Broadway Lodge Running Supportive Online Addiction Sessions for Loved Ones

Broadway Lodge, Britain’s longest established abstinence-based rehab located in Weston-Super-Mare, are running supportive online Zoom courses for anyone who is affected by a loved ones addiction. It’s a day-and-a-half online course held once a month to help educate, support and improve the wellbeing of people affected by someone else’s addiction. Specialising in the treatment of addiction, Broadway Lodge knows how invaluable education and talking in a safe space can be for anyone who is affected by it.

Head of Treatment and Counselling at Broadway Lodge, Markkus Trew, says “Addiction is an illness that can turn lives upside down and tear families apart. It doesn’t just affect the person with the addiction, but often those closest to the individual will become a victim too, caught up in the chaos and devastation it causes. The mental and emotional wellbeing of loved ones can nosedive after suffering with stress, worry and fear for the person that they love and just want to help them and see them well again. One of the topics we talk about is the enabling cycle. Family members usually try to help their loved one in any way they can by providing whatever it is the person with addiction asks for. But this is enabling behaviour that just lets the addiction manifest further and it actually does more harm than good.”

He says that through the family programme, attendees will feel less isolated and feel empowered with the confidence to move forward and know what they need to do next. Attendees will get to really understand addiction, understand the unhelpful patterns of behaviour they are exhibiting, and very importantly, learn healthy behaviours. They will learn how to ‘let go’ and how to recover from the traumas of addiction in the family as well as what they can do to improve their own wellbeing.

The Broadway Lodge Family Programme is held over two separate days, currently the last Thursday and Friday of the month. The first session is an all-day session from 9.30am – 4.30pm and focuses on various topics, so is designed to be educational. The second session, held the following day from 9.30am – 12.30pm, involves group therapy and discussion between all participants. It is led by senior counsellor Chrissy at Broadway Lodge via Zoom and there are usually no more than 10 participants. The next Online Family Programme is being held on Thursday 25^th August (09.30am – 4.30pm) and Friday 26^th August 2022 (09.30am – 12.30pm).

Although Broadway Lodge is located in Weston-Super-Mare (North Somerset), as it’s delivered online, attendees can join from anywhere. To participate in the Online Family Programme costs £49 for up to two people sharing a screen. Further details along with booking instructions can be found on the events section on their website at www.broadwaylodge.org.uk/events/