An Online Workshop for Families Struggling with a Loved One’s Drug or Alcohol Use
Houston, we have a problem…
- At least 96 million family members in the United States struggle with a loved one’s substance use 100%
- 24 million people suffer from addiction in the US alone 25%
- Only 1 in 10 people suffering from addiction receive treatment 4%
- 50% of those who receive treatment will relapse 1%
We don’t just have an addiction crisis.
We have a family crisis.
This is why I created the
Madeleine is just amazing with family members. She is loving, kind and willing to be raw and vulnerable in her work. She clearly gets it. And she has this magical ability to shift seamlessly from knowledgeable facilitator to compassionate friend who is walking the same journey in the trenches of this horrible disease. I wish that I, and my family, had met her when I was still drinking.
Mike Holliday
Does any of this sound like you?
- You constantly worry about what your loved one is doing in your absence, or even in your presence. Where are they? Are they drinking or using drugs?
- You’re afraid to even know whether or not your loved one is abusing alcohol or drugs. You’re not sure you even want to know how serious the problem might be for fear you won’t be able to handle it if it’s serious.
- You can’t seem to get your loved one to realize they have a problem.
- You are feeling heartbreakingly betrayed by your loved one and their substance use.
- You wonder what happened to the person you once knew before alcohol and drugs entered your loved one’s life, or how your loved one somehow became Dr. Jekyll and M. Hyde.
- You’re starting to believe your loved one doesn’t love you or care about your because they continue to drink or use despite the problems it causes you and your family.
- You are ashamed and mortified at the thought of what others might think about your loved one’s alcohol or drug use. What if the neighbors find out? What if they already know?
- You’re overwhelmed with terrifying thoughts of worst case scenarios. What if they’re driving drunk and they kill themselves or someone else? What if they overdose? What if this problem is going to ruin my kids lives?
- You’re worried whether or not your marriage will fail, if your loved one will lose their job, if you will lose your house or if you’re going to go bankrupt trying to fix this problem.
- You’re facing questions to which it feels like there’s no good answer. Do I stay or do I go? Do I kick them out or let them stay? Do I give them money or let them fall?
- You feel like you should be able to fix they problem, and you can’t figure out why you can’t. You’re secretly afraid you might be to blame.
If any of this sounds familiar, this workshop was designed for you!
Scroll down for all the details.
Interactive Self-Paced Workshop
A self-paced, interactive workshop that provides families with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to sanely navigate the crazy-making situations, heal their own pain, and increase the chances their loved one will choose recovery.
8 Modules
35 instructional videos (approx. 10 min/each.) Plus 16 video answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Over 6 hours of instruction. The comprehensive content is broken into manageable pieces. Scroll down for specific module details.
Tips and Tools for Dealing with Impossible Situation
Throughout the program, you will find valuable tips for improving outcomes and addressing the crazy-making situations that so often come with substance use.
Companion Coaching & Reflection Worksheets
For each video, the Hope and Help Coaching Worksheets will support you in taking your insights further with supportive coaching exercises and thought-provoking reflection questions.
Private Facebook Group
Access to a dynamic Facebook group full of members with similar experiences and the same understanding of the problem and the solution, sharing challenges and successes, and offering and receiving support.
Lifetime Access
Complete in a few days or in eight weeks with weekly email prompts for each module. Go through the program as many times as you need. Participants receive lifetime access for as long as the workshop exists.
Free Bonuses
<strong>#1:</strong> Using EFT/Tapping to manage the stress & show up more effectively with your loved one.
<strong>#2:</strong> Addressing an elderly loved one’s problematic drug, prescription drug and/or alcohol use.
Optional 8-Week Live Group Coaching
With the optional live group coaching add-on, give yourself the extra support you need to work through the modules and address questions and problems.
Coming Soon!
Compassionate and knowledgeable, Madeleine has walked the walk and brings both professional and personal experiences to working with families. Highly motivated and a person of integrity, she brings her best self to serve each participant.
Julie E.
There is help. There is hope.
The Hope for Families Online Workshop
(Click each toggle to open.)
Module I: Welcome to the Hope for Families Online Workshop!
