Rebuilding Trust In Addiction Recovery: Obstacles, Approaches, And Benefits

The use of drugs and alcohol affects a person’s brain chemistry, feelings, and behavior. Over time, this can lead to an increased use of these substances, despite the physical and mental harm and other life problems doing so often causes. This is known as a substance use disorder (SUD). 

Left unchecked, mild SUDs may continue to evolve into full-blown drug or alcohol addiction, as a person loses the ability to control or manage their substance use. This often results in runaway physical, mental, and social consequences as well as severe drug cravings, withdrawal symptoms, personality and behavioral changes, and an inability to stop using drugs or alcohol even if one understands how harmful they are, and even if one wants to quit. 

The effects and consequences of SUD can be long-lasting, and even when someone is highly motivated and has professional help, SUDs can be difficult to recover from, with relapses being common. The challenges of recovery may be further complicated by a mistrust of institutions like the medical system or when family members lose faith and trust in their loved one with addiction. 

Restoring these lines of respect and trust in recovery is a priority and is possible. Developing newfound faith in recovery providers, the process of recovery itself, and loved ones who are in recovery are all signs that the recovery process is working and that brighter days are ahead. 

Obstacles To Trusting Addiction Treatment Providers

According to the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), 73% of Americans feel that the healthcare system is not adequately meeting their needs, 65% find it time-consuming and overwhelming to schedule care, and 44% have avoided medical care in the past two years alone for these or other reasons. Unsurprisingly then, numerous studies have found that the general public increasingly mistrusts the medical system as a whole, as well as medical providers specifically, including addiction treatment professionals. 

Some of the most common reasons proposed to explain this trending loss of trust include:

• a shortage of primary care physicians, recently exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic
• changes in patient care practices, as doctors are able to spend less time with patients during a visit (largely due to documentation requirements) and patients may be pressured to use online appointments or messaging rather than visiting in person
• patients feeling that they are not fully heard, understood, or taken seriously when they express their needs and concerns
• other poor experiences with medical care in the past
• concerns over insurance, the exorbitant cost of medical treatment, and a lack of clarity in medical billing
• exposure to medical misinformation, which is often spread online, and negative media coverage of the healthcare system
• deep-rooted personal, cultural, or socioeconomic factors, including racial discrimination, discrimination based on gender, etc.
• the overprescription of opioids

All of this presents a modern challenge that healthcare providers are continuing to struggle to address. However, people experiencing substance misuse and addiction are often even more mistrustful than the general population is of doctors, treatment professionals, and the medical system as a whole. These individuals often live with a daily sense of unease, suspicion, or even paranoia due to the risk of their substance use being discovered, judged, or penalized. They may also have internalized a deep sense of stigma, guilt, shame, fear, anger, or denial that may flare up and influence their perceptions and reactions when interacting with medical staff. 

At the same time, people who develop SUDs often share specific risk factors like trauma, adverse childhood experiences, co-occurring mental health conditions, and impulsive personality characteristics that can also make it more difficult for them to let down their guard and actively participate in addiction treatment care. 

Obstacles To Trusting Addicted Loved Ones

Friends, family, and other loved ones can have a powerful influence on those with an SUD. However, they  may also have moved past a point where they are able to trust their loved one. This often occurs in cases of moderate and severe SUD, as a person’s behavior, personality, self-control, and priorities will have changed and become compromised due to the habit-forming effects of these substances of abuse.

Some of the most common examples of these changes, which are commonly reported by those with lived experience with SUD in settings like peer support groups, include:

• frequent mood changes
• reduced emotional and physical intimacy
• drug-seeking behavior, e.g., theft, doctor shopping, etc.
• diverting finances for drug use
• lying or other manipulative behavior
• loss of interest in one’s loved ones or personal responsibilities
• unexplained absences
• being under the influence in risky settings, e.g., while driving, at work, providing childcare, etc.
• physical or emotional abuse or neglect

Understandably, first-hand experience with a loved one who is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction often results in strained or wounded relationships, resentment, and even estrangement as these effects break down core family relationships. 

Effective Approaches To Restoring Trust During Recovery

Through personalized addiction treatment programs, mutual trust and respect can be cultivated in a variety of different ways, including both direct and indirect methods. 

This process starts with a welcoming, comfortable, and supportive treatment environment. While not all inpatient or residential treatment centers are luxury settings with 5-star amenities, effective treatment centers do make great efforts to provide a comfortable setting, security, nutritious food, and recreational options so that clients can understand that they are safe and valued, and that their basic needs will be met. 

