Drug Addiction Treatment for Couples

Want to learn about couples addiction treatment? This article identifies the addiction treatment process, treatment types, and solutions.

Couples and Drug Addiction

It might be bad enough when one person is battling addiction, but it can be even more complicated when it affects couples. Couples’ addiction treatment is critical for the couples’ recovery, health, and relationship success.
Couples Addiction Treatment

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Understanding Drug Addiction

Addiction to drugs is a severe side effect of drug use. Taking drugs has the potential to be a double-edged sword. People begin using drugs to escape the pressures and guilt of everyday life, but because of their immoral activity, they become mentally agitated, and the only way they know to cope is to take more drugs. It’s a never-ending circle.
When someone is addicted to drugs, they cannot control their urges to use them. They consciously know that drugs are harmful to them and desire to quit with all their hearts, but by the time addiction has taken hold, it’s nearly complicated for them to do so. Their bodies have grown accustomed to the drugs, and going without them is excruciating.
Addiction to drugs impacts all aspects of life, including relationships. Drug addiction in relationships makes it hard to maintain trust, respect, and open communication.

How Does Drug Addiction Affect Relationships?

Every relationship that encounters drug addiction is doomed to fail. Relationships where at least one partner is struggling with addiction, are likely to have more conflict than usual. Drug addiction can cause trust issues, hurt, and anxiety – for one partner or both. These issues ruin relationships over time, leading to a loss of happiness and, eventually, relational failures, not just romantic ones. Here are the effects of drug addiction on relationships

Financially

It doesn’t matter what you’re addicted to, know that it costs money. Someone who is actively addicted has most certainly figured out how much their drug of choice costs, where they can obtain it, and how to pay for it. Doing this constantly will lead to serious financial problems.

Sexually

Drugs not only affect sex drive, libido, erections, ejaculation, and even fertility, but they can also lead to marital infidelity.

Emotionally

It should come as no surprise that drug addiction hurts relationships. Mistrust and suffering are caused by financial and sexual issues, resulting in a more significant emotional impact.

Violence and Abuse

Domestic violence is a particularly painful effect of addiction on relationships. In a relationship involving drugs, much misplaced anger and resentment can bubble up and explode violently, with possibly catastrophic repercussions. It can be tough to get help when both couples are addicted to drugs. Couples who use together tend to empower one another, and if one seeks help, the other is likely to draw them back into the throes of addiction.

If both partners decide to seek treatment together, it can be highly beneficial for them to undergo a couples addiction treatment program.

Couples' Drug Addiction Statistics

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 21 million Americans aged 12 and older, or over 8% of the population, had a case of drug addiction in 2013. Almost all these people have relationships that have been harmed by their addiction.1 

According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, unhappy couples that abuse drugs are frequently the most dysfunctional and bring about the most significant pain to each other.2 

Couples' Addiction Treatment Process

Below are the processes in which couples’ addiction treatment is performed:

Patient Assessment

The process of gathering information on a patient’s drug use and how it affects their life is known as assessment. It is an important aspect of couples’ recovery from addiction.
An admissions navigator will conduct a complete historical, medical, and mental evaluation of the couples. This will aid in determining the appropriate degree of care and treatment course.

Detox

Detoxification is usually the first step in couples’ addiction treatment. Detoxing from drugs involves removing substances from the body and controlling any withdrawal symptoms that may arise. It could take a few days to several months to complete the process.

After stabilization, the patient may require admission to an inpatient program.

Behavioral Therapies

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Principles of Effective Treatment, Behavioral therapies are the most effective and commonly used forms of therapy for drug addictions.

Behavioral therapies aim to change a person’s drug-abusing behaviors by teaching them life skills that will help them cope better with situations that may lead to substance abuse and relapse.

Aftercare

Couples will work with a therapist to build an aftercare plan following the procedures outlined above. Aftercare aims to help people sustain their recovery, identify ways to avoid relapse, and live a life with purpose and meaningful relationships.

