Reviews

Allies in Recovery has been my lifeline for several years now.

Incredibly helpful for me. Allies was the single most effective resource which helped reduce my stress and fear to a healthy & constructive level (over time). The personalized advice, attention and help I received from Allies were the greatest gift I could ask for during a time of crisis. Watching the videos helped me stay calm when I felt overwhelmed. My partner deserves all the credit for staying sober. But my life, and my ability to cope, is infinitely better thanks to Allies. It is an exemplary mental health resource, thank you so much.

The modules are obviously something to return to over and over. Listening to the Coming Up for Air podcast (over and over) is helping me gain some sanity. I’m so thankful to have come across this program, I thought I was crazy.

I’ve been listening to Coming Up for Air for a year now and honestly it changed my life. When I have managed to attend the meetings, I loved it and always felt better.

I wanted to let you know how invaluable CRAFT and Allies in Recovery has been. The weekly Zoom meetings continue to make such a difference in my life. Thank you for providing such wonderful resources.

Laurie’s 5-hr training built on the modules and made me feel more confident in using CRAFT techniques/tools.

The modules were what hooked me – easy to use and reference over and over. The groups are extremely beneficial. I’ve learned so much by participating.

First and only program where I was supported, encouraged, and understood as the mother of an adult son with SUD. I am a different person now and so is my son. The years (decades) trying to control fix solve etc was exhausting and ineffective. Kayla’s group, modules, and resources are the best there is! I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this program.

You have saved my sanity and helped me more than any of the hundreds of books and articles I’ve consulted, or the half dozen therapists, for that matter.

I am VERY grateful for the support and learning I had from you, but need to step back in large part because my son is doing so very well. Thanks!

It has been an honor and a pleasure to be a part of this amazing group.

I have taken all the training, had an all-day session and even counseling. I have learned to communicate about this very difficult topic to my loved one and he is embracing a much more sober lifestyle!

We just found your podcast. We love it! It is insightful, helpful and offers practical information we can use immediately.

The information and skills are helping me feel more calm because there’s a system to follow.

I have very much enjoyed the program. I learned a lot about connecting with my loved one on the level that she needed, rather than what I “thought” she needed. The tools that the program provided me with helped me and the rest of the family change our words and actions so that our loved one understood that it wasn’t us against her. It took time and practice and patience, but we are all now living in a much better place.

Laurie MacDougall is a wonderful teacher/facilitator/mentor. She is prepared, knowledgeable, empathetic, and funny, too! (It helps to remember to laugh).

I have been able to help my son, and our family with the tools I have learned. Thank you much.

I follow Allies in Recovery because I am a social worker treating people with SUDs and their families. I love the CRAFT method, I love the podcast. I use the framework to inform my work with folks going through addiction, and I teach it to their loved ones.

The podcast and the Allies website and support groups are helping me change how I react, interact, and support my loved one. Slowly but surely I am following CRAFT. I am a stubborn old bird and am finding unlearning my behavior is really hard. It’s so easy to return to ancient patterns but I am improving. This program is a lifesaver, especially for me. I am concentrating on changing myself. My loved one will follow his own path.

As a clinical social worker and family addiction coach I love everything about Allies in Recovery; including the podcast. With a 70% success rate of a loved one entering treatment, CRAFT is an approach my families find extremely valuable. Hearing from others through the podcast series who have recovered from the impact of addiction is useful on many levels.

Thank you for showing me another way to think. I’ve listened to every show and always come away with new choices. I listen to every conversation at least twice and reinforce the wonderful skills Allies offers. There’s some nuance added with each repetition. Not only have the tools helped me communicate with my family but I’m now teaching some of the material to my professional colleagues. Bravo Dominique, Laurie and Kayla!

I am so grateful for all the ways in which Allies and the connected communities have provided support.

You guys offer a wonderful program. And I really benefited. Please thank everyone for their help and support!!!

I would say to anyone who is new to this program that you need to re-take the program a number of times and learn how to use the tools a little at a time. None of us can change immediately even though there is this amazing road map that guides us. We have to practice and try multiple strategies to find what works. In the process of me learning how to use the tools and change my ways it occurred to me that my loved one needed to do the same. If I can’t be expected to learn/change overnight how can I have expected her to change. This program has taught me how to love and understand and empathize differently.

I am so grateful for all of your help and support in Allies.

