Family Program Form – Substance Abuse

Welcome to FHE Health. We will be working with you and your loved one closely to support a healthy recovery. The materials enclosed are vital to the treatment process and our ability to help and support your family.

Our treatment philosophy and clinical interventions are based on the belief that addiction affects each member of the family who suffers from impaired judgment and insight. Therefore, the identified "client" is the family system as a whole. We have included a questionnaire to gain more information about what has been happening in your family. Just as we have treatment expectations for the client, we also have expectations of the family. Please return the completed questionnaire to us within seventy-two hours of your receipt. This assessment will help the team formulate plans to address family system issues. The more information you offer the better quality of care we can provide.

We look to develop a therapeutic alliance with family members and concerned persons during the treatment process. This allows us to maintain ongoing dialogue as clinical interventions are revised and strategized by the treatment team.

Please keep in mind a few important points regarding treatment:

Consents and Sharing of Information

By law, we are not allowed to discuss a client's treatment unless a client signs and authorizes communication. While we make the effort at admission and throughout treatment to secure these releases, clients are free to refuse or to revoke, ending a release, at any point in treatment. Often, we see that clients who desire to go against clinical recommendations, who are going against family wishes for treatment, or who are not interested in recovery, will revoke consents so that we cannot speak to family or others when the client wants to leave treatment. While we can listen to anything that you want to say, we are not allowed by law to give any information about a client who has not authorized communication with outside parties. We are not able to give notification of the revoked consent, so for many families this seems like a lack of communication from the facility. It is our desire to keep lines of communication open but are limited when clients will not authorize this release of information.

Against Medical Advice

This term, AMA for short, is when clients want to leave treatment and it is not clinically recommended. Addiction is a powerful disease and many clients are unwilling to complete treatment. This could be a general lack of desire for recovery, those who enter treatment for the wrong reasons, many clients who have worked detox into their relapse cycle, or those that face cravings or discomfort in being treatment and want to leave. If consents are available, we will reach out to you to encourage your loved one to stay in treatment. The healthy people in a client's life are aware that without recovery there is no healthy life for an addicted individual. For people with mental health issues they may also refuse medications that help them to think clearly and then make the impulsive decision to leave the structured treatment environment.

In any case it is vital that you do not enable, help them continue their destructive ways, but rather, learn to set limits and healthy boundaries.

The primary therapist responsible for the client's case can explain this more fully, but often this means your refusing to give money or resources, refusing to help with picking the client up from treatment, or making arrangements for the client to leave treatment. Sometimes there is only a small window of opportunity to save a life. Holding the line with your loved one can make a significant hurdle to them going back to their destructive ways. We will do all we can from our end, but we need your support to help as well. Please be prepared to not give in to the manipulation, control, or aggressiveness of a loved one that wants to leave treatment. Please also be advised that not all clients are honest when they complain of the staff or the facility. For over 17 years we have been helping people to get better and live more productive lives. We can assure families that we offer the finest care and our alumni regularly credit FHE Health for playing the most important part in their recovery. If there are ever any concerns, we will address them quickly and personally with clients. We work hard to provide a safe, supportive, and comprehensive treatment environment that promotes health and stability.

Family Supports

When clients give permission to work with their families and supports, we will be in contact and work to help keep you informed and to work through issues which may impede the success of the client. There are sessions available with the client and therapist, with the therapist and family, or all together either in person or by phone. We can also help to make referrals for outpatient family and couples counseling as part of the ongoing healing work between you and your loved one. Please reach out is you have any concerns or needs so that we can help coordinate the family care that is needed. Often, family work is important and reveals work for yourself to cope and be healthy. Your therapist will make recommendations and we encourage you to follow the clinical recommendations.

Further Resources

We are sending a questionnaire that is very important, so we can know what is going on in the family system. Please take the time to send this into our team so we can assess your needs and perspective and begin our family work and focused clinical care with the client. Please send this in as soon as possible to our admissions department so that this can be shared with the multidisciplinary team.

Thank you for your part in helping your loved one get healthy and happy. We are committed to working for your loved one in this first step of recovery, be it from drugs, alcohol, or mental health issues.

Sincerely, The Clinical Services Team FHE Health

Thank you for taking the time to complete and return this questionnaire. Your responses will help us work with you and your loved one in treatment more effectively. Based upon your experience with the client, please answer the following questions regarding the effects of addiction on the client and his/her family.