CRAFTing Change:
Family Support for Addiction
Are you a family member of someone suffering from addiction and you don't know how to best support them, or yourself?
This 12-week CRAFT Family Course will provide practical, evidence-based skills to improve communication, reduce conflict, and create a more supportive home environment. Participants will learn how to encourage their loved one toward treatment and recovery through positive reinforcement rather than confrontation or control, while also strengthening your own resilience and self-care. Each session builds tools for understanding substance use patterns, setting healthy boundaries, and restoring balance and connection within the family system—empowering participants to experience greater hope, confidence, and peace, regardless of their loved one’s readiness for change.
Group Outline & Goals
Key elements:
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Rather than only confronting the loved one or detaching entirely, CRAFT teaches the family to change their own behaviours (communication, reinforcement, self-care) in ways that increase the likelihood the loved one will accept help.
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The model emphasises positive communication, positive reinforcement of non‐using or healthier behaviours, and allowing natural consequences for substance-using behaviour (rather than rescuing or enabling).
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It also supports the family’s own well-being: self‐care, coping with stress, improving quality of life—even if the loved one does not immediately engage in treatment.
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Research shows CRAFT tends to engage about 65-75% of reluctant loved-ones into treatment, which is significantly higher than more traditional interventions.
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CRAFT was developed by Robert J. Meyers and Jane Ellen Smith at the University of New Mexico, and has been studied for more than two decades.
Why this matters for addiction-programs & families:
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Many treatment programmes focus on the person with substance use, while the family may be left feeling helpless, frustrated, or stuck in cycles of enabling or confrontation.
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CRAFT offers a complementary pathway: families can become active agents of change in a non-coercive way, and at the same time improve their own functioning.
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By incorporating a family-member training programme based on CRAFT, a treatment provider or addiction-program can broaden their impact: improving family readiness, supporting sustained recovery environment, and potentially increasing engagement of the person with substance use in treatment.
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From a systems perspective, helping families improves the relational environment, supports long-term change, and addresses the ripple-effects of addiction (stress, boundary erosion, codependency, caregiver burden).
Program Outline
WEEK 1
Orientation & Motivational Induction
Introduce CRAFT as a different, evidence-based approach to change
Set realistic expectations for change and relationship improvement
Emphasize a warm, nonjudgmental, active approach
WEEK 2
Positive Communication
Focus on skill-based, intentional interactions
Learn 7 core components of positive communication
Practice skills through modeling and role-play
WEEK 3
Functional Analysis
Understand patterns of substance use, not blame
Examine one typical using episode in detail
Identify internal and external triggers
Clarify specific using behaviors (what, how much, how often)
Recognize both positive and negative consequences of use
Use insights to interrupt reinforcement and support change
WEEK 4
Problem Solving
Break big, emotional problems into manageable steps
Clearly define one specific problem at a time
Brainstorm multiple solutions without judgment
Select one realistic solution to try this week
Anticipate obstacles and plan how to address them
Turn the plan into a concrete homework action
WEEK 5
You Deserve to Thrive
Your well-being is a core goal of CRAFT
You deserve happiness independent of the IP’s choices
Improving your life strengthens your ability to help
Use the Happiness Scale to assess life balance
Choose one manageable area to improve
Set a simple, realistic, controllable weekly goal
WEEK 6
Positive Renforcement
Use rewards to increase non-using, healthy behaviors
Define reinforcement as what feels rewarding to the IP
Deliver rewards only when the IP is not using substances
Distinguish planned reinforcement from enabling
Learn to recognize signs of use (BAMS) to time rewards correctly
Choose simple, realistic rewards and deliver them consistently
WEEK 7
Withdrawing Rewards
Identify how current responses may unintentionally reinforce use
Withdraw specific rewards when substance use occurs
Understand withdrawal is planned, calm, and not punishment
Restore rewards when the IP is sober or non-using
Prepare for emotional reactions and safety concerns
Use consistency and problem-solving to manage obstacles
WEEK 8
Natural Consequences
Identify ways support may unintentionally protect substance use
Understand how natural consequences motivate change
Allow specific negative consequences to occur safely
Remember this is not punishment or abandonment
Plan for emotional reactions and safety concerns
Use consistency, communication, and problem-solving
WEEK 9
Treatment Entry
Use invitations, not confrontation or pressure
Identify motivational “hooks” meaningful to the IP
Watch for windows of opportunity to invite treatment
Practice invitations using positive communication
Plan for rapid intake when willingness appears
Prepare emotionally for refusal or dropout
WEEK 10
Relapse & Recovery
View relapse as information, not failure
Understand slips and the Abstinence Violation Effect (AVE)
Reinforce self-efficacy and recovery-oriented behavior
Use Functional Analysis to identify relapse patterns
Support a return to sobriety and prevent escalation
Communicate calmly and plan for relapse prevention
WEEK 11
Positive Progress
Focus on building healthy, non-using behaviors
Use Functional Analysis to understand what supports change
Choose activities that are enjoyable, feasible, and substance-free
Identify triggers and consequences that affect healthy behavior
Assess relationship satisfaction using the Happiness Scale
Set one realistic goal to increase positive progress
WEEK 12
Integration
Summary of Skills – Primary Take Aways
Unique Challenges
CRAFT Facilitators
Mahalo
Grant in Aid - 2027 Funds
Our organization is grateful for the grant funding from the City & County of Honolulu Grant In Aid Funds which support our programs vision.