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Tailor your therapy to work effectively with individuals and families struggling with substance abuse.
Drawing from the same acceptance and commitment principles in ACT, both Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) and Invitation to Change (ITC) offer family members evidence-based pathways to navigate the complex terrain of loving someone with substance use challenges. When someone is on a path of problematic substance or alcohol use, they are not the only person affected—the impact ripples outwards, deeply affecting those closest to the person struggling, including parents, partners, siblings, and friends. While clinical care often centers the "identified patient," decades of evidence point to the vital, yet frequently overlooked, role that family members can play in fostering meaningful and sustainable change. When families are equipped with effective tools and a shift in perspective, they can become powerful allies in the recovery process—for their loved one and for themselves.
This interactive 4-hour training offers clinicians a practical and compassionate framework for working with family members impacted by a loved one’s substance or alcohol use. We’ll begin with an overview of the emotional and relational toll that substance use, and stigma, can have on families. We’ll then focus on practical, evidence-based skills and perspectives drawn from Invitation to Change (ITC) and Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT). These approaches, rooted in behavioral principles, emphasize autonomy, compassion, collaboration, and values-guided action. We’ll close with a set of resources clinicians can use to support family members as well as their own continued learning. This workshop will be taught didactically and experientially, with opportunities for reflection and discussion.
Whether you work directly with family members or primarily support individuals navigating their own substance use, this training offers actionable tools and accessible resources for you to help families shape the environment around their loved ones to support change and recovery over time.
Target Audience: This workshop is for clinicians who are new to CRAFT. It is appropriate for mental health professionals, including Psychologists, Licensed Mental Health Counselors, Psychiatrists, Social Workers, and Psychiatric Nurse-Practitioners.