Crafting a new approach

I was once told by a social work manager (well shouted at, actually) whilst delivering CRAFT practitioner training that I was ‘the most unprofessional professional’ he’d ever met.

I can recall smiling and saying, ‘well thank you my brother, I’ll wear that like a badge of honour’. And I do.

The reason I think he got so upset was because I was talking about the fact that I love the clients and families I support, and I tell them I do every single day. But I do love them, and I will always go above and beyond, because the lives of families really matter.

My name is George Charlton, and I’m the UK’s only independent CRAFT trainer and supervisor to be licensed and endorsed by CRAFT founder Dr Robert J Meyers from the University of New Mexico to train and supervise families and practitioners in the solution focused and evidence-based Community Reinforcement and Family Training approach.

EMPOWERING FAMILIES
What I want to share with you isn’t only about my work but how I believe, deep down, that family members are ambassadors for change and 100 per cent have the power to save lives if we show them the way.

CRAFT isn’t just another training programme – it’s a revolutionary way of thinking about people who use drugs and addiction support, and it’s a dynamite model for implementing whole-family recovery and harm reduction interventions that are empower­ing, person centred, and family led. In my view, families matter and their love has power. They deserve to be at the front and centre and heart of the solution, not pushed to the side and ignored – which they typically are.

According to ADFAM there are around 5m family members across the UK who are directly impacted by a loved one’s substance use, and they are lacking the support they desperately need to help themselves and their loved ones. The Dame Carol Black report laid it bare – ‘our treatment system is at capacity, caseloads are too high, and families are paying the price’. I’m inclined to agree with Dame Carol.

It’s estimated that around 300,000 people in England alone are using opiates or crack cocaine, but what we often forget is that behind every one of those numbers is a family – a mother, father, partner or child who are desperate for, and to, help but all too often told they’re powerless and there’s nothing they can do until the user is ready to change. These messages are total nonsense, and we need to stop with this pointless and harmful rhetoric.

For too long, families have been bombarded with negative messages from certain support groups and professionals – ‘You can’t do anything until your loved one hits rock bottom’, ‘you have to show them tough love’, or ‘just cut them off and don’t go down with a sinking ship’. Imagine that as your starting point for the therapeutic relationship – there’s nothing you can do, you have no power and you’re better off just cutting your loved one out of your life. It’s total madness.

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
Family members come to me saying all of the above and that they don’t know what to do for the best, and that’s where CRAFT comes in. CRAFT is a behavioural change system which flips the script. It starts by telling families that they aren’t powerless and that they are actually crucial collaborators and key players in the therapeutic journey towards harm reduction and recovery.

And there’s a global evidence base to back it up too. Research consistently shows that CRAFT achieves above 70 per cent success rate in getting people who use drugs to engage in treatment and support services which is higher than other traditional family interventions.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) research found that 74 per cent of family members using the CRAFT approach managed to successfully engage and support their loved ones to access treatment, support and wider prosocial activities, including people who were previously resistant to treatment.

I’ve been delivering CRAFT practitioner training for well over a decade now and it’s an absolute honour to be able to train and coach people in this beautiful evidence-based approach. Every time I see those lightbulb moments where people realise they have the power to change things using love as a therapeutic tool it reminds me why this approach matters so much. When I deliver my training I’m not just talking about the theory – I’m actually bringing the whole programme to life. Practitioners and families love going through this training, but don’t just take my word for it:

Alana from New Way Scotland: ‘The energy was amazing and this is by far the best training course I have ever been on.’  

Debs from WithYou: ‘George is so passionate about CRAFT and his training makes me want to be a better worker for my clients and a better person at a core level. It’s the best training I’ve ever been on, hands down.’

In the training sessions we explore motivational interviewing techniques, communication skills, functional analysis, positive reinforcement and harm reduction strategies – all wrapped up and delivered with kindness, humanity and love. I make sure the training is empowering and practical – we don’t just talk about CRAFT skills, we practice them – a lot! Participants leave the training not just with a certificate but with the confidence and clarity to use what they’ve learned right away.

We also know that working with families can be hard at times and that’s why we’ve built in an ongoing CRAFT community of practice for everyone who completes the training. I deliver this in partnership with my besties Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD) and every 12 weeks we come together online to support each other, share what’s working, and keep that spark of hope alive.

ARCHITECTS OF CHANGE
No one knows the person struggl­ing with substances better than their family members, and that’s why it makes complete sense to equip families with the behavioural change skills needed to support their loved ones to access treatment, reduce harm and build a future where everyone can thrive. CRAFT isn’t about wait­ing for that ‘rock bottom’ to happen, it’s about meeting people where they are – with love, compassion, and proven evidence-based strategies to influence change. Don’t forget, small steps carry you long distances

I’ve seen it first-hand time and again – when families recognise that their love has power they become passionate architects of change, which is a beautiful thing to be part of.

So whether you’re a commissioner looking to improve outcomes, a service provider wanting to support your staff, or a family member desperate for answers, I want you to know there’s always hope and I’m here to help you find it. You can reach me at info@georgecharlton.com. Let’s work together to save lives, empower families, and build a future where love truly does have the power to heal.

George Charlton is a trainer and consultant, georgecharlton.com