Coming Up for Air — A Toolkit to Help with Your Loved One's Recovery from Addiction & Mental Illness

In part 2 of 2, Isabel, Kayla, and their co-hosts -- family members with direct experience -- discuss their favorite tools and tips they've picked up from working with the CRAFT method through Allies in Recovery.Our Families Speak series features a wonderful team of people navigating life with an addicted loved one. They are all members of Allies in Recovery, an online platform providing training, guidance, support and resources to families ready to shift the dynamic with their loved one struggling with substance use.With grace, compassion, humility and deep generosity, the Families Speak team shares openly with Coming Up for Air listeners. We can thus benefit from their experience, their process, and the work they do with group facilitator and psychotherapist, Kayla Solomon.Visit alliesinrecovery.net to learn about our membership options, read our blog posts, meet our team, and much more!

Isabel, Kayla, and co-hosts with direct experience discuss their favorite tools and tips they've picked up from working with the CRAFT method through Allies in Recovery. Part 1 of 2.Our Families Speak series features a wonderful team of people navigating life with an addicted loved one. They are all members of Allies in Recovery, an online platform providing training, guidance, support and resources to families ready to shift the dynamic with their loved one struggling with substance use.With grace, compassion, humility and deep generosity, the Families Speak team shares openly with Coming Up for Air listeners. We can thus benefit from their experience, their process, and the work they do with group facilitator and psychotherapist, Kayla Solomon.Visit alliesinrecovery.net to learn about our membership options, read our blog posts, meet our team, and much more!

If you have an addicted loved one, chances are you're all too familiar with "hyper-arousal" or "survival mode." As Emily explains with brio, this state is meant to serve us when there's danger, then pass. What does it look like when we're chronically in this mode?Physical and mental/emotional signs are there and can serve as signposts, Emily explains, indicating we're heading down a certain path. Awareness is KEY in being able to begin the process of observing, naming what's happening, then (once the actual crisis has subsided) gathering tools and rehearsing a response for the next time.At Allies in Recovery we train, guide and support families using the CRAFT method. Self-care is a cornerstone, for so many reasons, but many of us need to learn it from scratch. Visit alliesinrecovery.net to learn more about membership.To learn more about Emily Cooney, and her coaching offerings, visit emilycooney.com or @goldfinch_wellness

Sometimes, our Loved Ones' situations call for incredibly difficult decisions. Co-host Hazel shares a recent high-stakes moment that felt like a necessary betrayal. Our Families Speak series features a wonderful team of people navigating life with an addicted loved one. They are all members of Allies in Recovery, an online platform providing training, guidance, support and resources for families ready to shift the dynamic with their loved one struggling with substance use.With grace, compassion, humility and deep generosity, the Families Speak team shares openly with Coming Up for Air listeners. We can thus benefit from their experience, their process, and the work they do with group facilitator and psychotherapist, Kayla Solomon.Visit alliesinrecovery.net to learn about our membership options, read our blog posts, meet our team, and much more!

When there's Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and mental health diagnoses, what do you do? Can you use CRAFT? Yes, most of the time you can, unless the mental health issues make you or them unsafe. Co-host Bridget offers a central point: with this difficult combo, think of what is, not "what if." Our Families Speak series features a wonderful team of people navigating life with an addicted loved one. They are all members of Allies in Recovery, an online platform providing training, guidance, support and resources for families ready to shift the dynamic with their loved one struggling with substance use.With grace, compassion, humility and deep generosity, the Families Speak team shares openly with Coming Up for Air listeners. We can thus benefit from their experience, their process, and the work they do with group facilitator and psychotherapist, Kayla Solomon.Visit alliesinrecovery.net to learn about our membership options, read our blog posts, meet our team, and much more!

How do you deal with having hard feelings around your loved one's substance use? Kayla, Carolyn, Bridget, Elizabeth, and Kenny discuss their experiences and feelings of anxiety, frustration, and fear and their tools for handling the situation.The Allies in Recovery program and the CRAFT Method for families seeking to help a loved one with addiction, teach concrete skills to shift the dynamics between you and your loved one. Paying closer attention to your own feelings, and taking a bit of distance from them in order to not add unnecessary weight to them, is part of our online learning program.

