Couples therapy in recovery can be a great way to address substance use disorder (SUD) and its effect on your relationship. Addiction has the power to strain even the strongest relationships. Any issues surrounding addiction must be dealt with proactively to ensure you can maintain healthy and supportive partnerships. Dream Recovery utilizes couples therapy as one of our practices. We recognize its many benefits for those struggling with SUD.
The Impact of Addiction on Relationships
SUD can have a serious impact on all aspects of life, especially relationships. Addiction may lead to problems in communication and trust that impact intimacy in relationships. These impacts may result in feelings of loneliness, isolation, and resentment among partners.
Couples therapy provides an environment in which both partners may safely express their emotions. They can share any concerns that they might have about one another’s behaviors or emotions without fear or judgment. Their therapist can mediate these discussions to ensure they are healthy.
Dream Recovery’s couples therapy can assist you and your partner in strengthening your relationship. It can help you process the impacts of addiction on your relationship. Our licensed therapists are trained to provide both partners a safe space to voice their feelings and express concerns. They can also help couples developing healthy coping mechanisms and strategies to assist each other during recovery.
Benefits of Couples Therapy in Recovery
Couples therapy in recovery has many benefits. Consider the following benefits to help you determine if this form of therapy can benefit you and your significant other.
Increases Trust and Communication
One of the most significant advantages of couples therapy in recovery is its ability to improve communication. Addiction often causes a communication breakdown that results in mistrust between partners. Improving these communication skills through couples therapy is the first step toward strengthening the relationship.
Partners may feel betrayed or hurt by one another’s substance use or enabling behavior. Couples therapy provides both partners an ideal environment to address such trust issues and devise ways of rebuilding it together. This may involve setting boundaries, being honest about substance use issues, and developing accountability plans for both individuals. Increased trust can help each partner feel better supported in the relationship.
Reduces Codependency
Couples therapy also provides an opportunity to view and discuss potential codependency issues within the relationship. Codependency is common when one partner struggles with addiction. When this occurs, their non-addicted partner often feels responsible for supporting them. They may enable substance use as part of an attempt at helping.
Through couples therapy, you can identify patterns of codependency. You can then develop healthy coping mechanisms and boundaries to facilitate growth within each of you.
Teaches Healthy Coping Mechanisms
Couples therapy offers both partners the space they need to develop healthy coping mechanisms and strategies to assist each other through addiction recovery. Having someone by your side who understands your addiction can go a long way in the recovery process.
Couples therapy helps to identify ways that both partners can assist each other’s efforts. For example, partners may commit to attending support groups together, practicing self-care routinely, and creating plans to prevent relapses.
Strengthens Intimacy
Couples therapy can also assist in strengthening intimacy in relationships and being more empathetic toward one another. Addiction often creates distance in romantic partnerships. Addicted partners may prioritize substance use over spending quality time together. Couples therapy provides the means for couples to address such issues and devise ways to strengthen intimacy and connection.
This may involve developing shared hobbies or interests. It may also involve practicing mindfulness/meditation techniques together or setting aside dedicated quality time each week for just you two alone.
Challenges of Couples Therapy in Recovery
Couples therapy may present its own set of challenges for both partners involved, which may elicit difficult emotions for either. Persevering through these challenges together reinforces how much you value your relationship. It shows that your desire to support each other is worth the hardships of doing so.
One challenge of couples therapy in recovery is that it can become a distraction from the rest of treatment. While it is extremely beneficial to give attention to your relationship, it is important to ensure your focus remains on recovery. You can build confidence to succeed within yourself through individual treatment and build your support system through couples therapy.
Individualized Couples Therapy in Recovery
At Dream Recovery, couples therapy in recovery is tailor-made to meet the distinct needs of every couple. Because every relationship is different, our therapists work directly with each couple to develop a treatment plan tailored specifically to them. They use evidence-based therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing (MI) to teach healthy coping mechanisms. Partners can learn how they can better support each other through this journey.
Ready to strengthen your relationship and overcome addiction together? Couples therapy has many benefits to offer you and your significant other through the journey of addiction recovery. Couples therapy can help you to improve communication, rebuild trust, develop healthy coping mechanisms, and strengthen intimacy while supporting each other in this challenging time. Addiction negatively impacts relationships in many ways. Fortunately, in couples therapy, you can strengthen your relationship so that it can be a source of support and care. This will benefit not only your recovery, but the well-being of your partner as well. To learn more about the benefits of engaging in couples therapy, reach out to Dream Recovery today at (657) 216-7218.