Rehab for Couples: What You Need to Know

Drug and alcohol addiction are serious diseases and can be particularly damaging when both members of a couple suffer from them. Often, drug and alcohol misuse becomes a fundamental component of these relationships, making it much harder for both members of the couple to escape the chains of addiction. Luckily, drug and alcohol rehab for couples can help.

There is hope!

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Benefit of Rehab for Couples

Couples drug and alcohol rehab provides a unique healing opportunity for both partners. You and your partner can support and motivate each other, learn valuable relapse prevention skills, and build an aftercare plan together.

The biggest benefits of alcohol and drug rehab for couples include:

• A unified approach – Couples learn the same techniques and strategies and therefore have the same knowledge base. They can learn each other’s triggers, underlying causes of addiction, and relapse prevention needs. Most importantly, they can come up with relapse prevention strategies and then act on them in concert for their mutual benefit.
• Family healing – When couples struggle with substance use disorders, other family members are almost always impacted, especially if the pair have children. Rehab for couples typically benefits these family members twice as powerfully as if a single member attended rehab. The family healing benefits of couples rehab are generally the strongest for the couple’s children.
• Mutual communication – The open and honest communication facilitated by rehab not only helps both parties overcome their substance use disorders and regain their sobriety, but it also dramatically improves the quality of their relationship. Such communication has also been shown to increase empathy, trust, and understanding between partners.
• Mutual support – Support is one of the most important aspects in substance misuse recovery. The ability to lean on a partner for extra emotional, mental, and physical support during rehab improves both the likelihood of success and the quality of the relationship. Many couples who attend rehab report a uniquely close and special bond.
• Rebuilding trust – Addiction can cause tremendous damage in relationships. Drug and alcohol rehab for couples enables partners to address past grievances in a healthy and controlled manner, helping to rebuild trust. Also, the skills taught in couples rehab make it less likely that trust will be broken in the future.

How Couples Are Treated in Rehab

There are many treatment options available for couples, and it is important to find a treatment plan that works for both of you.

In general, couples in rehab are treated using the same techniques, therapies, and medications as anyone else in rehab. There may also be special therapies or trainings specifically for couples.

Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) Valerie Puffenberger provides the following tips for couples seeking addiction treatment together:

• Communicate openly and honestly about your addiction. It is important to be able to talk to your partner about your addiction and how it is affecting your relationship.
• Set boundaries. It is important to set boundaries around your drug use and to respect your partner’s boundaries.
• Be patient with each other. Recovery is not a linear process, and there will be ups and downs. Be patient with each other and support each other through the tough times.

The Couples Rehab Process

Generally, couples that attend rehab will go through a process somewhat like this:

1. Couples detox – Medically-supervised detox is a process whereby treatment professionals provide medications and therapies to help patients get through withdrawal. The detox process helps reduce or eliminate unpleasant symptoms, making it more likely that patients complete withdrawal and enter treatment with a good mindset.
2. Inpatient couples rehab – Inpatient rehab requires patients to live at a treatment facility where they are provided treatments and therapy. Inpatient rehab is considered the most successful way to achieve and maintain sobriety, but it is more expensive and more disruptive to patients’ lives than outpatient rehab.
3. Outpatient couples rehab – Outpatient rehab is usually completed after inpatient rehab or instead of inpatient rehab. Outpatient rehab requires patients to live elsewhere and then attend treatment at a facility for several hours a day, several days a week. Outpatient rehab is less expensive than inpatient rehab and allows patients to maintain their personal, professional, and legal obligations, but it is less likely to result in long-term sobriety.
4. Couples aftercare – After patients attend rehab, it is important that they participate in aftercare programs to maintain their sobriety for the long term. Aftercare will vary dramatically from patient to patient, but almost always includes attending support groups and continuing therapy.

Couples Rehab Therapies

There are many different types of therapy used in couples rehab. Some of the most common include:

• Couples counseling – Couples counseling focuses on understanding and improving relationship dynamics and communication patterns and provides couples with guidance and training on how to handle challenges in a healthy manner.
• Individual therapy – One-on-one therapy sessions provide each partner with the ability to address personal traumas, triggers, underlying causes of addiction, and mental health conditions.
• Group therapy – Group therapy sessions (especially those with other couples) provide couples with community, shared experiences, advice, and support.
• Behavioral Therapies – Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) provide the tools and skills necessary to cope with cravings and avoid relapse Behavioral therapies also help couples deal with underlying causes of addiction such as environmental triggers and mental health issues.
• Holistic and alternative therapies – There are a wide variety of holistic and alternative therapies such as yoga, meditation, art, music, adventure, and animal therapies that provide a wide variety of benefits to the couples that engage in them, from stress management to the promotion of overall well-being.

Success Rates of Alcohol and Drug Rehab for Couples

Many factors determine whether a couple will find success with drug rehab, including:

• The length and severity of their addictions
• What substance use disorders they suffer from
• Any co-occurring mental health conditions
• Biologic and medical factors of each patient, such as age, gender, and weight
• Any medical conditions
• The policies and procedures of the treatment program
• The legal, professional, personal, and financial status of each patient
• The motivation and drive of each patient
• The skill and training of the staff of the facility or program

Because there are so many different considerations, there are no recent statistics on couples rehab success rates. Ultimately, it will be unique for each individual person and pair.

Find Drug and Alcohol Rehab for Couples

When addiction affects both members of a couple, it can seem like there is no escape. Luckily, nothing is further from the truth.

If you and a loved one are looking for rehab for couples, we’re here to help.

Legacy Healing Center is guided by the principle that the only way to heal you and your partner’s body, mind, and spirit is through a holistic approach to addiction treatment. We provide the clinical therapy, proper medication management, and aftercare patients need to regain their sobriety.

Dedicated rehab staff members are waiting to take your call and answer your questions. Call 888-534-2295 to speak with a treatment staff member at Legacy Healing Center today.

Rehab for Couples FAQs

What is alcohol and drug rehab for couples?

Drug and alcohol rehab programs for couples treat the substance use disorders of both members of a couple. Rehab for couples can take many forms, but some of the most important and common include detox for couples, inpatient rehab for couples, outpatient drug and alcohol rehab for couples, and aftercare for couples.

The goal of rehab for couples is to help you and your partner get through withdrawal, achieve sobriety, and build the skills and training needed to prevent relapse in the long term.

How can I find free rehab for couples?

If you or your loved one are looking for free rehab for couples, there are several resources that you can use. Here are some of the most common and important:

• Local religious organizations such as churches, synagogues, and mosques
• Local governmental organizations, especially health, human services, and mental health organizations
• Local charitable organizations

It is important to remember that just because rehab may not be free, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t affordable or worth it. Quite the opposite is true. Rehab is significantly less expensive than the cost of addiction. Additionally, there are a wide variety of payment options available, ranging from scholarships to insurance. If you would like to find out what payment options are available to you, call 888-534-2295 to speak with a legacy Healing Center staff member.

Where can I find drug rehab for couples near me?

If you are looking for drug rehab for couples near you, start by conducting an internet search and/or reaching out to local governmental, religious, or charitable organizations.

What is the success rate of rehab for couples?

The success rate of alcohol and drug rehab for couples will depend on a large number of criteria, including medical, situational, environmental, historical, and mental health factors.

It is important to remember that millions of people successfully overcome addiction every year, including many thousands of couples.

Does rehab for couples include alcohol addiction treatment?

Yes, rehab for couples does include alcohol addiction treatment. In fact, rehab for couples can include treatment for any substance, and in some cases, it may also be able to treat behavioral addictions as well.

 

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