The Glaring Hole In SUD Addiction Treatment - Part I

November 3, 2025

Jim Savage, Author & Addiction Counseling/Family Support, LCDC

Tom O'Connor, Publisher

"The Glaring Hole In SUD Addiction Treatment" is about family integration and support. 

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) addiction recovery commonly faces concerns such as re-entering society as a sober individual, dealing with emotional and psychological issues, financial difficulties, legal issues, controlling cravings and triggers, and rebuilding relationships and trust. 

Completing an SUD treatment program and re-entering society as a sober person is not without problems. Individuals who are recovering from substance use disorders have several emotional hurdles, including feelings of shame or humiliation over their substance usage and relational issues induced by substance addiction. 

Family support is essential in SUD addiction treatment, as it can help to make or break a person's capacity to stay sober. SUD addiction affects everyone around it, and family members can fall into particular addiction roles. Family involvement in a person's addiction recovery provides benefits for both the substance use patient and other members of the family. According to research, those who have good family support are more likely to remain in SUD recovery and avoid relapse.  

Author Jim Savage is a licensed drug and alcohol counselor with over 30 years of experience in SUD addiction treatment. Jim is a recovering addict and has been sober since 1988. He openly discusses his recovery and is dedicated to practicing what he preaches when guiding others in recovery.

According to Jim Savage

There is a glaring hole that exists in addiction treatment today: Even at facilities with excellent family programs, there is still an inherent gap between the client, the family, and the treatment team. In many cases, those gaps are where vital information falls through the cracks and becomes a significant contributor to treatment failure.

I've been around the SUD treatment industry for a long time. But I've been AROUND the industry longer than I've been a professional in it. I was one of those early bloomers, and my first introduction to it was when my parents stuck me in drug rehab when I was seventeen. I got kicked out of that rehab for smuggling drugs in and getting high with the other patients.

I guess I wasn't quite ready. It took five more years for me to find out that what they were teaching there was true, as my addiction didn't go away, it was progressive, and things eventually got bad enough for me that I checked myself back into treatment when I was twenty-two. And I did what a lot of people do when they get sober and decide they want to help other people get sober: I went back to school and became a drug counselor.

I'm from Minnesota, the mecca of drug treatment, so I have a lot of solid training and experience. But I also fell into the trap that some newly sober drug and alcohol counselors fall into: I didn't work my recovery program. I eventually relapsed and ended up back in treatment again.

But that was the beginning of my ​​personal transformation journey thirty-three years ago. Today, I can say that I've had a long and rewarding career, having helped hundreds of young people and their families begin their journeys of personal transformation.

First, I owned my adolescent outpatient treatment program. During that time, I realized the significant impact a family can have on treatment outcomes. At the same time, I realized how much help families need to learn how to use treatment effectively and provide adequate support for their loved ones.

Next, I developed a program for families to go through while their loved ones were in treatment. Additionally, I became a book author with "Rehab Works! A Parent's Guide To Drug Treatment." This book provides practical advice and guidance for families navigating the complex world of addiction treatment. 

I also created the RehabWorks Family Support Program, an online learning platform for families of substance use disorder treatment clients. This program offers a range of resources, including educational materials, interactive workshops, and a supportive community, to help families better understand addiction and support their loved ones in recovery.

Today, I am focused on improving treatment outcomes through effective family engagement. 

Families With A Loved One In Treatment Who Have Minimal Contact

The unfortunate truth is that I talk to families every day who have a loved one in treatment, and they have minimal contact with the treatment program. I worked with the mother and wife of a treatment client recently, who was in his umpteenth treatment over the past five years. They have never had contact with a counselor from any of the programs he's been in and out of. 

Things turned out differently when I coached them on basic family support principles, such as setting boundaries and ensuring that treatment recommendations were followed.

No one should trivialize the importance of family support in addiction recovery. Addiction affects the entire family unit, not just the addict. Family members become critical pillars in the journey to sobriety by offering emotional support, open communication, setting boundaries, educating themselves, and participating in recovery. 

Ultimately, family support plays a transformative role in addiction treatment, helping reestablish trust, repair relationships, and foster a more robust, resilient family unit. Families may assist their loved ones in overcoming addiction and achieving a brighter, drug-free future by working together.

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Jim Savage can be reached at www.jimsavage.net.

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