In this module, you will…
- Understand the competing realities family members face
- Learn the 3 things you need to DO to get the most out of the Workshop
- Learn the 8 things you need to KNOW as you go through the Workshop
- Learn the 5 Community Participation Guidelines
Module II: Gaining Clarity on the Problem and the Solution
At the end of this module, you will…
- Inventory and become willing to accept where you’re at today
- Identify the two misguided expectations that keep family members stuck in an ineffective and addictive dynamic in their relationship with their substance using loved one
- Identify the two issues where family members can, in fact, have a positive and constructive influence
- Recognize the problems from which family members suffer if the effects of addiction on family members are not addressed
- Understand the role compassion plays in effectively facing the challenges your loved one’s substance use creates
- Understand the important role your own healing from the pain plays in having compassion and supporting your loved one’s recovery
- Learn why the effects addiction on family members often remain invisible to others
- Understand that your own healing can play a significant role in improving the current statistics on addiction (N.B. – How and why it helps comes in a later module.)
- Identify the 5 fundamental things families must do, to the best of their ability, to heal from the pain of their loved one’s use and increase the chances of their loved one choosing to recover
- Learn what to do if your loved one does not believe they have a problem
Module III: Understanding the Disease of Addiction - 3 perspectives
At the end of this module, you will…
- Learn the current definition of Substance Use Disorder and Addiction
- Understand the history of addiction as a disease
- Understand the basic workings of the addictive processes in the brain of an addicted person
- Identify the two different bases of the genetic underpinnings of addiction: genetic predisposition to addiction itself, or genetic sensitivity to stress?
- Recognize why family members are not to blame and why they are nevertheless responsible for their end of the relationship
- Identify the specific aspects of the addictive processes that family members can positively influence
- Understand that recovery from addiction is possible and identify the factors that are essential for recovery
- Identify more effective ways to respond to your loved one that recognize their substance use as a disease
Module IV: Understanding How Addiction Affects Families
At the end of this module, you will…
- Identify the primary symptom of addiction as it concerns family and friends
- How the symptoms of the disease lead families and friends to take the disease personally
- Understand how addiction affects family members and how family members ultimately “get sick” too
- Learn the myths and the facts about codependent behaviors
- Identify the 8 common family coping behaviors that complicate the problem
- Analyze specifically the ways your loved one’s substance use has affected you personally and identify where you most need healing
- Recognize the ways, without their own support, family members typically react to their loved one’s substance use, and why they are unhelpful and often counterproductive
- Understand how family members unwittingly mimic the 6 symptoms of addiction and examine the degree to which you might be mimicking your loved one’s symptoms
- Rate yourself on 36 questions to determine specifically how the problem is showing up in your own life
Module V: Effective Support - the Most Important Factor in Turning Things Around
At the end of this module, you will…
- Understand the 10+ reasons why effective support is the most important factor in changing your experience
- Identify the 4 things that constitute effective support
- Identify 7 sources of effective support for family members and understand the benefits and drawbacks of each one
Module VI: How to Heal Yourself and Positively Influence Your Loved One's Chances of Recovery
At the end of this module, you will…
- Recognize your ability to influence your loved one’s behavior while also understanding you are powerless to ultimately control it if your loved one insists on using
- Learn 9 ways to keep your loved one’s substance abuse from controlling everything in your life
- Recognize the 5 primary ways your loved one manipulates you and learn how to respond to these attempts at manipulation in healthier ways
- Understand how to effectively determine your needs and identify your limits in the face of the substance use
- Learn 6 ways to support yourself in the face of the impossible and crazy-making situations your loved one’s substance use creates
- Receive a review of 6 resources to build on your understanding of both the disease of addiction and the essential elements and stages of the recovery process, thus making it more difficult for your loved one to lie about their use or their recovery
- Understand why interventions can sometimes be counterproductive, making recovery less likely, and identify 8 things you need to know and do, if you are considering an intervention, to ensure it helps rather than hinders your loved one’s chances of recovery
Module VII: What to Do When Your Loved One Enters Treatment
At the end of this module, you will…
- Identify 8 ways to support your own healing during and after treatment and support your loved one’s chances of long-term recovery
- Learn the 2 steps to handling your fears of relapse
- Learn the 2 steps to take if your loved one reacts negatively to your concerns
- Learn the 4 steps to take when you don’t handle your fears well
- Develop a personalized plan for more effectively responding to your own triggers
- Identify the elements of effective and ineffective communication with your loved one
- Evaluate your own current communication patterns with your loved one
- Develop a personalized plan for more effectively and compassionately communicating with your loved one
- Understand what constitutes a healthy relationship moving forward
- Evaluate the current strengths and weaknesses in your relationship with your loved one
- Identify the aspect of your relationship that would be most beneficial to improve and create a plane for improving it
Module VIII: Frequently Asked Questions and Determining Your Next Steps
At the end of this module, you will…
- Understand the 10 reasons this program works
- Learn how to support yourself in facing worst-case scenarios
- Identify avenues for continuing your healing and supporting your loved one after the workshop
- Have 5 easy-to-remember maxims to support you moving forward
- Understand what forgiveness does and does not mean when it comes to your loved one’s substance use
- Know the answers to the following Frequently Asked Questions:
- What if they refuse to seek help?
