nb revised fam handbook rev 61219€¦ · new beginnings offers experiential therapeutic modalities...

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O P E L O U S A S • L O U I S I A N A

FA M I LY H A N D B O O K 1

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Welcome!

Thank you for entrusting us with the care of your teen at New Beginnings Adolescent Recovery

Center. New Beginnings is a residential treatment facility for teenagers who have substance

abuse issues and co-occurring disorders. New Beginnings has a team of dedicated professionals

passionate about helping young people recover. Our beautiful 22-acre campus offers a healing

environment with 24/7 nursing care, psychiatrists, master level clinicians skilled in a variety of

therapeutic modalities, and a variety of recreational activities. We are a 12-step, abstinence based

program, committed to helping teens gain the tools necessary to recover from addiction, and

have a healthy, successful future. Our mission is to make treatment affordable for all

families and we are in network with most major insurance companies.

Teenagers are complex. Their brains are not yet fully developed; they are emotionally immature,

and often make poor decisions. Those with substance abuse issues and/or co-occurring

disorders are even more complex. In order to effectively motivate troubled teenagers to embrace

a healthier lifestyle, a talented, multidisciplinary team of clinicians is essential.

New Beginnings has been helping adolescents recover for over 30 years. Our main goal is to

inspire motivation for change, actively engage kids in the recovery process, and show them how

to have fun in sobriety.

Enclosed are some educational materials to help you understand the dynamics of substance use

disorders and the role of the family in helping your teen recover. We appreciate the opportunity

to be able to assist your child and family on the path to recovery.

Chase Glenn, CEO

FA M I LY H A N D B O O K2

Treatment at New Beginnings

A primary case manager will be assigned to work with your child and assist your family throughout the treatment process. Your child’s care will be coordinated by their case manager, who works closely with a multi-disciplinary team of professionals. The case manager will be your primary contact, and will contact you within 48 hours of your child’s admission. You are welcome to call at any time regarding your child’s care and the clinical director is also available to answer questions.

Assessment

Properly assessing your child’s individualized needs while in treatment creates the foundation for recovery. During the first 72 hours of treatment your child will receive a nursing assessment, a psycho-social assessment completed by a case manager, and a psychiatric evaluation from one of our psychiatrists. After being evaluated, our multi-disciplinary team will develop an individualized treatment plan.

Therapy

Our program offers a structured schedule with intensive group therapy. Group therapy is an integral component of the therapeutic process. The developmental stage of growth during adolescence is strongly influenced by peers. Positive peer relationships and feedback from peers provide a therapeutic opportunity for growth and change. Teens will receive at least one individual therapy session weekly. New Beginnings offers experiential therapeutic modalities including art and ropes course challenges. We offer daily recreational groups to improve health and wellness, including yoga, group exercise, sports, and games.

Co-occuring disorders

Along with treating substance use disorders, our program provides specialized care for co-occuring mental health disorders. Our mental health therapist works closely with our psychiatrist, implementing and monitoring therapeutic interventions to treat co-occuring disorders. New Beginnings offers specialized groups to psychoeducate clients on managing mental health disorders. A large percentage our popula-tion has also experienced trauma, and New Beginnings offers trauma informed care. Teens develop coping skills, address underlying issues, and receive group support to process trauma and grief.

12-Step Recovery

In the evening the primary activity is either onsite or offsite 12-step recovery meetings. Our clients participate in an AA meeting everyday while they are at New Beginnings and most obtain a facility approved 12-step sponsor who will meet them on grounds. We provide clients with a foundation in 12 step principles and actions to prepare them for continued participation in 12-step recovery after treatment.

Education

Our team recognizes the importance of education as a building block for recovery and a foundation for the future. An on-site education coordinator will liaison with your child’s home school to ensure their education is continued while in treatment. New Beginnings offers an online school through Odesseyware Academy, which is AdvanceED accredited. If your child is pursing a GED, a basic skills workbook can be purchased to work through while in school.


Families

We strongly encourage families to participate in family therapy and actively engage in the treatment process. Family sessions are offered and highly recommended, preferably on campus, but also via telephone if travel to the campus is not feasible. In addition to the case manager, we have a family therapist who will help facilitate family sessions and give family members assignments to complete. Teens receive group therapy addressing healthy communication and dysfunctional family dynamics.

Parents will receive at least 1 weekly phone update from the case manager individually, and 1 weekly call with your child and the case manager on speakerphone. This is an opportunity to start normalizing family communication. Your child’s calls are not censored and they are free to talk about anything regarding their treatment experience. New Beginnings also has weekly visiting hours. Your child’s case manager will provided you with specifics of visiting times and procedures.

