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counseling to get past a great loss

Sometimes things can get to be more than you can handle. I know this from my own personal experience. I suffered a great loss and after a year of trying to cope with that loss on my own, I knew that it was time for me to reach out for some help. I was missing work, didn't want to do much of anything and just didn't feel like myself. I started seeing a counselor each week, and it has helped. If you are struggling to recover after a loss, this blog may be able to help you find the help you need to get past it.

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counseling to get past a great loss

Dealing With A Spouse's Drug Or Alcohol Addiction: Options For You

by Jessica Mason

When you are married to a person who is suffering from an addiction to drugs or alcohol, the situation can be tough for not only your spouse but also for you and the rest of your family. The problem can be that the focus of the treatment and recovery process is often on the person with the addiction leaving their spouse and family members to fend for themselves. However, there are options available to help the whole family as well as the addicted person. Get to know some of these options for recovery and assistance so that you, your family as a whole, and your spouse can all recover together from their addiction to drugs or alcohol.

Couples Counseling and Family Therapy

While many of the treatments your spouse will go through when they enter rehab for their addiction focus just on their personal issues, there are also substance abuse treatment and recovery centers that offer family therapy and couples counseling. Or, if your spouse has already gone through rehab, there are many independent therapists that are trained in family recovery from substance abuse.

Couples counseling will allow you and your spouse to talk about any dynamics in the marriage that have suffered as a result of their addiction. You will be able to voice your concerns and your feelings of betrayal or hurt in a safe space and your spouse can do the same in a safe and open environment. The counselor will be able to help you rebuild trust and intimacy in your marriage with exercises in and out of therapy and will help you to become the best possible support system for your spouse in their recovery and in their continued sobriety going forward.

Family therapy works in a similar manner to couples therapy but can include your children as well. Children can need that open and safe space to express their feelings and fears as well. And it can be difficult for them to begin to trust the addicted parent again after their behaviors were so altered by their substance abuse.

Family Support Groups

Just like an addicted person who has gone through treatment for their addiction can rely on support groups (like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous), so can you and your children. There are numerous different types of support groups available to you and your children.

Some are designed just for children of addicts who can talk to their peers and develop coping strategies to help them deal with addictions. Others are designed just for adult family members of addicts. And some are for entire families. Finding the right support group will help to give you a sense of community and provide you with resources in case of trouble or relapse.

Now that you know a few of the ways that you can deal with a spouse's drug or alcohol addiction, you can better recover from their addiction as a family and as a couple.

For more information, contact groups like Drake Counseling Services.

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