Families on the Front Line Abandoned: Sudden Funding Cuts Threaten Progress Against Opioid Crisis
Over two decades of stunningly effective work with families is endangered.
Author: Dominique Simon
Dominique launched Allies in Recovery in 2003. Her work has been featured on HBO and NPR. She is a facilitator and a trained speaker on issues of addiction and the family. She has worked extensively developing and evaluating federally-funded substance abuse programs for organizations and clinics throughout Massachusetts and New York. With an interest in recovery and substance abuse that spans 20 years, she sees a huge need to help families develop the skills to help a loved one recover fully in a supportive, whole, and lasting way in their families and in their communities. Her mission is to have Allies in Recovery fill that gap.
Is My Loved One Now Using Another Drug?
A member writes in about seeing the CRAFT principles working, and communication shifts are starting to make a difference. But the drug use feels …
Balancing Love and Safety
Setting boundaries is an act of love, protecting yourself while holding space for a healthier relationship in the future.
Interview with Bill Carruthers, Part 1
Bill Carruthers, new Allies partner, discusses his professional work and his personal experience with addiction recovery.
How Do You Handle the Holidays?
How do you answer questions about loved ones and handle expectations? Connection without enmeshment is especially important in the holidays.
Marijuana: Is It a Problem?
Since it has medical uses, the answers lie in good communication, in helping the person understand for themselves whether it's a problem.
Fentanyl Detox: One Family’s Situation
What's involved in detoxing? Should they let their loved one do it at home?
How Do You Deal with Unknowns and Limited Contact?
Limited contact is hard. Learn to calm down so you can respond simply and strengthen the connection through humor and interests.
CRAFT Basics: What Does “Agency” Mean?
Agency, the sense of self-control, is important to CRAFT. Foster agency in others by offering positivity, gaining more agency of your own.
Holding Contradictions
It’s important to CRAFT to see possibilities, hold more than one truth, and experience many feelings and thoughts to get to healing.