Shame

Unlike the parents of children who suffer from other medical conditions, such as diabetes or cancer, if your child has a substance-related problem, you’re unlikely to seek support from your community. You may feel embarrassed by your child’s illness, or even blame yourself for its onset. Because of the stigma attached to addiction, you might not even confide in your family or closest friends.

ARMS is here to help. We understand that when young people develop substance-related problems, their whole family is impacted.

As a parent, you are faced with difficult choices about how to best support and care for your child, often under stressful and upsetting circumstances, while navigating the medical or legal interventions and inpatient or outpatient treatment that your child needs. But you shouldn’t feel ashamed or alone.

Addiction Is a Disease of the Brain

ARMS strives to educate those impacted by substance-related problems, and the public at large, that addiction is a chronic disease. It is just like hypertension or asthma, and it should not be viewed any differently.

Approaching addiction like any other medical condition not only helps those who are in need of recovery, and their families, to move past the denial that often accompanies the disease. It also improves the likelihood that recovery will succeed because feelings of anger, guilt and disappointment can get in the way of the care and communication that is necessary to overcome substance-related problems. And it allows parents of teens with substance-related problems to more honestly address how the issue has affected their own lives, including the negative impact it may have had on your work performance, health and well-being.

Education Equals Empowerment

By educating parents about the reality of addiction, we can not only help you overcome feelings of shame, but also empower you to be the best possible advocate for your child. To assist you in this process, we assign each family their own Recovery Coach, a masters level clinician, who offers you a safe place to express your emotions without having to fear it will impact your child’s recovery.

Our overall goal is to create happy, healthy families, whose members are able to communicate and support each other while achieving all of their individual and collective goals. ARMS gives you and your family the tools you need to get there.