What Families Can Expect: Support Throughout Long-Term Treatment & The Recovery Journey
As addiction advances, family members are presented with crisis after crisis.
When one fire is put out, another quickly develops. There is very little rest for the family of a chronic relapser.
This needs to change.
We invite families to explore the impact of addiction on their lives and begin the process of doing things differently.
It's Time For Your Family to Try Something Different
Our families, like our clients, come to us broken. Having endured years of agony at the hands of a constant, unyielding addiction, Burning Tree Families are ready for something different.
They are ready for Burning Tree!
Unlike traditional 30-, 60-, and 90-day programs, we understand there are no quick fixes for the depth of our clients’ problems. While short-term programs may have worked for others, chronic relapse requires something different—in fact, something extraordinary.
Understanding Addiction as a Family Disease
Addiction wreaks havoc upon families emotionally, financially, and physically. In many cases, it destroys families entirely.
It is an uncomfortable reality to be repeatedly confronted with relapse, dashed hopes, and ever-worsening consequences. It can also be painful for the family to change its response to the addicted loved one’s behaviors, crises, and misadventures.
After all, once the family system acclimates to living with addiction and all the attendant craziness attached to it, each member grows familiar with the patterns, the responses, and the roles they’ve been assigned to play.
Before long, these patterns become normalized, even expected.
By treating addiction as a family disease, we create opportunities for healing, growth, and transformation that extend beyond the individual in treatment.
“We want our families to come to the Family Program to help themselves, not to help their loved one.”
David Elliott, Founder & President
What Makes Burning Tree Different from Other Treatment Programs?
Burning Tree is the Nation’s only authentic long-term treatment provider specializing in the treatment of chronic relapse. We address life and death matters as they relate to chronic addiction and mental health.
- 100% Progress-Based
- Exclusive To Chronic Relapse Clients
- Life Skills Intensive, Accountability Driven
- Emphasis On Behavioral & Attitudinal Well-Being
- Long-Term, Multi-Phase Continuum Of Care
The Necessity of Separation: Creating Space for Healing
To treat addiction as a family disease, there needs to be separation from the addicted loved one and the rest of the family members.
This separation allows the individual and the family to focus on their healing and growth, free from the distractions and stressors of old patterns and behaviors.
Setting healthy boundaries and practicing self-care allows family members to rediscover their identities and priorities outside the home, laying the groundwork for a healthier, more supportive family dynamic.
What Does Separation Look Like?
We instruct families to limit contact and phone calls with their loved ones at the onset of treatment and ask that discussion topics be restricted to “news, sports, and weather.”
When separation occurs, it allows both parties—clients and families—to begin their healing journey. Each person, family member, and client starts working on their recovery independently.
Is Separation Necessary?
If it weren’t a critical part of our long-term treatment program, we wouldn’t ask families to go through the uncomfortable process of separation from their loved ones.
In our experience, we find that some family members lose a piece of their identity once their loved one enters long-term treatment. Despite the pain of addiction, acting as a problem solver can provide a sense of purpose. Sometimes, a family member may feel lonely because their role as enabler, fixer, or codependent is no longer needed.
As feelings of guilt, shame, or fear come to the surface, some family members may seek to curtail these feelings by buying gifts, showering praise, or dismissing past injuries in hopes that doing so will mitigate the addicted loved one’s discomfort.
Parallel Journeys: Family Transformation During Treatment
As their loved one progresses through treatment at Burning Tree Ranch, families will experience their transformative journey.
Just as their loved one is expected to participate in a twelve-step program, we expect our families to participate, too. We also ask that family members attain a home group sponsor and begin working all twelve steps with their sponsor immediately.
Overwhelmingly, our families show urgency and dedication in answering the crisis call for their loved ones in active addiction. We ask them to apply that same sense of desperate urgency to their recoveries. When they do, recovery outcomes are not only better, but they are sustainable.
Embracing Change: Supporting Lasting Independence in Recovery
Clients and families alike must learn to support themselves through their newly found independence and self-sufficiency. For family members, this means allowing the recovering individual to be held accountable for their own life choices and take responsibility for their recovery journey.
Families emerge from the Burning Tree Ranch experience as independent people with independent programs and recoveries. They will learn to express their support and love more effectively.
They will no longer seek to evade, control, or mitigate a relapse. Instead, they will be responsible for themselves and themselves only. Communication will become more transparent, direct, and authentic.
Struggles & Hopes Before Treatment
As a specialty program dedicated to treating chronic relapse, the Ranch Team has listened extensively over the years.
Here is what Burning Tree families say they need:
- "We need a team that understands how bad things have gotten. A team that will help us end this nightmare of addiction once and for all."
- "We need a team that offers high accountability and structure. A team that can help our loved ones establish a sense of integrity, discipline, and personal responsibility."