Aftercare

During the treatment process, our team will assess and make recommendations for aftercare. There are various levels of care available after primary residential treatment. Teens may be recommended to continue with an extended residential program, structured sober living, or returning home with an intensive outpatient program and/or individual counseling. If your child returns home you will work with the case manager to develop a ‘Home Contract,’ establishing rules and expectations. Our staff will help you locate resources and set up a supportive aftercare plan.

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Substance Use Disorders

According to National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH: https://www.drugabuse.gov/), people are most likely to begin abusing substances—including tobacco, alcohol, and illegal and prescription drugs-during adolescence and young adulthood. By the time they are seniors, almost 70 percent of high school students will have tried alcohol, half will have taken an illegal drug, nearly 40 percent will have smoked a cigarette, and more than 20 percent will have used a prescription drug for a nonmedical purpose.

According to NIH, the likelihood of developing a substance use disorder is greatest for those who begin use in their early teens. For example, 15.2 percent of people who start drinking by age 14 eventually develop alcohol abuse or dependence (as compared to just 2.1 percent of those who wait until they are 21 or older), and 25 percent of those who begin abusing prescription drugs at age 13 or younger develop a substance use disorder at some time in their lives. Tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana are the first addictive substances most people try. Data collected in 2012 found that nearly 13 percent of those with a substance use disorder began using marijuana by the time they were 14.

According to The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA https://www.samhsa.gov/disorders/substance-use), people with mental health disorders are more likely than people without mental health disorders to experience an alcohol or substance use disorder. Co-occurring disorders can be difficult to diagnose due to the complexity of symptoms, as both may vary in severity. In many cases, people receive treatment for one disorder while the other disorder remains untreated. This may occur because both mental and substance use disorders can have biologi-cal, psychological, and social components. Properly assessing and treating co-occuring disorders and trauma is a key component of treatment at New Beginnings,

Substance use disorders include the compulsion to drink/use drugs, resulting in difficulty stopping, and the inability to control the amount when using a substance. It results in substance use that is inappro-priate, unpredictable, excessive, and constant. Substance use disorders are chronic and progress if left untreated. However, substance use can be arrested and recovery allows people to live happy, healthy, and productive lives as long as they maintain abstinence from all substances.

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Supporting a Family Member with a Substance Use Disorder

1. Treatment is just the beginning. Completing treatment does not mean your child is “all better.” Your child’s recovery continues after treatment and developing a detailed aftercare plan for recovery supports is a crucial component of treatment.

2. Remember that abstinence is not recovery. Just not using/drinking anymore will not take care of your teen’s problems. Recovery also includes changing unhealthy behavior patterns, as well as growing emotionally and spiritually.

3. Trust only “movement” (behavior change) in your child. Even though a teen becomes willing to stop using drugs, relapse is probable until they demonstrate behavior changes.

4. Believe recovery is possible. Try to keep a positive attitude about your child’s ability to grow and change.

5. Set reasonable expectations for the immediate future. Change is a process and treatment is just the beginning. Change is not linear, be prepared for your child to take steps forward and backward.

6. Look for progress instead of perfection in your family member. Validate even small signs of growth and change. Offer encouragement.

7. Learn problem-solving behaviors. Seek outside professional help and attend Al-Anon meetings. Negotiate acceptable behavioral contacts and stick with them.

8. Consider the possibility of relapse. Your child will be working on relapse prevention in treatment, however relapse is a reality for many people with substance use disorders. Make a plan for how to manage potential relapse.

9. Accept responsibility for your own personal growth and self-care.

10. Remember that recovery is a life long process and healing relationships can take months or years: be patient!�


Dysfunctional Family Dynamics

Finding out that someone in your family has a substance use disorder can be overwhelming. Their substance use and associated problematic patterns of behavior affect family members in profound ways. When a family member’s use and behaviors become abnormal all other family members’ reactions become abnormal as well, creating family dysfunction.

Another problem in family life is the development of codependency. Codependency is characterized by a person being dependent on another to meet their own emotional and self-esteem needs. The term codependency has been around for years. Although it originally applied to spouses of alcoholics it often occurs when someone in the family has health problems, emotional or mental health problems, or unhealthy patterns of behavior. Codependent symptoms get worse and deeply ingrained if left untreated just as substance use disorders do. However healthy relationships can be restored through therapy.


