PAL as a Support Group For Families With Addicted Loved Ones
Family members dealing with addiction often find themselves unmoored by the prospect of helping their children into recovery. The good news is that there are plenty of options to get you the support you need.
Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (or PAL) is a non-profit organization based in Arizona. While it is a Christian-run 501(c)3, attendees of all faiths and backgrounds are welcome.
In terms of leading local support options, what does Parents of Addicted Loved Ones offer?
PAL meetings offer a structured format with time for substance abuse education and an opportunity to share your current struggles. These meetings are confidential, only for close family members over the age of eighteen, and meet weekly.
All around Arizona, you will find PAL groups that provide hope to parents of addicted loved ones.
Purpose Healing Center is conveniently located near several PAL meetings, giving you more chances to support your loved one while they get the clinical help they need. Here’s what you can expect when you attend your first Parents of Addicted Loved Ones group.
What Does a PAL Group Offer for Family Support When Facing Addiction?
The treatment and recovery industry is full of options for friends, family, and loved ones of addicts and alcoholics who desire to help those with a substance use disorder to heal and recover. Family members dealing with an addicted loved one will require education and support as they walk this path.
What do PAL meetings offer that allows you to find hope and healing as a primary goal?
Parents Helping Parents: Finding a Real Support Group
Parents of addicted children face unique struggles, which means they also require a unique structure for a support group. One of the draws of PAL meetings is that they are solely a group of parents who come together to help other parents.
When you first encounter the group, you’ll find hope. After all, everyone there understands what it’s like to walk in your shoes. All PAL groups are run by volunteer facilitators who are themselves parents who were once in need of support and education.
While the volunteer board does undergo training to facilitate meetings, they aren’t teachers. They are there to learn and support others, guiding the meetings according to a structured format.
As with the more widely known 12 step based approach known as Al-Anon, and other support groups like Adult Children of Alcoholics, these meetings are open to all and free of charge.
Addiction Education: Providing Hope for Substance Use Disorder
In addition to the friendships that can form between parents in this setting, there is another core piece of the PAL group: addiction education. The curriculum is designed specifically to help family and friends learn more about what their addicted children are going through.
Plus, it provides evidence-based practices for how you can best support them as they walk through treatment, sobriety, and potentially even relapse.
The goal is not just to give you the support needed to help someone with drugs and alcohol. It’s also to teach you how to focus on yourself and how an adult child or loved one has affected your life. As your needs may fall by the wayside, PAL meetings remind you how critical self-care is.
Short Meetings with Structure
No matter what your background is, your time is likely at a premium when walking through recovery with a family member or close friend. No matter where you attend, PAL groups are run the same way. You can expect each of your meetings to last about an hour and a half.
Plus, unlike with Anonymous-based programs like Al-Anon, Nar-Anon and Families Anonymous, the meeting is split into two distinct halves: addiction education and an open floor for members to share what they are going through right now. Group members can offer suggestions rather than advice.
The good news is that you don’t have to necessarily agree with all of the suggestions made to aid in your unique situation. Instead, group members know that they can take what serves them and discard the rest without the fear of judgment from their peers.
Most groups meet once a week so that you have structure to your week and never have to go too long without connecting to an understanding community.
Expect Confidentiality for Your Peers
This Christian-run non-profit is much like some of the other support groups you may have attended or seen on television. Like the Alcoholics Anonymous program, everything that is shared in PAL meetings is completely confidential. Your peers should never share your story with their friends or anyone else.
To this end, it’s important to note that addicted loved ones are not welcome at PAL groups. This group is solely for parents, close family members, and spouses dealing with someone in their immediate family.
It’s also not a place to bring anyone under the age of eighteen. This ensures that you can deal with mature topics without worrying about minors and children in the meetings.
What PAL Meetings are Not: A Replacement for Substance Abuse Counselors
When it comes time to manage a substance use disorder in the family, involved parents may be a core part of recovery and treatment. Community resources and tools, including PAL meetings, are great for additional support outside of clinical help.
However, it’s not a substitute for getting help from a qualified substance abuse counselor. You can’t get a loved one sober on your own, even if you have other parents cheering you on. You may even want to seek individual therapy for yourself. You need to care for your own needs before helping people.
Get professionals on board with a loved one’s recovery and encourage them to do the work on their own as well.
Find Hope and Healing for a Loved One at Purpose Healing Center
Purpose Healing Centers offer help for loved ones addicted to drugs and alcohol at all levels. We are central to Phoenix and Scottsdale as well as convenient for clients across Maricopa County, which hosts several PAL meetings in Arizona.
Our services can offer support for an addicted child while you get the help, encouragement, and support you need as a parent.
Our enrollment team can answer your questions and help you verify insurance benefits (we accept AHCCCS and most private insurances as an in-network provider) so you don’t have anything to worry about once treatment commences. From medical detox to intensive outpatient, we offer a full continuum of care options.
Reach out to us confidentially today to learn more about how our organization can help those affected by substance use disorders!
480-579-3319