- "We need a team that will not be outwitted, charmed, or manipulated by our loved one. A team that is willing to confront and address our loved one’s ineffective beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors "
- "We need a team to help our loved one establish financial independence and self-governance; a team that understands the value of a self-supporting lifestyle.”
- "We need a team that will tell us what (and what not) to do and hold us accountable for the change we are responsible for."
- "We need something different, and we need it now."
Families, WE HEAR YOU!
We promise to be direct, consistent, and straightforward. We will do everything possible to help you move toward a new era of permanent recovery.
What Do Burning Tree Families Say?
We know the Burning Tree program is effective for complex, advanced cases of addiction. We also know what we’re asking families to undertake is far from simple or easy.
The transformative results of the Burning Tree experience are best illustrated through the stories of our families who have undergone the journey firsthand.
How We Manage Dual Diagnosis at Burning Tree Ranch
Burning Tree is the Nation’s only authentic long-term treatment provider specializing in the treatment of chronic relapse.
We address life and death matters as they relate to chronic addiction and mental health.
- Long-Term Progress-Based Mental Health And Chronic Relapse Treatment
- 4-Phase System Allowing For Metered Transition To Independent Living
- Specialized Aftercare Designed Exclusively For Chronic Relapse Clients
- Emphasis On Identifying Misdiagnosed And Undiagnosed Co-Occurring Disorders
- Exclusive Focus On Treating Chronic Relapse Clients
- Specialized Programming To Address Personality And Mood Disorders
- Trauma-Informed Care Featuring Equine And EMDR Therapy
- Neurofeedback Sessions Facilitated For The Duration Of Inpatient Treatment
Burning Tree Graduates
Our clients engage in a highly customized, life-altering treatment program tailored to the individual. While the goal is permanent sobriety, the mission is so much more. Here’s what to expect from a Burning Tree Graduate:
- Leads a Self-Supporting, Financially Independent Lifestyle
- Remains Accountable to Self, Peers, & Family
- Speaks Transparently & Listens Actively
- Demonstrates Patience & Composure
- Responds to Stressors Practically
- Prioritizes Integrity & Embraces Sobriety
Seem too good to be true? Burning Tree is a long-term specialty program that focuses exclusively on the complex needs of chronic relapsers. In fact, that’s all we do.
How Do I Know If My Loved One is a Fit for Burning Tree Ranch?
Letters to Families: Read First-Hand Accounts Of Recovery
A Letter for Families From Our Clinical Director Meghan Bohlman
Dear Families, I often meet you after the whirlwind that ends with your loved one arriving at Burning Tree Ranch. I meet you in the space between relief that your loved one made it into long term treatment and fear that they won’t stay long enough to accept the help being offered. It is in this space that our treatment team will begin construction of something new with you.
A Letter for Families from Lisa M., Mother of an Alumnus
Dear Families, When I started this letter for Burning Tree families I thought about what I would have wanted to hear when I was at the point you are at now. What words of wisdom could someone give me? It wasn’t more addiction horror stories; you’ve experienced that firsthand.
A Letter for Families from Elisabeth, Spouse of Burning Tree Alumnus
Dear Families, I once heard a speaker talk about sitting in front of the ocean and trying to stop the waves from crashing on the shore – that this is what powerlessness felt like. While the speaker was talking about their drinking and powerlessness over alcohol, I could relate to what he was saying.
Family of Graduates
Our families come to us skeptical and uncertain – even hopeless. Upon completion of the program, here’s what to expect from a Burning Tree Graduate’s Family:
- Renewed Trust: A rebuilt sense of trust in their loved one and the recovery process, grounded in the tangible progress they've witnessed.
- Deepened Connections: Stronger family bonds forged through shared challenges and victories, leading to more meaningful relationships.
- Greater Understanding of Addiction: An enhanced comprehension of the complexities of addiction, enabling a more compassionate and supportive approach to recovery.
- Commitment to Ongoing Support: A dedication to maintaining the supportive structures and practices that have facilitated their loved one’s sobriety and overall well-being.
- Appreciation for the Present: An increased ability to live in the moment, valuing the time spent together and the peace that comes with recovery.
- Optimism for the Future: A hopeful outlook towards the future, believing in the possibilities that sobriety can bring to their loved one and the family.
- Adaptability and Resilience: A newfound resilience and adaptability, equipped to face life's uncertainties with strength and grace, thanks to their shared journey through recovery.
Feel unattainable? Burning Tree clients undergo a long process of transformation. Our families do, too.
Looking Ahead: Life After Burning Tree Ranch
Our aftercare program is designed to help clients merge their newfound sobriety with the demands and challenges of everyday life. We recognize that transitioning from the structured, supportive residential treatment environment to the real world can be daunting, so we work closely with families to facilitate long-term aftercare.
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