Please keep doing what you are doing. There is no quick, easy way to help a loved one who is struggling. But, with patience and practice we can all learn to support our loved ones in the way they need to be supported.

Thanks for putting together such wonderful tools.

The Wednesday group with Kayla is amazing. So supportive and practical.

It has been an enormous help and I routinely recommend Allies to others in recovery. Thank you for providing a much-needed service to families like mine!

We really appreciate all the support and information Allies provides (modules, podcasts and support groups). It’s empowering to learn new ways of interacting, and also understanding what it might be for them to be going through what they’re going through, it assists in bringing empathy to the table. It replaces angry reactions with more thoughtful and neutral response options. The support groups bring comfort and a feeling of not being so alone and in isolation. Hearing what other people are going through and how they handle is valuable and brings insight.

I love your evidenced based CRAFT approach. In fact I preach it to everyone I know loud and proud.

Going back and looking at the modules on bad days helped remind me how best to deal with situations.

I love CRAFT and how Allies in Recovery helps us implement it. I LOVE the support groups and the modules.

This was an extremely helpful program to get my partner into treatment and to start setting boundaries that were healthy to get her there. I’ve directed many other people to your services.

I have listened to your podcasts over the years and they have really helped. Thank you for the work you do, it has truly helped with my sanity over the years.

I like that the modules are presented in a manner that is digestible. There is enough information to get “one going” but is not overwhelming.

I am so very grateful for everything that Allies has done to provide support for me. I have found Allies to be the most helpful resource/organization of any I’ve encountered so far. I was introduced to the CRAFT method by my therapist over 4 years ago, but had difficulty applying it in a practical, concrete way. The modules, resources, live support groups and podcast have done so much to make this happen. Thank you again for everything! You are what keeps me going in this marathon journey.

Laura’s educational group and Kayla’s support group have been invaluable to me.

Really appreciate your support and the good work you all do!

Thank you for all the information and knowledge, I have been also listening to your podcasts and it is of tremendous help for me.

Allies helped me identify a good treatment program with features that were attractive to my loved one and gave me the techniques to talk to her about it. The support groups helped me see other family members who were dealing with the same problems and that helped me feel I was not alone. I’ve also relied a fair bit on the blogs on the website to think about different types of problems that have come up along the way. We are so much farther along than we were in some ways but stepped back in others. Thanks for helping me hang in there when I feel like giving up!

Love the podcast, Wednesday night group, Laurie’s group. THANK YOU!

Allies in Recovery is a fantastic program and, for me, is more helpful than Al Anon. The approach makes sense and has really helped me grow as a person. Using the techniques from the modules has helped me dramatically improve communication with my LO with SUD. I am much better at setting boundaries and am slowly reclaiming my own life. In fact, I find the principles useful as a guide in all my relationships. My deepest, heartfelt thanks to the Allies in Recovery team!!

I love this program! I think it should be available to everyone! Thank you for all that you do!

The membership and site are invaluable to me, as are the podcasts. The support group meetings have been so helpful as well and I make them part of my self-care.

It has been over two years since you helped me get my daughter to treatment and she has maintained her sobriety!!!

I am simply thankful for this resource.

I feel you have been such a lifeline. In the crisis you gave me a roadmap. No scolding, no platitudes. Just a way to understand what was happening to us and some solid advice on the actions & attitudes that could help me help him. The tie I still feel to you gives me comfort—knowing you are there if things go south. I am so very grateful.

You all are amazing and do great work, thank you for everything you do! Especially the podcast- excellent.

This is a fantastic program!!!

There is really nothing else like it around & I am Truly Grateful for all the support this program offers! Please continue to be a reliable source for others as you were for me.

Podcasts are extremely helpful for me.

I love the videos, teachings, modules, well everything about Allies in Recovery.

This program was a great resource when I needed it the most.

Love the online group support and leaders.

The podcast is something I truly value. I listen multiple times to episodes.

I have found the lessons and the podcasts to be really beneficial. When my husband is in a binge I find the podcasts to be extremely helpful because they teach and remind me how to respond and ever since I started listening and doing the lessons my anxiety and stress around his drinking has gone substantially down.

I’ve scheduled 1:1 Allies sessions with Laurie that were focused on specific problems, and I’ve gotten specific solutions to consider that were extremely helpful.

When I have time, I love to join Kayla’s evening sessions. The group is inclusive and has a solid CRAFT focus. Kayla is an amazing facilitator.

