Harbor House recognizes that addiction is a family disease that needs family healing. As such, family therapy sessions are encouraged for all residents throughout their treatment stay. The timing and setting for family therapy is based on the individual client’s family dynamics and treatment goals. All questions about family therapy should be directed to each resident’s primary therapist.

Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is an intervention designed to help a concerned significant other/family member (CSO) facilitate treatment entry/engagement for a treatment-refusing individual who is abusing drugs or alcohol (the family member). CRAFT was developed with the belief that CSOs, who often have substantial information about their family member’s substance abuse behavior patterns, can play a powerful role in helping him/her to enter treatment.

CRAFT Sessions are delivered intermittently by staff from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The sessions cover the following topics:

• Handling dangerous situations with the substance-abusing family member
• Remembering the family member’s positive attributes that were evident before he or she was abusing substances
• Communicating with the family member using nonjudgmental feedback and reflective listening, and discontinuing communication that is not effective in positively influencing substance abuse
• Using positive reinforcement to support abstinence and increase positive interactions (i.e., scheduling activities the family member enjoys that do not involve substances, participating only when no substances are used that day)
• Practicing nonreinforcement of substance abuse (extinction) by ignoring or avoiding the family member when he or she is abusing substances
• Suggesting and initiating counseling during opportunity times
• Developing interests and social supports independent of the family member