- What if I think my loved one is in denial?
- My loved one’s behavior has ruined my credit / made our home unsafe / made us lose our house. How do I fix these problems I didn’t cause?
- Does my loved one have to hit rock bottom before they will accept treatment?
- How do I know if I should trust what my loved one says?
- What is it safe to talk about with my loved one?
- How do I know if it is it OK to talk to other people about my loved one’s addiction?
- How do I help my children? Should I tell them about their family member if they don’t already know?
- How do I know what kind of treatment my loved one needs?
- I’ve heard that medically assisted treatment isn’t actually abstinence. Should my loved one use it?
- What is harm reduction? Will it help my loved one?
- I’ve heard that 12-Step programs don’t work. Is that true?
- My loved one claims they’re smoking marijuana for medical reasons. How do I know if they really need marijuana for their problems?
- My insurance won’t cover in-patient treatment. I thought the Affordable Care Act made addiction care a requirement for all insurance plans.
- I grew up with addiction, now I have a child/spouse is also addicted. How do I address both issues?
- I’m also an addicted person in recovery. Why would I work a family recovery program when I’m already working a 12-Step program for my substance use?
- How do I know if my loved one should go into sober housing? I’ve heard they’re really just dens of drug and alcohol use and lots of people overdose in these kinds of half-way houses.
Coming Soon!
Core Workshop
Comprehensive and Personalized
$489
- 8 Modules
- Hope & Help Coaching Workbook for Each Module
- Tools & Tips for Dealing with the Impossible
- Effective Support Community
- Private Facebook Group
- Lifetime Access
- Guided Meditations for Handling Stress
- Bonus #1: Using EFT to Work Through the Fear, Frustration, and Hurt
- Bonus #2: Helping an Elderly Loved One with Substance Use Problems
Core Workshop with 8-Weeks Live Group Coaching
Get the Extra Support You Need
$659
- Everything Included in the Core Workshop
- 8 Weekly 1-Hour Live Group Coaching Sessions via Zoom
- Each Week Focuses on One Module
- 1-2 Coaching Exercises Based on Pre-Submitted Participant Questions per Week
- Downloadable Coaching Session Recordings
- This is where some really special magic and transformation happens for family members!
Frequently Asked Questions
(Click each toggle to open.)
What, exactly, will I gain from going through this program?
You will learn the precise actions you need to take to have the most constructive influence possible on your loved one’s substance use and to heal your own suffering in the face of this problem. You will receive support in determining the degree to which the multiple factors that influence addiction and codependency are at play in your own situation, gaining a personalized understanding that can help you clarify your options and feel more confident in your responses to the problem. You will receive the information you need, and the questions you need to ask to better navigate the challenges of treatment and other recovery service providers. You will gain the knowledge you need to clearly understand substance use disorders and addiction, and how this problem can create the dysfunctional family relationship dynamics many call codependency. You will also learn the history of our understanding of these issues so you can better navigate the confusing messages about these issues that still persist in our culture today. You will receive targeted coaching exercises for each module, so you can personalize the program, develop unique insights specific to your situation, and take action to change your experience and improve your loved one’s chances of recovery. And, finally, you will receive access to an effective confidential and non-judgmental support community to further support you in navigating the crazy-making situations a loved one’s alcohol and drug use so often brings.
When does the program begin and end?
The program modules will be released on December 25, 2017 – just in time for the stress your loved ones use may be adding to the holidays. From the point at which you purchase the program, you will have lifetime access to the program for as long as the program exists, including access to any updates that are made to the program. You may proceed through the program at any pace you wish. You will receive a weekly email presenting the next module, however, beginning either December 25, 2017, or from the point you registered, if you registered after December 25, 2017. These weekly emails serve as a gentle reminder that the modules are there waiting for you if you get side-tracked.
Will there be a way to ask questions?
There are several ways to ask questions, depending on which option you register for. With the core Workshop, you can ask questions in the comments below the videos and in the private Facebook group. You can also email me at support@madeleinecraig.com, but it’s best to ask questions about the content in the comments or on Facebook, as others may also have a similar question. If there are too many questions for me and my team to address, the questions whose answers are most likely to apply to more than one person will receive priority. For those who sign up for the Workshop with the 8-week live group coaching option, the live group coaching sessions will also be an opportunity to ask questions. You may submit questions prior to the sessions via email at groupcoaching@madeleinecraig.com
How is this program different from other family support programs?