There’s nothing of substance that I dislike in the Allies program. I feel empowered because if it. I love passing on the knowledge I’ve gained from my experience with Allies and SMART Recovery, two CRAFT essentials for me.

It’s great to have strong Allies when you’re dealing with addiction.

I’m not very far along. Great program. My focus is on less use and improving our relationship. It is working.

Learning CRAFT has improved my communication and understanding of the complexities of SUD and relationships. I’ve learned some skills to improve my part to create a better bond and hopeful for positive results.

Allies has helped me learn to process what I am worrying about, practice what I have learned in the modules, the discussions, etc and then let go. I actually have implemented Allies in other difficult conversations and situations that arise in families. I have suggested Allies to others dealing with substance abuse within their family or close relationships.

What I like most is it is easy to find what I am looking for. For example if I wanted to review modules, contact info, weekly meetings links and announcements of upcoming seminars, all these are very visible.

Allies in Recovery is the greatest resource I have ever seen, the individuals I have met are the most caring people I have ever met, my life is not the same because of the impact it has made in my life.

Your program, in addition to Al-anon and two private counseling sessions with a substance abuse counselor were the key to helping my loved one. I truly appreciated the lessons, techniques, and tools to change my behaviors in a way that might likely support my loved one’s recovery.

I like the ability to join a support group and interact with others on the same path that I am on with our son.

The training session taken this month was also very helpful and informative… well delivered by Laurie, and excellent material.

There is nothing that I don’t like about the course. I just have to have the wherewithal to push through difficult interactions and stay the course.

The philosophy of this site has been invaluable to me. It’s hard to know the indirect impact on my loved one although things are positive. So much is dependent on his choices.

Allies is not my only source of information and support in recovery as a family member. However, it is very helpful. I have been through all the modules, attended a couple meetings with Laurie, and listen to and recommend the podcast “Coming Up for Air” to all the family members I meet on this journey. You are doing excellent and life-saving work. You are an important tool in my recovery toolkit.

We are a work in progress and meetings and practice practice practice has been most helpful. Love live interaction.

I am very happy with the format, the modules, the quick response to questions and Kayla Solomon’s group.

I found all the videos to be very informative and educational. The material was easy to understand and explained very well.

I really respect the work Allies in Recovery have done to provide people with the knowledge and steps for navigating the turbulent path of having a loved one in addiction. I really love the language and scenarios- that’s what helps me. It also gives me strength and perspective. Thank you for being a resource and for offering people hope. I grateful for all you do.

I like so much about the site: the topics, the index, the modules, the ability to ask questions and get answers. You are very responsive and helpful.

I facilitate a weekly support group for family and friends (through SMART Recovery) and I often refer people to Allies in Recovery. Keep up the good work!

It was very helpful to have a support group, podcast, and someone to make an appointment with in emergencies.

I haven’t even really had a chance to dig into the modules yet! I’ve been participating in multiple support calls a week, as well as the podcast. Those have all been so helpful.

The modules are good! I need to get in and finish them and likely repeat them.

Thank you for Allies & CRAFT. I worked an Al-Anon program for many years. Your approach is different & refreshing to me. More concrete examples of what to try. Very appreciative to everyone involved in these amazing programs. After 20+ years, I still have work to do on myself & how I interact with others. Living with addiction caused me so much stress. It goes away & comes back. I love Coming Up for Air.

There is SO MUCH value in the podcast episodes about how to manage when your loved one is struggling with substances. How to relate to your loved one, how to care for yourself, how to make a positive difference in your loved one’s life.

I have learned so many useful tools listening to your podcast. I’m so grateful for your knowledge and wisdom. Thank you!

The podcast is so valuable to me in my family recovery journey. Re: episode: Did my comment make him drink. I learn so much from these podcasts and recommend them to everyone I volunteer with in family recovery. But this episode was exceptional. Listened to it twice in quick succession. Appreciate Laurie bringing up the use of stigmatizing language and how we are all working to change it. Thanking you Laurie, Kayla & Dominique for the podcast and your commitment to family recovery.

I listen weekly to learn new ways to change what I can – in my relationship with my loved one with an alcohol use disorder. Laurie, Dominique, and Kayla have so much collective wisdom to share that sometimes I listen to an episode two or three times.

Modules are mostly a way of learning that works for me. Groups and office hours are great. Appreciate how practice oriented they are. Additional resources are also helpful.