CRAFT and Family Treatment in the Addicted Home
You may have more influence over your loved one with an SUD than you think you do.
If you have followed my two previous articles, you are aware of how a substance use disorder (SUD), a dangerous disease by itself, becomes a family disease. An SUD negatively impacts the current and future generations of a family. Negative consequences of this disease will impact every relationship and situation in the life of a person with an SUD.
Readers of the previous articles also know that I am committed to introducing a healing method for family and friends of people with SUDs. This method is CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training). It is a strategic treatment method employed by family and friends of people with SUDs engaged in treatment. It also improves the quality of life for families and friends, whether or not the person with an SUD enters treatment.
My Previous Articles on the Impact of Addiction on Children:
What is the Impact of Addiction on Children?
What is the Impact of Addiction on Children Ages 10 and Older
CRAFT and Family Treatment in the Addicted Home
The methods employed to implement CRAFT are nearly the opposite of the former methods of treatment. CRAFT has been studied in various research projects and has shown that 70% of individuals who experienced this approach followed up by entering treatment. Also, it is an evidence-based intervention, meaning that it is research-based and has effective results.
CRAFT strategies are positive and empowering to family, friends, and the person who has the addictive disease. CRAFT is also a strength-based, person-centered approach to motivate users to engage in treatment. Methods focus on getting to know and understand the person with an SUD. There is no blaming, shaming, or harsh confrontation involved. There is no disengagement. Previously, disengagement was an unproductive and conflictual communication technique that sought to get the individual to seek treatment.
The results are improved family relationships and a quality of life that promotes recovery for the entire family. Indeed, uncomfortable feelings of frustration, anger, anxiety, and depression are reduced. Chaos is replaced by predictability and strategic methods of responding to a disease process. Family and friends have the opportunity to reduce their likelihood of physical stress-related illnesses and get their loved ones into treatment.
Are you sold on the approach yet?
Here are some of the basic beliefs and strategies behind CRAFT:
- It starts with a concerned significant other who would like to deal with addiction in their relationship. The approach is based on the premise that they have more influence than they thought they did.
- The method teaches assertive communication skills and a specific problem-solving method using five steps. It also incorporates PIUS, which means “positive statements,” “I statements,” “understanding statements,” and “short, specific statements.”
- CRAFT considers and explores the safety of the participant seeking assistance.
- Participants seeking assistance are clearly valued and heard for their perseverance with their loved ones with SUD. There is no shaming or blaming for previous behaviors.
- Participants are not the cause of the disease.
- CRAFT discourages detachment from the loved one with a SUD. Clinicians promote leaning in, being mindful of their influence, and paying attention to the “hows” and whats” of their loved ones’ use patterns.
- CRAFT includes addiction education, instruction, practice, and roleplaying with the newly introduced skills.
Advocating for Yourself
Readers familiar with my articles have heard repeatedly about seeking help for themselves from me. I acknowledge the fact that many family members and friends of folks with SUDs do not have insurance coverage or reasonable co-pays for mental health counseling. Help and assistance are available through community groups (Alanon, Nar-Anon, Smart Recovery, AA, and many others) that offer support to family members and friends of folks with SUDs. These groups welcome new members with open arms!
There are a couple of books that I encourage readers of this article to pick up:
Get Your Loved One Sober: Alternatives to Nagging, Pleading, and Threatening, by Robert J. Meyers, PhD, who developed the CRAFT approach, and Brenda L. Wolfe, PhD.
Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change, by Jeffrey Foote, PhD. This book now has a new workbook to practice and learn.
Both books are excellent and focus on understanding and using CRAFT in your family. To reach your goals with your loved ones, you can take these books to your support group or therapist to show them what you want to learn and use in your life. Changing how we interact with loved ones about their substance use does influence them to see the exact nature of their use. In closing, I’d like to share a former client’s statement when he arrived at Sanford Behavioral Health:
“I’ll tell you what got me here. My wife started to see a counselor, and she was so nice to me; I couldn’t believe it! Because I was still doing all this using stuff. Then I thought, ‘She’s nice to me, there’s no reason to do this, and I still am doing this. I do have a problem!’
If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction, eating disorders, or a mental health condition, don’t wait to change your life. Click the link below to speak with an admissions specialist about our programs.
Resource: The CRAFT Treatment Manual for Substance Use Problems: Working With Family Members, by Jane Ellen Smith & Robert J. Meyers
