Alsana will be hosting one of our regularly scheduled Family Weeks starting November 6th. We are excited to welcome families into Alsana Treatment Center to help them gain the tools necessary to be effectively involved in their loved one’s recovery.
At Alsana, we know how important family is to recovery. Family members can become strong advocates for the patient and assist them in navigating through the process of recovery and life integration. Healthy family communication and boundaries are important to insure lasting recovery. In order to incorporate families into the treatment process, we host events like family week, where we invite them to the facility to learn about the psychology behind eating disorders and the function of eating disorders. We also provide education about anxiety and other co-occurring disorders, nutrition, the medical and psychiatric aspects of eating disorders, and how they can help support their loved one.
One of the unique aspects about Alsana’s family week is our expressive therapy component. This experiential group enables the family to understand in great detail the internal struggle that the client with an eating disorder experiences. Through role playing exercises, families can better understand the complexity of eating disorders, shame, self-hate, and relapse cycles.
Alsana leads the way in family therapy. We are unique in that we provide a therapist consultation for each member of the family that attends. The therapist gathers pertinent family history and works with the individuals to help address issues in their history. Our staff then uses this information from family members to put together a strong therapeutic program that will work to address the entire family’s needs. Through our family program, we help the family realign to become more functional, so that they can learn to interact in healthy ways again.
It is our goal to convey to families throughout Family Week that the eating disorder is not their fault. Many things trigger an eating disorder, and holding on to the blame is very unproductive. Our therapists work closely with families to help them understand the multi-faceted reasons behind eating disorders, and to work through their feelings of guilt so that they can be an asset to their loved one’s recovery.
