Treatment is not meant to be Fun

Truthfully, treatment can be fun.  This is can be true at both the residential and extended care levels.  If the programs you are enrolling in offer a lot of experiential or adventure-based therapeutic activities, it can be tons of fun!  But now that I have your attention, what I really want to talk about is how treatment is not supposed to be comfortable.  At least not all the time.

If your adult child writes you a letter or calls you to tell you they are uncomfortable being there, listen very carefully.  Do not jump to pull them out of the program.  A loved one disliking a program because they are challenging them clinically is not a reason to remove them from treatment.  They are in treatment because they need to change.  Change takes time, and often change is very uncomfortable.

When you call a program and they are quick to talk to you about their high-caliber mattresses, duvet covers, and 24/7 pool access, I would question whether or not you are looking at a treatment program or an all-inclusive resort.  To me, that sounds like a vacation, not treatment.  That is not to say that a place that does have high-quality linens did that with intention because their clinical programming makes their clients emotionally exhausted.  With emotional exhaustion, it is not to be able to melt into a comfortable mattress at the end of a grueling therapeutic day.  That is an okay level of comfort.

If when you call and you hear about all the fun adventure activities that your adult child will participate in, but they don’t talk about the clinical sophistication and homework that your child will also be experiencing, I would question whether I was talking to a treatment program or a summer camp.  The goal will certainly be for your adult child to smile by the time they leave treatment, not because they got to do a bunch of cool stuff, but rather because they have a sense of pride in their accomplishments.  It is all about perspective!

Treatment does not have to be painful, and it does not have to be plush.  Find something in the middle that allows for fun and comfort and will absolutely serve the purpose of being the environment your adult child needs to be heal and grow.  Most importantly, if you are feeling like Goldilocks and you can’t seem to find that right fit for a program for you adult child, hire a Therapeutic Consultant.

For questions or comments contact Joanna.