Addiction is a Family Disease
Addiction is often described as a family disease because it impacts not only the individual struggling with substance use but also their loved ones. In trying to help our loved ones overcome their addiction, we can sometimes lose sight of our own needs and the toll it takes on us as family members.
Our Family Treatment Program addresses this reality. While your loved one’s recovery is essential, your well-being is equally important. This program provides support, guidance, and practical tools to help you regain balance, improve your mental health, and foster healthier relationships.
We encourage families and friends to participate in programs like CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training) at CMHA or the Family Program at Bruce Oake Recovery Centre. [Click here for more details.]https://www.bruceoakerecoverycentre.ca/programs/family-programs We also offer follow-up coaching sessions to help you practice the skills you’ve learned and create actionable plans.
If attending these programs is not possible, we can work with you to create an individualized treatment plan tailored to your needs and goals. CONTACT US NOW
What You’ll Gain from Our Program
- Recognize root causes: Identify and address the underlying issues and limiting beliefs keeping you trapped in the cycle of addiction. As your loved one is consumed by their addiction, you may also feel consumed by it.
- Healthier coping mechanisms: Understand your emotions and learn new ways to cope with challenges.
- Clarity and answers: Gain insight into addictive behaviors and develop a clearer vision for overcoming obstacles to an addiction-free lifestyle.
- Boundary-setting and forgiveness: Learn how to set boundaries, communicate effectively, and forgive yourself or others for past traumas linked to addiction.
- Relationship rebuilding: Work on healing relationships in healthier ways, or identify unhealthy relationships that may need to end for your personal growth and recovery.
Through this program, you’ll learn to navigate the challenges of supporting someone with addiction while prioritizing your own well-being. Together, we’ll help you reconnect with your values, heal from the past, and move forward on the path to recovery.
What is Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT)?
Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is a skills-based program designed to assist families who have a loved one struggling with addiction. The program focuses on supporting family members in various aspects, such as self-care, engaging in pleasurable activities, problem-solving, and setting goals. Additionally, CRAFT teaches behavioral and motivational strategies that help families interact more effectively with their loved ones and address resistance to change.
Participants in the CRAFT program learn how to use positive reinforcement to encourage healthy behavior and withdraw it when faced with unwanted behavior. The program also emphasizes the importance of effective communication, helping family members improve interactions and maximize their influence over their loved one’s decisions.
CRAFT equips families with practical tools and strategies to foster motivation for change. The program shares a science-based understanding of substance use, helping families create an environment that encourages their loved one to reduce or stop their substance use. By improving communication and supporting healthy behaviors, CRAFT also aims to alleviate the stress, frustration, and helplessness that families often experience. Importantly, the program emphasizes the need for family members to take care of themselves throughout this process.
Unlike traditional family therapy, which includes the loved one in sessions, CRAFT is specifically designed for friends and family members. It teaches them how to stay connected, increase communication, and effectively encourage their loved one towards treatment, all while ensuring they maintain their well-being.
CRAFT was developed at the University of New Mexico by Dr. Robert Meyers and colleagues. Research shows that nearly 70% of families who participate in CRAFT are able to help their loved one enter treatment within a year. Even if the loved one does not seek treatment, CRAFT still benefits family members by improving their quality of life.
The program covers a wide range of skills, including:
- Understanding the loved one’s substance use: CRAFT helps family members understand why their loved one is using substances and how to use that knowledge to encourage change.
- Improving communication: The program teaches family members how to express their needs and requests more effectively.
- Empathetic listening: CRAFT emphasizes listening skills to increase connection, understanding, and respect.
- Encouraging recovery: Family members learn how to discuss substance use and treatment in a way that promotes recovery.
- Accessing treatment resources: CRAFT guides families on how to help their loved ones find and access effective addiction treatment resources.
- Noticing positive changes: Family members are taught to recognize and encourage even small positive changes in their loved one’s behavior.
- Setting boundaries: The program helps families set and maintain boundaries in a way that is both effective and compassionate.
- Self-care: CRAFT encourages family members to reconnect with their own values and take care of themselves, ensuring that they can lead a fulfilling life regardless of their loved one’s substance use.
- Safety planning: If there is a risk of violence, CRAFT helps family members identify triggers and develop safety plans to protect themselves and their children.
Overall, CRAFT empowers families to play an active and positive role in their loved one’s recovery journey while ensuring that they also take care of their own well-being.