Teen girls find themselves in treatment for various reasons. Some of these reasons include the presence of eating disorders, attention deficits, and emotional distress. These behavioral and emotional problems can cause many problems and negatively impact relationships. Treatment can improve these problems and relationships. Still, parents often worry that the distance involved with attending treatment may worsen their relationship with their child. Some parents express a concern that their daughter’s well-being may suffer when she is completing a program without their involvement. Parents may also question, “How do I reconnect with my daughter after treatment?” Fortunately, young women transform into healthier versions of themselves after completing their stay at Clearview Horizon Girls Academy. However, parents can also see the positive results when they visit. Clearview hosts parent workshop weekends and family therapy programs to build family relationships and ensure a positive reconnection.
What Will Life Feel Like for My Daughter After Treatment?
Although treatment helps the individual who is facing problems with their mental health, it can also benefit the family as a whole. When an adolescent returns home from treatment, it is common for her to take some much-needed time for herself. Leaving a large support system and readapting to her home environment can feel mildly uncomfortable at first. Many parents may feel on edge, fearing a sudden relapse. However, if everyone knows what actions to take to provide support, the transition into normal living can feel smooth for everyone involved.
The Significance of Family Support After Treatment
According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, unaddressed mental health disorders during adolescent years are a prevalent health concern today for family members and society as a whole.
Fortunately, there is strong evidence that systemic family therapy helps young women. What’s more, family interventions improve family dynamics, which naturally enhances a teen’s well-being. Based on a recent study consisting of 41 teens and their parents, family-related therapeutic interventions contributed to a variety of positive effects. These included increased family cohesion, perceived efficacy as a parent, healthier parental practices, and overall higher satisfaction in the home environment.
Different Ways to Reconnect With My Daughter After Treatment
The transition to family life after treatment can be a tender time, and offering plenty of support is imperative. One important form of support is boundary-setting. Issuing family boundaries after treatment can help ensure ongoing mental and social stability.
Although often it can seem like setting boundaries is an unloving thing to do, setting boundaries is actually a caring act. Further, boundary-setting does not have to be an intimidating process. It can take practice, and the facility will provide resources and strategies so parents know what’s needed.
Strengthening the Relationship
Parents can strengthen their relationship with their daughter after treatment in many other ways. For instance, it can be helpful if parents decide to:
- Let their daughter know how much they missed her when she was away in treatment
- Praise their daughter for completing treatment
- Let their daughter know they understand change can feel stressful
- Show patience when their daughter is having a moment
- Allow their daughter to express her feelings
- Show support and use the strategies in therapy together to work toward improvement
What Is Family Therapy?
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), changes in any part of a family system can trigger conflict. When a teen has returned home from a mental health treatment facility, this does not mean she is completely cured. She will have to adjust to her home environment and use the tools learned in therapy to adapt to a normal way of living.
When one person is facing challenges with their mental health, the rest of the family may be affected. The whole family can experience stress as a result of a teen’s mental or behavioral issues. Even after she returns home, everyone may need ongoing support.
Family interventions can help everyone cope with the level of responsibility and tension that is present in the home. This type of therapy helps family members become more willing to open up and share their feelings with their loved one. Additionally, if the family environment was already disrupted before the daughter left for treatment, family therapy can provide strategies to help resolve those issues.
The Value of Participating in Family Therapy With My Daughter After Treatment
Not everyone has experienced the same level of trauma. Therefore, not all young women have the same experience when returning home after treatment. Regardless of the level of care needed, however, family support is crucial upon being discharged from mental health treatment. Sometimes if the family pursues outpatient care services, this can significantly improve the path moving forward in recovery.
While making an effort to reconnect with a loved one can significantly improve the relationship, researching other options can help. For example, participating in family therapy at Clearview can guide each family member to recognize their unhelpful behaviors and to adopt new behaviors and strategies.
Therapy can also provide a thorough overview of their loved one’s mental illness so parents can gain a better understanding of their daughter’s condition. According to the aforementioned SAMHSA publication, participating in family therapy in correlation with individual therapy may provide several benefits. These include:
- Increased medication adherence
- Reduced relapse rates
- Decreased rehospitalization rates
- Reduced psychiatric symptoms
- Relieved stress related to a loved one’s condition
- Improved family communication
- Greater ability to identify problem areas within the family
- New strategies for handling conflict
- Strengthened parent-daughter relationships
Our professional therapeutic team at Clearview Horizon helps young women solve complex behavioral, emotional, and life-impacting problems. Our facility has earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for behavioral health care accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. We continue to offer top notch programs in mental health and addiction recovery. Several times a year, the therapists at our facility provide a weekend workshop for the girls’ parents in our residential treatment center. Everyone who has attended has stated that these workshops are a blessing. The overall goal is to help parents build whole and healthy families. Call Clearview at 866-584-4788 to learn how to reconnect with your daughter after treatment.