This program differs from other programs in how comprehensive it is. It covers the essential components both to positively influencing your loved one’s behavior and improving their chances of positive change and formal recovery, and to heal yourself from the emotional damage of your loved one’s use any of the dysfunctional relationship patterns that a family member’s use engenders. In addition, this program also offers coaching support, both in the targeted coaching questions and exercises in the Hope and Help Workbooks for each module, and in the optional live group coaching sessions. Furthermore, this program provides a support community of its own, grounded in the shared understanding of the teaching in the program, and in confidentiality and non-judgment. This community allows you to learn from the experiences of other family members in addition to what is taught in the modules. Lastly, this is the only online family support program that I am aware of, thus making it accessible anywhere you have an internet connection.
I’m not sure if my loved one has a problem or not. Is this program still right for me?
Unless your loved one has been formally diagnosed, it can be difficult to determine the exact nature of the problem. However, this program is right for you if you are finding your loved one’s drinking or drug use problematic, it’s negatively affecting your life and your relationship with your loved one, and you’d like to do what is in your power to do to address the problem and hopefully preserve the relationship.
What if I fall behind?
You have lifetime access to this program for as long as the program exists. You can’t fall behind. If you sign up for the live group coaching option, you can download the coaching session recordings and revisit them when you get the specific module each coaching session addresses.
I’m already in a family support program. Is this program still right for me?
Absolutely. This program is not allied with any specific recovery modality but supports any modality that is working for you. If you are already participating in one, whether it’s therapy, 12-Step family recovery, SMART family recovery, a treatment center family program, or something else, this program will be an extremely helpful complement to that.
I have a pretty mediocre Internet connection. What are the tech requirements for this program?
If you can play other videos relatively easily with your internet connection, you can access the content in this workshop. You may be challenged if you still have a dial-up internet connection. In this case, you may be better off accessing the content from somewhere with a broadband connection. I recommend accessing the workshop through either Chrome, Firefox or Safari. I do not recommend accessing the workshop through Explorer as it is known to be problematic. The specific browser requirements for accessing the content are:
- Chrome
- Desktop 58+
- Android 59+
- Firefox 52+
- Internet Explorer 11+
- MS Edge 14+
- Safari
1. Desktop 10+
2. iOS 10+ - Mobile Devices
1. iPhone 5s+ Safari iOS 9+
2. iPad 2+ Safari iOS 9+
3. Android 4.0+ Chrome Android 4.0+
My loved one has mental health problems in addition to substance use. Will this program still help me?
40% of people struggling with a substance use disorder also have a co-occurring mental disorder. While this program focuses almost exclusively on substance use, you will find some information on addressing co-occurring disorders in the sections of the program that provide information about effective treatment. Because this program teaches you relationship behaviors that support change, this program will nevertheless help you immensely in your relationship with your loved one and in addressing your loved one’s substance use issues. That said, you may still need additional help in addressing how other mental disorders are affecting your relationship. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has wonderful services for family members that can help you in this area.
My loved one will be enraged if s/he finds out I’m in this program. How can I avoid that and still participate in this program?
You may not be able to. In fact, if you’re experiencing violence in your relationship with your loved one, you need to secure your physical safety before you do anything else. This program does provide some information about protecting your physical safety, but I cannot guarantee your loved one won’t somehow discover you’re participating in this program. If the threat is limited to your loved one’s angry emotions without the threat of violence, both the program itself and the support community of this program can help you face that. If you decide to participate in the private Facebook group for the program, although there is no descriptive information about the group listed, you may want to keep what groups you belong to private. You can do that by navigating to your Timeline and clicking on the ‘More” drop-down arrow. Then, you’ll want to go to the bottom and click on the ‘Manage Sections’ link. Once you are there, you have the option of hiding your Groups and any other sections by unchecking the corresponding box.
What happens after I register for the program?
When you sign up for the program, you will create a username and password that you will need to log into the Madeleine Craig Client Center. Once you complete your registration and payment for the program, you will receive a welcome email with your username (you will need to remember your password), the link to log into the online workshop platform (Client Center), and other information you need to know about the program and next steps. When you log into the Client Center, you will be taken to the home page of the Hope for Families Online Workshop. On this page you will find a welcome video, a video tour of the online course platform, links to all of the Workshop modules, to the private Facebook group for the program, to a course dashboard where you can track your progress in the Workshop, and to the community participation guidelines. Each module page has the videos for that module, links to download the Hope and Help Coaching Workbook for that module, a checklist for the objectives for that module, and links to join the discussion for each video. All modules are available after December 25, 2017. You can complete the Workshop in a 2-day binge, or one module a week following the weekly emails or taking whatever amount of time you need. You can repeat the Workshop as often as you like.
