Scribd
Upload
1K views4 pages

Welcome To The Partner'S 20 Minute Guide

This document introduces a guide for partners of individuals struggling with substance use. It discusses that substance use problems are complex, involving biological and psychological factors. It can also be difficult for partners, who face judgment from others. However, partners can help through strategies like Motivational Interviewing and CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training). CRAFT teaches partners how to reinforce positive changes, communicate effectively, and set consequences, while taking care of themselves. The guide provides worksheets to help partners practice these skills to encourage their loved one's willingness to make changes and reduce substance use.

Uploaded by

The Center for Motivation and Change
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as pdf or txt
1K views4 pages

Welcome To The Partner'S 20 Minute Guide

This document introduces a guide for partners of individuals struggling with substance use. It discusses that substance use problems are complex, involving biological and psychological factors. It can also be difficult for partners, who face judgment from others. However, partners can help through strategies like Motivational Interviewing and CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training). CRAFT teaches partners how to reinforce positive changes, communicate effectively, and set consequences, while taking care of themselves. The guide provides worksheets to help partners practice these skills to encourage their loved one's willingness to make changes and reduce substance use.

Uploaded by

The Center for Motivation and Change
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1/ 4

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION
1. WELCOME TO THE PARTNERS 20 MINUTE GUIDE

Being in a committed or long-term relationship can be hard during the best of times. If one
member of the partnership has a substance use problem, it can be extremely difficult and may
even feel impossible. If you are reading this, you are likely a very concerned partner* who is
looking for guidance about how to help your loved one who is using substances (or engaging in
other risky behaviors). You may have mild concerns about his/her focus at work, choice of friends,
withdrawn or negative communication with you, or you may be facing terrifying problems that
have the potential to negatively affect your entire family. Whatever your particular mix of worries
about your relationship, the problems that come along with your partners use of substances can
be nerve-rackingsometimes explosive.

A COMPLEX PROBLEM FOR YOUR PARTNER


The social, psychological, and biological factors that play into the decision to use substances
are complex. Many people who develop problems with substances also struggle with psychiatric
problems like depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety problems, and ADHD. They may also be
contending with problems involving employment (or lack thereof), relationship stress, difficulty
with establishing or maintaining healthy habits for an ageing body and a demanding life, and in
some cases, the responsibility of parenting.

A COMPLEX PROBLEM FOR YOU


Its complicated for you as well! If your partner is struggling with a substance use problem, you
face the reactions of friends, immediate family members (children of all ages), and extended

Introduction

family members: often including judgment, misunderstanding, punishment, fear, and help that
can feel overbearing and shake your confidence. And when you are co-parenting with this partner,
communication and effectively working together can be seriously tested under this stress.
But you can help. And we hope you keep reading.

MOTIVATION, CRAFT AND STRATEGIES FOR HELPING


There are variety of ways to help a loved one with a substance use problem. It is however, likely
that you have not heard about them in spite of the evidence that they are enormously effective
(as tested in rigorous research studies). Unfortunately, they have not been used widely in most
treatment programs and have been completely neglected by the popular culture/media and they
are why we wrote this guide! Because we want you to know about ALL of your options when it
comes to helping your partner.
Researchers and clinicians over the past 40 years have developed and tested these tools and
made them available (we describe many of them in our book Beyond Addiction). One of the most
powerful is something called Motivational Interviewing developed by Dr. Bill Miller. It turns out that
when it comes to making changes in behavior, motivation matters a lot! And contrary to what you
may have been told or assumed, you, as a partner, can actually play a big role in helping your
loved one shift their motivation towards positive change. There are of course things you can do or
say that push things in exactly the opposite direction from what you want (i.e., confrontation, the
silent treatment, forcing change). This 20 Minute Guide will expose you to a variety of skills you
can use to turn motivation on and sustain it.
The second set of tools is called CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training)
developed by Dr. Robert Meyers at the University of New Mexico. The CRAFT approach helps you
think about the problem you face through a new behavioral perspective. It includes specific skills
that will help you reinforce positive changes, communicate more effectively, and let consequences
play a role, all while taking better care of yourself! It is the leading research-supported way for
families to help their substance using loved ones. Compared to families trained to do interventions
or who attend Al-Anon, family members who are trained in CRAFT are more likely to see their
loved ones willingness to get help increase and substance use decrease or stop all together. In
CRAFT, the concerned family member (thats you!) also feels better.

The Partners 20 Minute Guide

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE


Unlike other approaches, CRAFT teaches you how to stay involved in a positive, ongoing way,
while also taking care of yourself. This guide will help you with such tools as:

How to react when your partner has been using substances and when he has NOT been
using substances

Getting more of what you want to see from your partner and less of what you dont

How to talk to your partner so that you are more likely to be heard

How to take care of yourself along the way

For each topic, we explain why its important and how to use it to encourage change. We provide
worksheets with examples to show you how CRAFT strategies look in action. We encourage you
to use these worksheets to practice the skills as many times as you want or need. Feel free to
skip aroundits not necessary to go through the topics in order, but it is important to practice
each one.
We hope this is the beginning of positive change for you and your relationship. We appreciate
the effort it takes to be a force for good. Thank you, truly. Take care of yourself, communicate,
learn the CRAFT behavioral strategies, practiceand trust that things will change. Forty years of
research and all our clinical experience says they will.

Introduction

The Partners 20 Minute Guide

You might also like