with continuous efforts can mental disorders be cured effectively. Effective aftercare planning is vital for maintaining the progress of residential treatment. Cooperate with the facility and staff to create a well-planned aftercare support route. This may include:
Ongoing Therapy: Continuous therapy and participation in group therapy sessions
Support groups: Joining social support groups with similar people.
Regular Checkups: Scheduling regular follow-up appointments with dedicated healthcare professionals to keep track of progress.
Engagement in Community Setups
Utilizing the community resources can provide additional support to the patient. The community setups can include education workshops, wellness programs, local mental health organizations, and more. Keep yourself informed about these activities and treatment approaches to reap benefits.
Encourage Healthy Relationships
Healthy relationship development is crucial for long-term recovery and preventing relapse. Support your loved one to create healthy relationships with family, friends, community members, and acquaintances who can support their mental health.
Stay Informed
Recovery for mental health patients is forever ongoing. Families can keep themselves informed of the latest research about their loved one’s disorder and offer insights into wellness retreats.
Final Thoughts
The human heart is fragile and needs continuous support and positive energy to keep on the right track. It is even more so true when a person is suffering from physical or mental health complications.
Mental disorders are often ignored and underestimated. However, they can ruin one’s life. Failure to comply with routine tasks is scary, and families need to be attentive to such changes in the behavior of their loved ones.
Instead of chaining them down with negativity, encourage them to embrace residential treatment and find their way back home to their previous self.
