Muir Wood supports the well-being of parents as well as their teens. Parents of teens with mental health and/or substance use disorders need support and care. Living with a child suffering from mental health challenges can be extremely taxing on the mental health of parents and guardians. Parents seeking care for their children often experience depression, anxiety, and other issues as a result of the chaos created in the home.
Muir Wood clients and family members become part of our alumni community—one built around mutual support, understanding, and camaraderie. Perhaps no one is better able to understand the feelings and experiences of raising children with mental health and substance use disorders than other parents who have lived the same experience.
Muir Wood’s Alumni Parent Support Groups are led weekly by Muir Wood clinical staff members. Alumni Teen Support meetings are also held weekly. Muir also holds weekly support groups over Zoom for parents of clients currently in treatment. Current and alumni parents, as well as alumni teens, receive weekly emails with the dates and times of these weekly meetings.
Peer support groups, like Al-Anon and Co-Dependents Anonymous, can provide important resources and fellowship for the parents of children with substance use and mental health conditions. Muir Wood helps parents identify support groups in their local communities. Muir Wood also supports attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings for teens being treated for substance abuse, specifically Young People in AA and NA meetings, which can be found on local area websites.
To provide comprehensive treatment for teens, Muir Wood addresses the entire family system. Client families receive an hour of individual family therapy each week during treatment, as well as four hours of parent coaching classes and peer support throughout the week while one’s child is in treatment at Muir Wood.