Addiction is often traumatic to families, friends and colleagues and can devastate personal relationships. For this reason, Summit views their involvement in the client's treatment as a primary factor in the success of the addict's recovery process. Clients and their family members participate in Summit Malibu' intensive family program to address the family's concerns and questions about the nature of addiction and post-treatment life. The family program includes educational lectures, family process groups and individual family therapy sessions. Families and friends learn about the nature of addiction and explore methods to ensure their loved one's continued success after treatment.

In the initial assessment stage, when clients are often unable to participate, it is typically family and friends who provide the information required for an accurate client assessment. In the long term, clinical research shows that by participating in the recovery process, family members can actually improve the client's chances for a lasting recovery.

The effect on family members themselves is no less profound. When family members are given the opportunity to deal openly with their own issues as well as the impact of addiction on the family, the results can be life changing. We have witnessed countless families experience healing through not only helping their friend or loved one recover from addiction, but also identifying and working through latent issues that had not otherwise been resolved.

Above all else, Summit Malibu provides a safe, supportive, and structured environment in which families can work through their own recovery process. Our family program not only helps family members understand addiction, it helps them open the lines of communication, break through denial, set healthy boundaries, and build trust and support that is needed for lasting and complete recovery.