CRAFT Explained. Twice.
Recently, I was interviewed by a health journalist who planned to write about CRAFT. She was trying to figure out exactly what it was and what it looked like in practice but was finding the information she was reading to be vague. She wondered if maybe it was meant to be vague so that people would have to find a CRAFT practitioner to have the secrets revealed to them. Oh no! I don't believe that anyone wants to keep CRAFT hidden from view. I believe that all of us in our growing CRAFT provider community want the ideas of love and respect, concrete skills, and positive family relationships to be accessible to everyone.
I can understand why CRAFT might be hard to understand at first. Most people have a picture of what an "intervention" is, and may have even seen one play out on television. And Alanon has been around for so many decades, I don't know if I have ever met anyone who doesn't know what it is. Most people who come to see me for CRAFT based help have already attended Alanon and contemplated an Intervention. But CRAFT is a process. It isn't made up of catchy slogans. It wouldn't play out well for entertainment TV. CRAFT is a paradigm shift.
Screenshot of Lara Okoloko’s video about CRAFT (35 min)
I had been thinking about my conversation with the journalist since then. I thought a short but thorough video explainer might be useful to make, so I sat down recently and recorded one. I ended up editing it shorter than I had intended, and the audio quality wasn't perfect. But, perfection is the enemy of good-enough so I published the video and I hope that it helps someone find clarity about whether CRAFT is the right approach for them.
Screenshot of CRAFTColorado.org’s Lift the Label video (1 min)
It also happens that the state of Colorado just finished a public information campaign to spread the word about CRAFT, following the state’s efforts to get counselors across Colorado trained in CRAFT by the wonderful Jessica Triplett. Now there are numerous public commercials available featuring people who have benefitted from CRAFT talking about it in their own words.
I am so glad to see CRAFT becoming more mainstream and accessible!
When I first learned CRAFT over 12 years ago, I only knew two or three people who were also using this approach. Thanks to the CMC's book "Beyond Addiction" and a couple of New York Times articles, I began getting calls from potential clients specifically asking for CRAFT-based help, and I began meeting other providers here and there who knew what it was. CRAFT was growing up!
Now with the work that Cordelia has been doing with Helping Families Help, I think CRAFT has experienced a growth spurt. CRAFT is an adolescent now! I have many hopes and dreams for CRAFT as it grows into adulthood. As a trainer, I hope to continue to do my part to grow our provider numbers, increase access for family members, and to shape the culture of our community to be grounded in respect, generosity, accountability, and deliberate practice and improvement.
I love what we do and I love that we can do it together.
In community,
Lara
