What Is the CRAFT Approach?
Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is intended to help family members of people with a substance use disorder learn how to steer their loved one away from substance abuse. It is a great method for helping someone that’s refusing treatment or refusing to admit they are no longer in control of how much they consume.
Instead of an old-school intervention where the family and friends get together and confront the person in an attempt to enroll them in a rehabilitation program, the CRAFT method encourages close significant others (which the program calls CSOs) to reward their loved one when they choose sobriety or show control.
The CRAFT method is much more scientific [than old intervention techniques]. It's based on the idea you reinforce good behavior, and you don’t reinforce bad behavior."
While the goal is to get the person dealing with Substance Use Disorder in your life to admit they have a problem and get help, the CRAFT method also helps the loved ones prioritize their mental health and improve their happiness.
When Is the CRAFT Method Used?
When you realize that the person dealing with Substance Use Disorder in your life is at risk of hurting themselves and others, it’s time to consider the CRAFT method. Dr. Umhau encourages people to remember that the CRAFT method is not an intervention.
“In an intervention, everyone gathers to confront the person with a substance use disorder to compel them to get into treatment,” says Umhau. “Well, what if they refuse, get angry, and as a result of the intervention become estranged from their loved ones? The CRAFT method is a much more respectful and humane approach,”
The CRAFT method exercises much more control and allows family members to start exercising positive reinforcement when they realize there's a problem.