The Circle Tree Ranch residential substance abuse treatment center exemplifies how families have been able to become full participants in the process of change. From 1989 to the present, Circle Tree Ranch has provided innovative and quality chemical dependency treatment encouraging family participation in weekly support groups on a voluntary basis. We recognize that alcoholism and drug abuse affects the entire family, not just the alcoholic/addict. Families represent all facets of the larger community with respect to ethnicity, economic background and intellectual horizons. “Families” come in all forms and represent enduring relationships between people with legal, blood, and emotional ties. Weekly Family Support Groups include adoptive parents, foster parents and birthparents.

Our approach is as broad as possible and utilizes a holistic approach to addiction treatment. Circle Tree Ranch Family Services focuses on two general techniques: family restructuring and family reconstruction. Restructuring implies finding patterns, similarities and differences in our families of origin and our parent’s families of origin, while figuring out how things are put together and understanding the complexities in order to bring about change. We concentrate on the need for community building starting with the reconstruction of our family. Circle Tree Ranch faculty avoid the use of terms such as co-dependent, denial, and disease, but instead emphasizes that the two greatest obstacles preventing us from seeing the entire multi-generational family system honestly are resistance and inertia.

Circle Tree Ranch Weekly Family Support Groups employ some of the following techniques:

• Seminars
• Multi-generational studies
• Reading assignments
• Groups
• Verbal and non-verbal exercises
• Music and Recreational activities
• Ceremonial activities
• Telling one’s life story

Circle Tree Ranch has long recognized that success in the larger community for individuals who have completed one of our available addiction treatment programs is enhanced by restructuring family relationships. Addiction recovery and relapse prevention are ongoing activities that are necessary to maintain a clean and sober, positive life as a contributing member of one’s family and community. For this reason, Circle Tree Ranch offers continued participation in Weekly Family Support Groups to former students and their families.