It's easy to feel like you have to be perfect with CRAFT, perfect with your Loved One to be successful. But perfectionism gets in the way of connection. It can blind us, keep us from seeing our loved one fully. Your acknowledging things not going the way you wanted, and taking responsibility for your behaviors that don’t work—is all part of fostering connection. If your Loved One feels connection and love, that’s the beginning of treatment. And it means healing can begin in your relationship.Our Families Speak series features a wonderful team of people navigating life with an addicted loved one. They are all members of Allies in Recovery, an online platform providing training, guidance, support and resources for families ready to shift the dynamic with their loved one struggling with substance use.With grace, compassion, humility and deep generosity, the Families Speak team shares openly with Coming Up for Air listeners. We can thus benefit from their experience, their process, and the work they do with group facilitator and psychotherapist, Kayla Solomon.Visit alliesinrecovery.net to learn about our membership options, read our blog posts, meet our team, and much more!

If we're doing too much for our loved ones with substance use disorder, we'll never truly know how capable they are. We need to step back to see their capability and witness their choices, realizing that they have their own motivations and values. CRAFT is about creating a strong connection without necessarily doing things for them. This is a process, one which respects the other person. Do the things that feel right, but not if you're stepping over a line. You may try and fail, or need to apologize and take responsibility. You can change your actions, do things and also, importantly, not do things. Our Families Speak series features a wonderful team of people navigating life with an addicted loved one. They are all members of Allies in Recovery, an online platform providing training, guidance, support and resources for families ready to shift the dynamic with their loved one struggling with substance use.With grace, compassion, humility and deep generosity, the Families Speak team shares openly with Coming Up for Air listeners. We can thus benefit from their experience, their process, and the work they do with group facilitator and psychotherapist, Kayla Solomon.Visit alliesinrecovery.net to learn about our membership options, read our blog posts, meet our team, and much more!

Kayla and Isabel discuss the complications of rewarding your Loved One with addiction, in the context of a partner relationship. How does it affect time with children? How about intimacy? Partner CRAFT is the podcast series by Allies in Recovery that focuses on applying the CRAFT method with a romantic partner (or ex-partner) who struggles with addiction. Co-hosts Kayla Solomon (psychotherapist, IMAGO counselor and Group Facilitator for Allies in Recovery) speaks with Isabel Cooney (Allies in Recovery team member, and ex-partner of an addicted Loved One) about the ways the CRAFT approach can be different when your loved one is your partner, rather than your child.A membership at Allies in Recovery gives you unlimited access to:Support groups for connection & guidanceOur online learning platform to teachyou through the CRAFT skillset step-by-stepA Q & A blog where you can ask questions and receive tailored guidance ... and much more!Visit Allies in Recovery to explore membership options, read our blog, meet our team, and start your journey today.

Kayla and Isabel discuss the challenges of early recovery. What are realistic expectations to have of our loved ones in this period? What can we do as a family member to support them and, importantly, to keep ourselves in check? It's helpful to know what "early recovery" means -- there's a spectrum that goes from complete abstinence to harm reduction (using less). Recovery in the largest sense is engaging in a process to heal. Partner CRAFT is the podcast series by Allies in Recovery that focuses on applying the CRAFT method with a romantic partner (or ex-partner) who struggles with addiction. Co-hosts Kayla Solomon (psychotherapist, IMAGO counselor and Group Facilitator for Allies in Recovery) speaks with Isabel Cooney (Allies in Recovery team member, and ex-partner of an addicted Loved One) about the ways the CRAFT approach can be different when your loved one is your partner, rather than your child. A membership at Allies in Recovery gives you unlimited access to:·      Support groups for connection & guidance·      Our online learning platform to teach you through the CRAFT skillset step-by-step ·      A Q & A blog where you can ask questions and receive tailored guidance·      And much more!Visit Allies in Recovery to exploremembership options, read our blog, meet our team, and start your journey today.