Registration is required. Please email jodi.jackson@regionten.org to register.

This is a 2 hour virtual training, and will be held on Friday, March 6th, 2026 from 10AM to 12PM

What is CRAFT?

CRAFT is a system for helping friends and family members change the way that they interact with someone they love who is drinking or using drugs too much. CRAFT teaches family members how to stay connected, increase communication, and effectively encourage their loved ones towards treatment, while taking care of themselves in the process. Unlike family therapy which would include the loved one, this approach is just for the friends and family members. The amazing thing about family members is that they know a ton about their loved one who uses drugs or drinks alcohol. They know when the person drinks, what they are like when using drugs or alcohol, what the person’s moods are when they are intoxicated, what the person is like when they aren’t, and what is important to them in the long run. The family member has tons of information, but doesn’t know what to do with it. That’s where CRAFT comes in. It originated at the University of New Mexico and was developed by Robert Meyers, Ph.D. and colleagues. Research on CRAFT shows that approaching 70% of families who receive CRAFT are able to help their loved ones start treatment within a year (Miller, Meyers, & Tonigan, 1999). CRAFT also helps family members improve their own lives, whether their loved one ends up seeking treatment or not.

CRAFT teaches family members how to:

1. Understand why their loved one is drinking or using the way that they are, and how to use that information to encourage a new path forward.
2. Improve communication skills to more effectively express their needs and requests.
3. Improve empathetic listening skills to increase connection, collaboration, understanding and respect.
4. Have conversations about use and treatment in a way that ultimately encourages recovery.
5. Help their loved one access effective addiction treatment resources once they express interest in treatment.
6. Notice when things are going well, even if it is just 1% or 2% change in a positive direction, and encourage their loved one to continue that small, sustainable change.
7. Discern which world consequence of using or drinking they are willing to have their loved one’s experience, and which ones they are not.
8. Set and maintain boundaries in ways that are both effective and kind.
9. Learn or re-learn how to take care of themselves and reconnect with their values to that, regardless of their loved one’s use, they can still lead a life that is centered on their values and not their loved one’s drug/alcohol use.
10. Help family members identify triggers for violence and develop plans to keep themselves (and their children) safe, if violence or the potential for violence exists.