Family Engagement
The staff at Wind of Change Christian Residential Treatment Program for young adult women believe that the parents are the most important part of the treatment team dynamics and their daughter’s treatment outcome. This is WHY we offer weekly family sessions. The involvement of a supportive family group can also greatly enhance your or your loved ones’ treatment outcomes and increase the chance of long-term success after discharge. Therefore, from the moment of admission, our residential treatment staff will encourage your young adult daughter to allow her parents to be part of her treatment journey.
Dealing with young adults who are struggling with independency, and dual diagnosis issues require family involvement. For this reason, Wind of Change implements a family system therapy program that gives parents the tools they need to support their adult daughter’s behavioral health treatment.
Admitting your daughter to Wind of Change is a very important first step in restoring peace to your home. Mental health struggles and co-occurring disorders can cause significant strain on family relationships and possibly even destroy those bonds. Our goal is to allow the family to heal and grow together by learning and practicing healthy communication. During this time the family can see their own growth right alongside their loved ones in treatment.
Once your daughter is safely in behavioral health treatment, you can begin the process of assessing the unique dynamics of your family through our family systems therapy program. It’s through this practice that your entire family can benefit by expanding your communication skills, learning more about yourselves, and finding forgiveness that helps rebuild a solid foundation of trust.
Wind of Change Offers Family Systems Therapy to Struggling Young Adults
1. Parent Handbook and Orientation Packet
While it is every family’s dream to live in peace with their adult children, adjusting to this new way of life – and to your “new” adult daughter – can be awkward at first. To start, we’ll provide a complete parent handbook and packet that will offer insightful instructions about what to expect on family therapy day so you can support your adult daughter upon discharge. We’ll also provide sessions based on various techniques of family systems therapy.
2. Family Therapy Produces Healing
Personality conflicts, keeping secrets, and strained relationships are commonly found in families that are dealing with struggling young adults. Young adults can become withdrawn and illusive, due to the stress and strain of the expectations of adulthood.
We will strongly recommend to your daughter that she participate in intensive family therapy with her parents/support system while she is in residential treatment and continue family therapy after discharge. Ideally, her parents will be involved in weekly sessions that focus on understanding, expressing and constructively dealing with your daughter’s behavioral health issues along with any family issues that she perceives. Family Therapy also focuses on discovering the strengths and weaknesses of your particular family and its members.
As each member experiences growth, the entire family structure will grow, becoming stronger, more closely knit, and more resilient. In the end, you will have a helpful collection of parenting tips, tools to help with your daughter once she’s back home, and the ability to trust, forgive and appreciate one another.
3. Individual and Marital Counseling is ALWAYS Recommended
Your daughter’s therapist at Wind of Change residential treatment facility will always recommend that the parents and guardians find their own counselors and participate in individual and marital counseling to work through any issues that may be hindering the ability to parent and the marriage.
4. Bi-Monthly Treatment Planning
The parents are an integral part of their daughter’s treatment and interventions. If your adult daughter approves, we will send the parents the current treatment plans every other week for your review and input into any treatment interventions that you think would be appropriate to help your adult daughter in her goals for treatment.
Dealing with your young adult daughter doesn’t have to cause the tragic end of the parent-child relationship. You, your daughter, and every member of your family can ultimately benefit from family therapy at Wind of Change.
We strongly recommend that you participate in weekly family therapy while you are in treatment. We will work to focus the family on healing and re-establish mutual love, respect, and support in your relationships. Families will work to let go of resentment and anger towards each other that sometimes arises when there are struggles. Additionally, families will also learn better communication skills and healthier ways of coping with difficult situations when they arise. In this setting, families can heal and grow together and parents can help sustain the success of their daughters long after treatment has ended.