Symptoms of Codependency

• Denial: Often family members are in a state of denial just as the affected person. The majority of our clients enter treatment believing their drug and alcohol use is normal, controllable, and does not affect anyone besides themselves. Family members can be in denial believing this is a stage “they will grow out of,” minimizing the severity of their substance use, and unknowingly believing their teen is just “experimenting” like many adolescents.

• Control: Watching a family member make poor choices and harm themselves with substance use often results in desperate attempts to control the use of the person with the substance use disorder. You cannot stop your teen from abusing substances simply through control. Over controlling can exacerbate unhealthy family dynamics.

• Enabling: Making excuses for someone else’s behavior. Trying to protecting them from the conse-quences of their behavior by “bailing them out,” or pretending a problem does not exist. This can create family discord and help the effected person sustain their use. Enabling might include intentionally not doing what works, to keep a person with a substance use disorder sick. This keeps the focus off of other family problems and on the problems of the person with a substance use disorder.

• People-pleasing: Saying “No” can create anxiety and fear. Some people have a hard time saying “No” to anyone. They go out of their way and sacrifice their own needs to accommodate other people.

• Poor boundaries: Personal boundaries are the limits we set in relationships that allows us to protect ourselves from being manipulated or emotionally needy with others. Poor boundaries include not setting limits and not sticking to your limits.

• Resentment: When your family member does not respond to your attempts to control, or that take advantage of your enabling or people pleasing, you may begin to feel victimized, angry, and believe you were treated unfairly.

• Caretaking: Becoming dependent on helping others for your own happiness and feeling rejected if another person doesn’t respond or accept their help. Caretaking includes attempts to “fix” other people and become discouraged when they can’t.

• Obsessions: Becoming preoccupied with the person who has a substance use disorder. Obsessing about relationships and other people’s needs. This is caused by their dependency, anxieties and fears. This leads to ignoring self-care and not engaging in enjoyable activities or “having your own life.”�


Family Action Steps

Get Involved: Be an active participant in your child’s treatment and learn about substance use disor-ders. Participate in family session, ask questions, and utilize resources. We have a team of professionals who can help you improve family relationships, understand addiction, and navigate aftercare resources.

Begin treating your own problems: Addiction is a family disease. If you want your child to change while in treatment and maintain change upon returning home, you should be working diligently on changing yourself.

Family Therapy: We strongly encourage the families of our clients to begin family and individual therapy while their teen in is treatment. This will assist in identifying dysfunctional family dynamics and addressing your own role prior to your child returning home. We recommend licensed therapists with LCSW, LPC, or LMFT credentials. Your child will be able to join in ongoing family therapy if the decision is made for them to return home rather than extended care.

Seek Treatment: A genetic predisposition means that people with family histories of substance use or mental health disorders are more likely to develop the same or similar disorders. If you or an immediate family member has problematic substance use or an untreated mental health disorder we strongly encourage you to seek help. Your child deserves to return to a sober home, free of substance use, or the expectation for your child to sustain recovery is unrealistic. If you are unsure if you need help, seek an assessment from a professional. We can offer assistance in helping you find resources.

Get support: Reaching out to people you trust for emotional support is important. When you feel anxious or depressed go to an Al-anon meeting or other support group, call a trusted friend or family member, or meet with a therapist.

Detach and Let Go: Recovery for you is a way of regaining your own identity, building self-esteem, and moving out from the shadow of addiction. You were affected by the unmanageable behaviors and distorted thinking of your child’s substance use disorder. Now you can detach. You can let go. Now you can begin to take responsibility for your own behavior and wellbeing, and release yourself from the illusion you had control over the other person.

Stop Enabling: Allow your child to take responsibility for his/her own behavior. You can no longer step in and try to make the damage caused by his/her actions right. When you help block the negative consequences from having their full impact, you are not rescuing your child; you are allowing the disease to go down the same destructive path.

Take care of yourself: Most family members have been so busy taking care of others that they have forgotten to take care of themselves. Now is the time to focus on your needs, your happiness, and your life.

Go To Al-anon: Al-Anon is a 12-step program for the family members of people with substance use disorders. The primary purpose of Al-Anon is to help family members of people with substance use disorders. It is a group where you can receive experience, strength, and hope from other families affected by addiction.


Work the Steps: Millions of people have found the 12 steps of Al-Anon offer a healthy and fulfilling life. Working the steps will provide you with a greater knowledge of recovery and understanding of the recovery process your child is undertaking.

