Family therapy

Family therapy is offered as a regular part of clinical treatment in Scotland. We advise everyone to make use of these sessions, if possible. The family therapy sessions are scheduled during your visit to your relative at Castle Craig Hospital.

If you are unable to travel to Scotland, you have the option to participate family activities from Castle Craig Netherlands. This is always in consultation with the patient and his or her therapist.

Recurring topics of family sessions include:

Education and Outreach

Addiction causes agitation in the vicinity of a patient. Addiction is not called a family disease for nothing. There is often a family burden; the addiction occurs in several generations. The patient's family and loved ones often try to help the addicted person, sometimes against their better judgment. Often this does not help or in the worst case leads to perpetuation of the addiction. The sessions talk about the myth of willpower. Castle Craig applies the principle of the three C's: You can't Control it, You have not Caused it and You cannot Cure it.

Introduction to self-help groups

Castle Craig strongly recommends following the self-help groups for family and loved ones of addicts during and after treatment, such as Al-Anon, the self-help group for the alcohol addicts' family. These groups aim to help family and loved ones to take good care of themselves and to build a good support network.

Learning to deal with ...

We help family and loved ones understand the interactions and dynamics surrounding addiction. Many people feel helpless when it comes to the other person's addiction. They are eager to help, but are drawn into the web of addiction behavior every time. During the therapy they discover that they themselves have a choice in the way they deal with addiction. The powerlessness disappears and gives way to optimism.