Drug abuse is a most divisive force within a family unit. It causes people to lie to those that trust them, to use violence against those that love them and above all, to loathe themselves. In many cases the abuse of drugs goes on for many years, causing an ingrained type of damage that becomes a feature of daily life. Yet amidst the pain and suffering that is caused by drugs, there often remains an inability for individuals to fully heal themselves. In fact says that the incidence of drug abuse amongst children of drug addicts remains disproportionately high, in spite of first hand experience with the devastating disease. This fact clearly outlines the need for and the significance of expert rehabilitation programs that counters the disease to the same extent that drug abuse has negatively impacted the family.

There are a variety of methods and programs that exist with regard to drug rehab programs but the priorities of almost all drug rehab programs are defined by the level of abuse of the drug addict. The process of successful drug rehab programs is usually based upon a series of fundamental needs which are designed to:

-Allow the immediate effects of the drugs in your system to dissipate
-Safely detoxify the body and remove lasting traces of drugs from the body
-Avoid relapse by undergoing individual counseling
-Identify the things that may trigger a relapse
-Undergo family or marital counseling as appropriate

The last point which relates to family and marital counseling can be extremely significant for the purposes of breaking a lasting cycle of abuse. Most rehab programs are keen to point out the need for families to tackle drug abuse and agree that the role of family and friends as a means of support cannot be overstated. Hand in hand with this issue is the need for individual members of the family to be reconciled with the pain of their experiences. Family members simply cannot provide a supportive network for recovering addicts if they are continuing to harbor resentment or unresolved issues that stem from the drug user. Secondly, the chances of forming a multi-generational pattern of drug abuse are far greater if family reconciliation is not undertaken.