Couples Addiction Treatment Types

There are various types of couples’ addiction treatment. These include

Individual Counseling

Individual counseling is a form of couples’ addiction treatment that involves private one-on-one sessions with a therapist expert.
Studies have shown individual therapy to be a beneficial component of a drug abuse treatment plan. Individual counseling assists people in identifying the source of their addiction.

Group Counseling

In couples’ addiction treatment, group counseling has been demonstrated to be quite beneficial. Group couples therapy is an important aspect of their recovery from addiction for many people.

Self-Help Support Groups

Self-help support groups are vital for the couple’s addiction recovery process. These groups are intended to provide a haven for couples who have experienced similar difficulties or have had similar experiences.

Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT).

This type of couples addiction therapy can help a couple enhance their relationship while simultaneously attempting to change the negative habits and behaviors that lead to drug abuse.2 

Recovering Couples Anonymous (RCA)

Recovering Couples Anonymous is a couples rehab group for couples fighting addiction and broken relationships. It promotes forgiveness and atonement for bad behavior through a 12-step program.

Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT)

Behavioral couples therapy is a broad term for couple therapies that use behavioral strategies based on operant conditioning principles.3 
Behavioral couples therapy (BCT) effectively treats couples suffering from addiction and focuses on modifying dysfunctional habits. By redesigning dysfunctional interactions and assisting the couple in maintaining good patterns throughout time, BCT attempts to reduce drug use.

Goals of BCT

Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT) aims to help drug addicts gain skills to change their behavior and strengthen their relationships while also creating abstinence support. To ensure success in recovery drugs, this therapy promotes pleasant activities and enhances communication between partners, with both acceptance and change.

Core Issues that BCT Focuses On

Behavioral Couples Therapy focuses on the following issues
  • Managing triggers and cravings
  • Anger management and emotional regulation
  • Accountability and mindfulness
  • Trust issues
  • Codependency
  • Intimate partner violence
The therapist will focus on the couple during the session by observing their emotions and how they communicate with each other and with the therapist.

Couples Addiction Treatment Programs

Couples Addiction Treatment
Couples’ addiction treatment programs are unique to each couple and can be tailored to their specific requirements and situations.4  These programs include:

Couples' Inpatient Rehab Program

Inpatient couples rehab programs provide structured treatment that addresses all aspects of a couple’s addiction. The couples live in a substance-free facility and receive medical and therapeutic support during inpatient couples addiction rehab. Couples facing chronic addiction and those suffering from a co-occurring mental or behavioral condition will benefit from inpatient rehab.

Couples Outpatient Rehab Program

Another type of comprehensive drug addiction treatment for couples is outpatient couples rehab. Like the inpatient rehab, many of the same effective treatments and therapies are available. The only difference is that the patients remain at home in outpatient rehab while recovering.

Treatment for Couples Addiction at Concise Recovery

It will be beneficial for a couple to go through couples addiction recovery together. Couples can attend or otherwise participate in treatment at Concise Recovery to strengthen the value of their relationship and help each other stay clean. Couples’ addiction treatment options include:

Detoxification

Detoxification is a process that allows people to safely withdraw from drugs until they are no longer present in their bodies. It is frequently the first step in treating those who are recovering from moderate to severe addictions. Detoxing from certain drugs may require medication-assisted therapy to reduce the intensity of withdrawal symptoms.

MAT

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is a type of therapy that combines medication, counseling, and behavioral therapy. It’s an evidence-based treatment that promotes abstinence and couples recovery while treating addiction.5 

Therapy

Couples’ addiction treatment therapies are based on health and drug abuse patterns. Options for therapy include an array of individual or group therapy sessions, which addiction counselors typically organize for addiction couples counseling

Get in Touch

All that’s left for you to do now is decide to improve. Contact a treatment provider today for more information on treatment options.

Resources

  1. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUHresultsPDFWHTML2013/Web/NSDUHresults2013.pdf
  2. https://www.aamft.org/Consumer_Updates/Substance_Abuse_and_Intimate_Relationships.aspx
  3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4766977/
  4. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/evidence-based-approaches-to-drug-addiction-treatment/behavioral-therapies
  5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310659/