Finding an addiction treatment center that has been accredited by a widely recognized third-party accrediting body, such as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) or The Joint Commission, can help guarantee a safe, effective treatment experience, as can licensure by the state, many positive reviews from past clients, and other indicators of quality care and safety.

Next, clients are invited to make meaningful connections with treatment staff throughout their program. This starts with the intake process, in which personalized evaluations and treatment planning are established for each individual. The process continues through one-on-one behavioral therapy sessions and a variety of other treatment sessions, as well as casual interactions with staff, personalized aftercare coordination, and invitations to alumni events. 

However, clients also need to develop trust in the recovery process as a whole, and in the belief that they can change and achieve long-term sobriety. For this, treatment staff rely on both psychoeducational sessions, in which clients are taught about addiction, consequences, recovery, triggers, and more, as well as fun alternative programming like art and nature therapy, yoga, exercise classes, and others. They will also bring clients into peer support groups in which participants can share openly with one another, validate one another’s experiences, practice social skills, and share advice. 

Family Trust

People participating in an addiction treatment program usually benefit from spending some time away from their loved ones and normal home environment. After all, a secure treatment environment can help clients avoid triggers and emotional complications, improving focus and motivation. However, family therapy sessions are an important and meaningful exception. 

During these sessions, family members are invited to come into treatment to learn, together as a group with their loved one, about addiction, recovery, communication, and personal boundaries, while also having the opportunity to share their own perspective and feelings. 

Understandably, these feelings can sometimes be uncomfortable and family therapy has, on many occasions, been a difficult and emotional process. Resentment and mistrust may be brought to the surface and expressed openly along with one’s own guilt, shame, and regret. Past wrongs and mistakes are often remembered. But all of this can also provide an opportunity for a family to make a fresh start with renewed emotional intimacy, improved communication, and a new effort to support one another throughout the next stages of rehabilitation. 

Personal And Professional Trust

Trust is easily broken and difficult to repair. But restoring trust is possible, and recovery provides the perfect opportunity for people to slowly and intentionally develop renewed trust not only with their loved ones, but also with friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and others who may have been impacted by their past substance use. This includes building self-trust.

This trust can be cultivated in a variety of different ways, all of which should be taken with a “slow and steady” mentality. 

If you struggle with trust, some of the most important foundational steps to be aware of include:

• being humble, grateful, honest, and transparent in your personal and professional interactions
• following through with your treatment plan
• showing consistency by being on time and meeting your personal responsibilities
• establishing and sticking to your own healthy boundaries
• apologizing and making amends when you aren’t able to keep your word
• showing up and giving back to others when they are in need

Participating in a 12-step program or other peer support groups can provide guidance and direction throughout this lifelong process. 

The Benefits Of Renewed Trust

Trust can be difficult to measure in concrete terms or statistics, but it is an important quality for people who are developing in their recovery to reclaim. By learning to trust others, to be trusted, and to trust in one’s own self, people in recovery can once again join the world around them, turning their focus outwards and forging new and meaningful bonds. 

Just a few of the many benefits of cultivating a greater sense of mutual trust and respect throughout the recovery process include:

• improved feelings of self-esteem and self-worth
• a greater likelihood of sticking with a treatment plan, completing both professional and self-help/aftercare treatment services
• better communication with treatment professionals, mentors, and case managers
• improved communication and intimacy with one’s loved ones and support system
• a greater sense of self-determination and investment in recovery
• an enhanced ability to set and maintain meaningful personal boundaries 
• a growing sense of accountability and positive reinforcement with loved ones and peers
• greater use of coping skills to deal with stress and other life challenges
• improved willingness to return to treatment and “get back on the horse” if a relapse does occur

Seek Addiction Treatment At Ark Behavioral Health 

In 2023, an estimated 54.2 million Americans aged 12 and older needed treatment for some kind of a substance use disorder. But only 23% received the treatment they needed, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). 

At Ark Behavioral Health, we believe that your recovery begins with mutual trust, value, and respect. And, if you will trust us to help guide you in recovery, we will do everything in our power to help you meet your goals for treatment and build the new life you deserve. 

With three leading treatment facilities offering a comprehensive continuum of care for all forms of drug addiction and alcohol addiction, as well as co-occurring mental health conditions and inpatient mental health treatment, Ark’s care teams have the training, resources, and expertise needed to help people achieve lasting recovery. To learn more or explore your own personalized treatment program options, please contact us today.