WHAT THE INVITATION TO CHANGE?
The Invitation to Change Approach® draws from CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Therapy), MI (Motivational Interviewing), and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) to empower loved ones with a new understanding of substance use.
With a skills-oriented, compassionate outlook, the Invitation to Change Approach® works to reduce shame and stigma, while providing tools to foster growth and promote change.
Behaviors Make Sense
Open the door to change by viewing your loved one’s substance use through a new lens.
One Size Doesn't Fit All
The path to change is different for everybody - there is no one ‘right’ way to help!
Ambivalence is Normal
It’s normal for new behaviors to compete with the old, even as you move toward change.
Communication Tools
Collaborative communication is key to supporting change in your loved one.
Behavior Tools
Grow positive behaviors and reduce negative ones with evidence-based strategies.
Self Awareness
Willingness
Move toward what is important while accepting the difficult feelings that come with change.
Self Compassion
Take care of yourself! Acknowledge your needs throughout this process.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Change won’t happen in a day - it takes time, and effort, and practice!
Invitation to Change® (ITC) draws key strategies from three evidence-based treatments: CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training), MI (Motivational Interviewing), and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). With a compassionate outlook and a practical plan, ITC will help you take better care of yourself and help your struggling loved one.
ITC includes all the components of Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT), a behavioral and motivational treatment for families of people with substance problems developed by Dr. Robert J. Meyers and Dr. Jane Ellen Smith. CRAFT has been studied extensively in randomized controlled trials across socioeconomic and ethnic groups and situations, including varying familial relationships and types of substances, and has been found to be more effective than traditional approaches such as Al-Anon and interventions.
CRAFT teaches families and friends effective strategies for helping their loved one change and improving their own wellbeing. CRAFT works to influence your loved one’s behavior by changing the way your family interacts with them.
It is designed to accomplish three goals:
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Help families move their loved one toward treatment when they are refusing.
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Reduce the use of drugs and alcohol by the person struggling, whether or not they have engaged in treatment yet.
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Improve the lives of concerned family and friends.
In clinical trials, CRAFT was successful in engaging treatment in 64 – 74% of cases, and families reported significant improvements in their own happiness and sense of family cohesion as well as reduced anxiety, depression, and anger. The individuals studied also significantly reduced substance use, regardless of whether they entered treatment.
CRAFT shows you how to positively and incrementally reinforce abstinence or steps toward change. It recognizes family members as powerful collaborators in this process.
ITC also includes key elements of Motivational Interviewing (MI), a short-term treatment approach that concentrates on improving and strengthening an individual’s motivation to change. MI creates a respectful, empathic environment that invites change instead of demanding it, as it helps people see their own reasons for change. ITC shows you how to use these skills to improve communication with your loved one and motivate them to consider and sustain positive change.
Finally, ITC incorporates several elements of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a treatment approach that employs acceptance and mindfulness strategies, alongside commitment and behavior-change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility. These strategies help you live in the present moment with your emotions, experiences, and values, so that you can better help your loved one and yourself.