What happens in the live group coaching sessions?
Each live coaching session is an hour long and takes place via a Zoom meeting and it addresses the module from the previous week. Prior to each coaching meeting, I invite group coaching participants to email their questions. Based on the questions received prior to the live session, I design 1-2 coaching exercises to help participants navigate the most predominant issues that came up. During each live group coaching session, for the first 40-45 minutes, I walk participants through these exercises and discuss with them the insights gained from the coaching experience. The last 15-20 minutes are devoted to answering other participant questions.
What if I miss one of the live group coaching sessions? Will they be recorded?
Yes, all group coaching sessions are recorded and may be downloaded. Each video page allows participants to comment on the videos as well. If you purchase the Workshop with the live group coaching option, you will have 26 weeks of access to the group coaching pages so you will need to download your recordings before those 26 weeks expire. The individual video pages for each coaching session are refreshed each time a new 8-week coaching series is launched, so again, it is important to download the coaching videos if you wish to maintain access to them.
Do you support other recovery organizations?
Yes. I donate 5% of my profits each year to recovery organizations such as the National Organization for Children of Alcoholics, Faces and Voices of Recovery, the Association of Recovery in Higher Education, and the Association of Recovery Schools. Personally, I also contribute to the family recovery organizations in which I participate.
Do you receive kickbacks from treatment providers or other recovery organizations?
Absolutely not. Although I receive many endorsement requests from treatment providers and other recovery services organizations, I do not endorse any treatment provider or recovery service provider and never will. I do not at this time link to specific treatment centers on my resource pages, although I may in the future provide a directory of different types of treatment providers that my team has vetted as a service to support participants, but not as an endorsement of the treatment providers. Links to books and DVDs are Amazon Associate links and I do receive a very small percentage of any purchases made through those links. This commission comes from Amazon, not the author. Using those links does not mean you are charged a higher price for the book or DVD. I may in the future allow treatment providers and other recovery service providers to offer this program to their clients as affiliates, which will allow them to receive a percentage of the sales of the Workshop they make to their own clients.
What if I decide the program isn’t right for me? Can I get a refund?
Yes. I offer a money-back guarantee for the program. Try the program and complete the work of the first four modules within 30 days, and, if you’re not satisfied the program is sufficiently helping you, I’ll give you your money back. Going beyond the fourth module indicates your satisfaction with the program.
I can’t afford this program. Can you still help me?
I know the cost of this workshop may be too big of a financial burden for some. Beginning March 2018, I will be devoting 5% of the profits from this workshop each month to offering partial scholarships to defray the cost of the workshop for those in need. Please check out my blog in the meantime and sign up for the newsletter.
Is this workshop considered therapy?
No. This is an educational program with targeted coaching exercises and mutual group support. Coaching is NOT therapy. Please see the coaching page for more information about what coaching is and how it works.
Addiction and its effects on family members are incredibly tricky wickets.
A loved one’s addiction creates stress that affects every aspect of family members’ lives: their well-being, their relationships, their health, and their jobs.
The thing is, family members of a loved one affected by alcoholism or addiction face a herculean, and seemingly impossible challenge:
How do they support a loved one affected by chemical dependency?
AND
How do they take care of themselves in the face of the terribly hurtful and often destructive consequences that almost always come with their loved one’s addiction?
To family members, it can feel like they have to choose one or the other. Their loved ones may even try to convince them of this through guilt, blame and other kinds of emotional manipulation.
And yet the choice itself amounts to a torturous form of Sophie’s choice: families either must fight to save the life of their loved one, or fight to save their own.
But family members do NOT have to choose. Nor should they.
It is not easy, but navigating a path between those two objectives actually offers families the best hope for both their loved one’s recovery and their own healing.
It IS possible for families to support a chemically dependent loved one AND take care of themselves in the face of the significant emotional, physical, professional, and financial challenges that addiction presents.
Coming Soon!
You are so calm and peaceful. You put everyone at ease right away.
Anonymous
An inspiration – a true authentic woman who is great at sharing her experience, strength and hope.
Anonymous
Coming in Early 2019
Madeleine Craig
Educator, Workshop Facilitator, Professional Life Coach
I am an experienced educator and a professionally trained life coach working to provide families struggling with a loved one’s substance use with the knowledge, tools