Set Boundaries: Be clear on what you are willing to do, and what you are not. Let others receive a consistent and clear signal of your expectations. Don’t take alcohol/drug use and the resulting damage to your relationship personally. Your teen did not use to hurt you or because of your behavior.

Awareness and Willingness: Become aware of your unhealthy and codependent behavioral patterns. Become willing to work toward healthy communication with all members of the family system. Effec-tive co-parenting is critical to the recovery of your child and a family therapist can help you begin improving communication.�


Effective Communication Skills

“I statements”

When someone perceives that they are being blamed—usually the natural response is to become defensive. “You” statements” are often blaming statements. “I statements” allow you to own your feelings and beliefs without blaming while thoughtfully discussing a problem. “I statements” are effective when using a soft and even tone. In your communication, calmly describe how the other person’s actions affect you.

Examples:

Blaming Statement: “You always come home late and past your curfew. It’s so inconsiderate.”

“I” Statement: I feel worried when you come home late. I can’t even sleep.”

Blaming Statement: “You need to quit hanging around the wrong people.”

“I” Statement: “I feel afraid when you are with people who use drugs.”

Empathy

Empathy involves more than putting yourself in the other person’s shoes or attempting to see things from the other person’s perspective. Empathy is the ability to feel what another person is feeling at any given moment. Feelings are a universal language. Although we have different life experiences we all know what it is to feel happy, sad, angry, or proud. Using empathy deepens communication to a very intimate and personal level.

Active and Reflective Listening

1. Set the right environment and use receptive body language: For serious discussions avoid being in a heightened or lowered emotional state. Choose a distraction free environment by turning off the TV, cellphones, or any other distractions. Rather than standing while your child is listening avoid a power stance of standing over them or looking down at them. Choose a setting where you can sit down face-to face which allows eye contact and creates an environment of equality. Maintain an open posture rather than crossing your arms and be mindful of fast or aggressive body movements.

2. Pay attention: One goal of active listening is to allow time and opportunity for everyone involved to think and speak freely. Listen carefully to what the other person is saying without interruption.

3. Withhold judgment.: Active listening requires an open mind. As a listener, be open to new ideas, new perspectives, and new possibilities. Be willing to be open to negotiation or compromise. No one wins an argument and be aware of developing a winner and loser mentality. Find “Win-Win” solutions.

4. Reflect: Learn to mirror the other person’s information and emotions by simply summarizing what you heard the other person say.

5. Clarify: If anything you heard is vague, ambiguous, or you don’t understand ask questions! Assure that messages are being sent and received correctly.

6. Become solution focused: Rather than talking about the problem over and over identify it, make sure everyone is clear on what the problem is, and begin focusing on finding the solution.

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The Twelve Steps, Their Foundation, and a Program of Recovery

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol/drugs--that our lives had become unmanageable. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are honesty, acceptance, and surrender.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are hope and faith.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are commitment, faith, and surrender.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are honesty, courage, and soul searching.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are truth and integrity.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are willingness and acceptance.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. The spiritual principle, value, and moral we learn with this step is humility.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are brotherly love, affection, and willingness.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are justice, amends, and forgiveness.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are perseverance, vigilance, and maintenance.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are spirituality, attunement, and finding purpose in life.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics/addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. The spiritual principles, values, and morals we learn with this step are being of service and helping others.


Resources

Fellowships: • Co-Dependents Anonymous:

A fellowship of men and women whose common purpose is to develop healthy relationships. Group meetings are based off the 12 Steps.

• Al-Anon:

Strength and hope for family members and friends of addicts. They have a tool on their website to find a local meeting near you.

Books:

• Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melody Beattie

• Beyond Codependency: And Getting Better All the Time by Melody Beattie

• The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations on Codependency (Hazelden Meditation Series) by Melody Beattie

Online Resources:

• Al-Anon: https://al-anon.org/

• CoDA.org: www.coda.org/

• Families Anonymous www.familiesanonymous.org/

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) | Turning Discovery into Health https://www.nih.gov/

• NIMH » Substance Use and Mental Health - National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/substance-use-and-mental-health/index.shtml

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) | https://www.drugabuse.gov/

1649 Linwood Loop • Opelousas, LA 70570Phone 337-942-1171 • Fax 337-948-9101 • Toll Free 855-463-9234

www.NewBeginningsTeenHelp.com

rev. 6/12/2019

nb revised fam handbook rev 61219€¦ · new beginnings offers experiential therapeutic modalities...

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