Family Process
Healing Our Legacy
As adults, we find that we have developed our ways of being and coping from our family of origin (the family we grew up in). This family, as well as the one we may have started with a new partner or partners, can be thought of as a connected group of individuals who share a common history and attachment to one another. Our individual beliefs can be seen as either embracing or rejecting the prevailing lifestyles which were exposed in our families of origin.
The Alta Mira Family Relationships Process is dedicated to the healing of family relationships in the context of individual responsibility. The work done here provides an examination of the characteristics of our families with a particular eye toward each individual's role and responsibility in the family system. Effecting change and healing in families requires looking at each of ourselves, our individual contributions and roles, and become able to tell our loving truth from a position of authenticity and self-respect.
The Invitation
To begin this conversation, individuals can invite specific family members to come to Alta Mira to sit down together and explore the individual and collective paths that have brought us together. Clients are encouraged to extend the invitation without expectation of a particular response and without taking personal responsibility for the impact upon those invited.
Extending an unencumbered invitation offers one a chance to take a genuinely personal action that is made independent of its effect on those we have either protected from our needs or harmed as a result of our behavior. Recognizing these patterns of protection and harm together begins the healing process that follows when we authentically experience and expose the truth of our family relationships.
The Work
We come together for two and a half days, typically around a weekend, and first establish a safe and trusting environment in which we can discover and express our loving truth.
This includes:
- Members sharing their individual experiences of growing up and explore each other's trans-generational stories and the themes that emerge
- Observing the commonalities and learning from the differences
- Teachings which are provided to explore recovery, family and group dynamics, and the successful and destructive ways we cope as human beings
- Helping participants break down the barriers that separate us from the deeper family connections we have lost or longed for
In the end of our time together each participant (client, family member and staff person) experiences a new clarity and appreciation for our authentic selves and for one another.
Next Steps
The initial family relationships process opens the door for each member to develop an authentic voice and position from which to engage both their family members and themselves. In the presence of their loving truth, members declare actions and intentions for individual growth, change and responsibility for ongoing healing.
All family members, including the person in treatment at Alta Mira, become accountable to play an individual and collective role in the family solution. Clients are provided with:
- Recommendations for therapists, outpatient programs and support groups in members' home communities to optimize the opportunity for success
- A follow up plan which frequently includes returning to Alta Mira Treatment Programs for a second or third series of in-person meetings
- Follow-up telephone consultation and support
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More Programs Info
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» Primary Treatment
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Our Program Offers
- Daily Meditation Group
- Therapy Groups
- Individual Therapy
- Nutritional Therapy
- Adventure Therapy
- Medical Care
- Psychiatric Care
- Labyrinth Walk
- Family Work
- Guest Presenters
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