What to Know When Your Loved One Is at Sunrise House

When a loved one enters addiction treatment, it can be an exciting, yet difficult time. This page will discuss what your loved one will experience during and after treatment at Sunrise House and how you can support them.

What Will My Loved One Be Doing in Treatment?

Your loved one will spend the bulk of their time at Sunrise House participating in various forms of group therapy. While the specific type of group will change depending on their unique needs, group therapy is the keystone of treatment at Sunrise House.

Your loved one will also attend individual therapy once a week and will participate in group discussions and various reflective practices and holistic therapies. They will receive three full chef-prepared meals each day and have a lengthy afternoon break to visit the fitness center, explore the facility’s scenic grounds, rest and relax, read, and contact family and friends.

From day one, your loved one will work with the treatment team to create a comprehensive aftercare plan so that they can maintain their recovery when they leave our program.

Can I Talk to Them?

Sunrise House encourages family and friends to maintain contact; however, we do not allow any direct communication with the patient during the detox period due to the sensitive nature of the process. A Family Counselor will reach out to the family to provide updates as to the patient’s status, as well as helpful information about addiction and the treatment process.

After detox is complete, patients and their loved ones may contact one another.

Pay phones are available at the facility, and cell phones and laptops are permitted after they have completed the Cellphone Detox program, where they learn to remove triggers from their phone and get acquainted with recovery-oriented apps.

 

What if I Can’t Reach My Loved One?

The staff at Sunrise House understands that it can be worrying if you do not hear from your loved one. Upon your loved one’s intake, you will be contacted by one of our Family Counselors. The Family Counselor will keep you updated with your loved one’s treatment progress and medical condition, provide information about the treatment process, and help plan visits to the facility.

If you ever need peace of mind, your assigned Family Counselor will be able to give you a status update on your loved one.

Does Sunrise House Allow Gifts?

Families are generally allowed to bring gifts, so long as they are items permitted on the facility.

Money, toiletries, books, and other gifts are permitted, provided they are unopened and non-alcoholic in nature. 

Sunrise House does not permit large electronics, such as televisions and personal gaming consoles, to be brought as gifts. We also ask that families do not bring food.

Family Visits & Education

While the number of visits will depend on the length of time in treatment, families are encouraged to visit during approved visiting hours.

At Sunrise House, we offer a weekly family education class on Mondays from 6:30 pm – 9 pm. Right now, classes are only available virtually but we plan to add the option to attend in-person in the coming months.

Family and friends are also encouraged to attend medallion ceremonies and other alumni events with their loved ones.

How Do You Get to Sunrise House?

The closest airport is Newark Liberty Airport (EWR), which is located about 50 miles away (roughly a one-hour drive).

Hotels

Nearby hotels include a Holiday Inn Express in the nearby town of Sparta (about 5.5 miles away), as well as a bed and breakfast, The Wooden Duck, in the nearby town of Newton (about 6.5 miles away).

What Is My Role?

Sunrise House encourages families to be involved with their loved one’s recovery. We offer:

• Family counseling.
• Family lectures.
• Family visitation.

Your Family Counselor will work with you during the entire course of your loved one’s treatment, from intake to discharge, distributing relevant information and helping to facilitate visits.

It’s also important to take stock and address your own feelings during this time. The Recovery App—available to the family members of Sunrise House patients and alumni—enables you to interact with other families in the same situation, as well as read and watch helpful content curated by the Family Support Team. The interactions you have in this online community will not be visible to your loved one.

Returning Home After Rehab

Throughout treatment, patients will participate in discharge planning to make sure that they have the skills they need to succeed in recovery. Near the end of treatment, your loved one will start working with our discharge planners to craft a strategy for recovery.

Your loved one will attend several lecture courses and be connected with 12-step meetings and AA chapters near their home. He or she will also have the option of joining our extensive alumni network for access to facility news and alumni events.

For those returning to different parts of the country, staff at Sunrise House will help connect them with local chapters of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, as well as outpatient programs, during the discharge process.

Picking Up Your Loved One

If you are within driving distance, you may pick up your loved one after discharge procedures have been completed. It is important to coordinate with your Family Counselor before agreeing to a pick-up time.

Local Sober Living Homes

Sunrise House will soon be opening Resolutions Franklin, a sober living home in the nearby township of Franklin, New Jersey. When opened, this men-only facility will allow those who have completed residential treatment at Sunrise House a safe place to live and work on their recovery. It will also allow them to continue working with the counselor(s) they had during their residential treatment.

How to Support Someone in Recovery

One of the best ways to support a loved one transitioning into recovery after attending a treatment program is to be supportive. Oftentimes, lending an empathetic and nonjudgmental ear to their struggles can go a long way.

You can also offer support by helping your loved one search for outpatient programs, local AA meetings, sober living facilities, or other avenues for continuing care.

Understand the Nature of Relapse

Relapse is a part of many people’s journey to recovery, and it’s important to understand that it is not a failure. Recovery is about progress, not perfection. Still, family members should not shy away from discussing your loved one’s relapse prevention plan.

All patients at Sunrise House will attend relapse prevention groups and should have a defined plan by the time they leave the program. Relapse prevention is also covered in Sunrise House’s family lectures. Familiarity with the nature of relapse and ways to prevent it is one of the best ways for family members to provide support for a loved one in recovery. 

Sobriety Support

Addiction takes its toll on everyone it touches, not just the addicted individual. Both you and your loved one may find value in attending family therapy sessions. Your involvement in therapy with your loved one will help to heal conflicts and address lingering issues that cause strain in your relationship and may contribute to relapse.

Aside from the lecture series, which can help you find new ways of viewing your loved one’s addiction, family and friends are invited to attend alumni events.

Ways to Support Yourself

Addiction is stressful and traumatic for the family members of those who are struggling. It can take a toll on your health, job, finances, and many other areas of your life. It is important, first and foremost, to set healthy boundaries, and not let yourself get overwhelmed by attempting to resolve somebody else’s struggles.

Remember: you didn’t Cause it, you can’t Control it, and you can’t Cure it. But you CAN be there for your loved one, whether that be in accompanying them to recovery meetings, spending quality time with them, and helping them stick to their aftercare plan.

Your Family Counselor and the discharge planners at Sunrise House will work with you to help you and your loved ones find relevant recovery groups, such as:

• Al-Anon – A support group for those individuals whose lives have been impacted by another’s alcohol use.
• Nar-anon – A support group for those who love someone affected by drug addiction.
• Alateen – The young people’s version of Al-Anon.
• Co-dependents Anonymous – A 12-step group designed to support people who have trouble developing and maintaining healthy and functional relationships.