Key takeaway
You have been told to confront them or to stop helping, and both options feel wrong. CRAFT is counseling for relatives, usually four to six sessions, that uses positive reinforcement to encourage treatment. The person who is using does not have to attend. Tonight, ask a program whether those sessions are actually on the schedule.
Last updated: Mon Oct 05 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
You have been told to confront them, or to stop helping entirely. Both can feel like a trap. There is a counseling model for the family that uses encouragement instead of a showdown.
If someone may be violent, seizing, will not wake, or cannot breathe, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Ask whether the sessions exist
CRAFT, Community Reinforcement and Family Training, is usually four to six sessions. The counselor works with relatives and other people close to the person who is using. That person does not have to be in the room. The idea is that what happens at home can make treatment more likely. One illustration is time together on a day without drinking, or saying you enjoy that time. A counselor fits the example to the house. It is a poor fit if someone may get hurt.
People pressed into treatment by confrontation are more likely to return to use than people encouraged through positive reinforcement. CRAFT has been shown to be more effective than an intervention confrontation. A planned family meeting is an intervention. Family therapy usually includes the person in care.
Tonight, call a program and ask whether CRAFT, or another family approach they can name, is actually on the schedule. Families looking for alcohol treatment can start with the Alcohol Treatment Navigator. If the fight is about money or cutting someone off, read tough love and codependency. Al-Anon is mutual help, not these sessions. When they are refusing care, your own support still counts.
Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help finding a program that works with families.
Additional Resources
Sources cited on this page:
- SAMHSA TIP 39: Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Family Therapy (2020 update, GovInfo PDF)
- NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator: FAQs on searching for alcohol treatment
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Common Questions
Is CRAFT something I can do from an article?
The manual describes it as counseling, usually four to six sessions. A counselor works with you on how you interact with the person who has a substance use disorder. The examples have to fit your house. If someone may be violent, skip the conversation and call 911.
How is this different from an intervention?
CRAFT teaches family and friends to reinforce a change instead of confronting continued use. People pressed into treatment by confrontation are more likely to return to use than people encouraged in through positive reinforcement. NIAAA's Navigator FAQ says CRAFT has been shown to be more effective than confronting someone in an intervention. A planned family meeting is a different event.
Who is the client in CRAFT?
The focus is the family. The counselor works with relatives and other concerned people so a change in how they interact can affect substance use and the chance of entering treatment. The person who is using does not have to be in the room. Family therapy usually includes the person in care.
What does a counselor actually coach?
A shorter version in the manual is education about how substance use affects the family, plus communication practice. That practice includes skipping blame, saying how the use affects the family, saying you hope they will get help, and noticing a real change. Those lines are coaching, not a speech to memorize in an unsafe house.
Where do Al-Anon and tough love fit?
CRAFT sits with the less intensive family steps, alongside counseling and Al-Anon, before a more intensive approach. Al-Anon is mutual help for people affected by someone else's drinking. It is a different hour from these sessions. Enabling and cutting someone off are separate arguments about money, bail, and consequences.