An Alternative to Al-Anon and Johnson Intervention; Help for Family and Friends
Welcome to SMART Recovery, we would like to help you find the information and provide you with the resources that can assist you and your loved one.
We are a science-based, secular alternative to Al-Anon and Johnson Intervention. Our approach is based on the SMART Recovery and CRAFT (Community Reinforcement Approach & Family Training) tools.
SMART Recovery Family and Friends is a support network for those that are affected by their loved one’s drug or alcohol abuse, or other addictions.
SMART Recovery Family & Friends Online Support Meeting
On 9:00 PM (Eastern) every Monday night, volunteer facilitators offer a Concerned Significant Others (CSO) meeting that tackle with specific addiction related issues that are commonplace when you try to reach out to help a friend or family member battling a dependency on alcohol or drugs or other compulsive behaviours.
During our meetings we share our tools that can be implemented by loved ones to help in how to handle with emotional upsets, learn how to effectively communicate with loved ones, and much more. Additional techniques used within the CRAFT Program (Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training) are also shared to gain additional information to assist you with your loved one in need
To Participate
In order to take part on our online meetings, you must register at the SMART Recovery Online. Click here to gain instant access.
Also available is our Message Board Forum where Concerned Significant Others (CSO) can access for additional support.
CRAFT (Community Reinforcement Approach & Family Training)
For concerned significant others, SMART Recovery recommends CRAFT because their objective is to coach family and friends how to self-protect and obtain skills to be non-confrontational and help their loved one find recovery from addiction.
Since CRAFT’s approach is very new, groups may be difficult to find in your local area. You can get more information reading the book Get Your Loved One Sober: Alternatives to Nagging, Pleading, and Threatening by Robert J. Meyers, Ph.D. and Brenda L. Wolfe, Ph.D.
For those that are seeking a recovery programme for their loved one; Get Your Loved One Sober is a great start. CRAFT has extraordinary success rate getting people into treatment and recovery.
CRAFT is an alternative to the traditional 12-Step approach, Al-Anon which recommends detaching yourself from your loved one. Also it’s different from the confrontational interventions used by the Johnson Institute. CRAFT programme’s is based on using non-confrontational methods and promotes more behavioural changes like discovering and rewarding positive behaviours. CRAFT goes hand in hand with SMART Recovery’s programme.
The book’s primary focus is to help the reader change their interactions with their loved one, which helps modify their behaviour. If you would like more information on CRAFT, click here.
Robert Meyers, Ph.D. developed CRAFT. He has been working in Addictions for over 33 years. He is the director of Robert J. Meyers, Ph.D. & Associates and a Research Associate Professor Emeritus in Psychology at the University of New Mexico’s Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addiction. He has been involved in over a dozen clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health, including Project Match and the Clinical Trials Network.
Resources at SMART Recovery
On SMART Recovery’s messageboard, we have a section dedicated to Concerned Significant Others (For Families and Friends) that provide online peer support. You are welcome to use any of our online resources and attend our meetings if you choose. You must register to participate.
Things to Do If Your Loved One is Addicted to Alcohol and/or Drugs.
Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers and Providers
Oxygen Mask Rule for Family & Friends
Recommended Reading
Recommended readings for participants of the Friends & Family meeting include:
Get Your Loved One Sober: Alternatives to Nagging, Pleading, and Threatening by Drs. Robert Meyers, Ph.D., and Brenda L. Wolfe, Ph.D.
I’m Right, You’re Wrong, Now What?: Break the Impasse and Get What You Need by Xavier Amador is available at Amazon.
The SMART Recovery Handbook, and the SMART Recovery Quickstart CD, available at http://smartrecoverycanada.org/products/books.
The SMART Recovery Teen Handbook, is for those that are concerned about teenagers. This book was developed via a grant obtained by The Community Coalition for Teens in Greenfield, Massachusetts, the SMART Recovery® Handbook was adapted to be applicable and helpful to teens. It’s available in our bookstore: SMART Recovery Teen Handbook.
SMART Tool Chest: http://www.smartrecovery.org/resources/toolchest.htm
SMART Articles & Essays: http://www.smartrecovery.org/resources/articlesessays.htm
