After every family week we survey the families to find out their impressions of our family week event. They always share such insightful and wonderful feedback, we thought we would share some of it with you! Alsana family week occurs every six weeks. It is a three day intensive therapeutic process involving group therapy, individual therapy and family therapy. It is our philosophy that the family or support system must be involved in the therapeutic process for lasting change to occur. Our clients always share that they benefit greatly from family week and learning to involve their support system int he recovery process.
What do family members think of family week at Alsana?
- We appreciated it; everyone’s exceptional! When you say you are specialists in eating disorders, you truly are.
- The staff was very welcoming and put me at ease when we first started talking. Safe environment to share.
- Our family sessions were really helpful. The staff really helps facilitate the conversations for everyone. We felt safe and comfortable.
- Staff is very professional and supportive with elaborate and down-to-earth explanations. Also, I sensed a relaxed pacing to allow people to have “think time”.
- We have been to different ED programs – by far this was the best.
- It was hard, exhausting but well worth it.
- It was interesting to hear comments from other families. Realize that all are going through much the same sorts of turmoil that we are.
- Very helpful family sessions, wonderful therapist.
- I wish we could have had more. The sessions were really helpful and I wished to continue at the end of each one!
- Every session was beneficial.
- Parts of the conversations were difficult but all of them were very helpful to understand what my daughter has been going through instead of hiding it from us.
- The largest stride forward in some time for our family.
- It was great seeing that we are not alone – at same time, saddened that so many suffer from illness.
- All types of sessions were informative and helpful with multi-family sessions. Quite “opening” hearing other family members with various levels of articulation.
- The content was extremely educational and just what we needed. The “expressive session” taught us volumes of what is “inside” the head of our daughter. Multifamily session were eye opening, educational and comforting.
- Therapists were professional, patient, insightful, wise and helped each of us share feelings at the right time. They definitely seemed like some of the best hand-picked experts in the field.
- So inspiring and impressive. The work she did/is doing is hard and she is dedicated to it. She has come so far here at Alsana.
- Everything was above our expectations. Probably family sessions were my favorite but we also very much benefited from multi-family groups.
- Lolly is truly a gift! Jim is the perfect “male’ to give men/fathers validation and support.
- Any staff I dealt with or met was friendly, made me feel welcome, and was very helpful!
- Sarah listened and provided empathy; felt like she really cares.
What was the most important thing learned during family week?
- We Learned that eating disorders are symptoms of underlying mental health issues. Noticed that we have just scratched the surface in understanding the ED.
- The victim, rescuer and victimizer triangle.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate. Listen, listen, listen. Don’t police ….support!
- How to start dialogue in a meaningful way regarding ED.
- That we’d never considered that family dynamics from years ago have affected our daughter and her illnesses.
- That we’re not alone.
- That this will take time, is a process and requires an entire family involvement.
- How to support my daughter.
- This will be a long journey but it’s going to take some changes in our family to help our daughter in her recovery process.
- The future is bright.
- Work needs to be done outside of treatment center.
- That there is still a lot for me to learn about how to deal with this.
- That sometimes you just need to listen and not try to fix things.
- What she is thinking when she sits down to a meal. I learned this from Expressive Group. I had no idea. I was shocked.
- Find out what to talk about – more important, what not to say.
- Many general ways to be supportive that will be customized during post-CW recovery.
- That it is not about the food; why our daughter restricts – what she “gets out of it”
- That communication is key -no shame -families are more complicated, more resilient and more important than one realizes.
