December 6, 2011

Sessions Help People Reclaim Their Lives While Helping Addicts

Having a family member or close friend with an alcohol or other drug abuse problem often creates stress and emotional pain. A free four-week educational program from ThedaCare Behavioral Health is designed to provide family members with information about substance abuse by focusing on a solution rather than focusing on the addiction and addict.

James Cruthers, Clinical Supervisor of Recovery Services for ThedaCare Behavioral Health, said an addict’s family members and friends often change their own life to accommodate the substance abuser and compensate for that person’s lack of responsibility. Both of these actions create stress and negatively affect the quality of life for that family member or friend.

“Our goal is to provide hope to the affected family members by beginning to educate them about addiction and what it means to be affected by someone’s abuse or dependence of alcohol and other drugs,” he said. “We hope to help family members improve their own quality of life by beginning to recognize the choices they make and the behaviors they practice in regard to the afflicted person.”

“The goal is to offer family members something that will help them reclaim their own lives and to understand their own behaviors and how changing them may help the addicted person,” Cruthers said.

During the four-week program, participants will learn to recognize when a substance abuse problem is interfering with the family and themselves. Topics covered include addiction and denial; family roles and feelings; communication and assistance; and warning signs and enabling.

People will learn how to make healthier choices through independence, creativity, and the use of internal and community-based resources.  The education programs will be offered on a four-week cycle so people can begin attending at any time.

The AODA Affected Family Education Program is held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays at ThedaCare Behavioral Health, 1095 Midway Road, Menasha. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. To register, please call (920) 720-2300.

ThedaCare Behavioral Health is the largest behavioral medicine provider in Northeast Wisconsin, providing inpatient and outpatient mental health and AODA treatment to more than 8,000 individual patients. It offers services at locations in Appleton, Menasha, Neenah, Oshkosh, New London, Waupaca and Shawano.

ThedaCare (www.thedacare.org) is a community-owned health system consisting of Appleton Medical Center, Theda Clark Medical Center, New London Family Medical Center, Riverside Medical Center in Waupaca, ThedaCare Physicians, and other health care services. ThedaCare is the largest employer in Northeast Wisconsin with nearly 5,400 employees.

For more information, media may contact Megan Wilcox (megan.wilcox@thedacare.org), corporate and public relations specialist for ThedaCare, at (920) 830-5847.