CLASSICS REVISITED: CRAFT and Decision-making: A Listener Weighs InCLASSICS REVISITED: CRAFT and Decision-making: A Listener Weighs In
Coming Up for Air — Families Speak to Families about Addiction
Laurie, Dominique and Kayla revisit a controversial CRAFT example and use it to show how families can slow down, think through their options, and accept grey areas in decision-making. They also share a simple question framework and a listening exercise aimed at helping loved ones respond more calmly and thoughtfully to addiction.
36:27•17 Apr 2026
CRAFT in Real Life: Tough Choices, Grey Areas and Slowing Down Reactivity
Episode Overview
- CRAFT is presented as a flexible structure, not a rigid set of rules, with families treated as the experts on their own situations.
- Laurie’s three-question framework helps families weigh quality of life, reduced use, and family relationships in both the short and long term.
- The "truck" story is used to show that two different choices can both be carefully considered, even if neither feels ideal.
- Dominique discusses how a parent might respond when a loved one is calmer and more communicative while using benzodiazepines, without ignoring the risks.
- A listening exercise illustrates how powerful silence and full attention can be, and how hard it is to resist jumping in with advice or reactions.
“Craft is a structure for you to pass through your decision-making. It's skills and strategies, but they are flexible.”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober when they're not the ones using, but the ones who love them most? This conversation focuses on the knotty decisions families face when a loved one is in active addiction and how CRAFT can help them think more clearly.
Laurie McDougall, Dominique Simone Levine and Kayla Solomon unpack a story that stirred up strong reactions: a dad quietly moves his intoxicated son's truck from a bar to a spot a block from home so his son can't drive. A listener calls the move "passive-aggressive" and questions the purpose. From there, the hosts break down how CRAFT is meant to work in real life — not as a rigid rule book, but as a flexible framework.
Laurie shares her "three questions" decision-making structure: will this improve my quality of life, reduce my loved one’s use, and improve family relationships, in both the short and long term? You’ll hear them apply these questions step by step to the truck situation, showing how two different choices can both be thoughtful, even if neither feels perfect.
As Kayla puts it, "Often we have to pick the lesser of various evils." The episode also touches on a parent whose child becomes open and talkative only when using benzodiazepines. Dominique talks through how a parent might distinguish between "not very high" and dangerously sedated, and how that nuance can shape conversations about treatment and safety. Later, Laurie brings in an exercise on deep listening — asking people to listen without nods, noises or interruptions.
The exercise highlights how hard true listening can be, and why giving someone space and silence can be its own powerful action. Anyone supporting a loved one through addiction, especially those wrestling with guilt, second-guessing, and "Am I doing this right?", will hear their own worries reflected and get a practical way to pause, think, and choose the next step. What decisions in your own family might look different if you gave yourself that extra moment to stop and think?
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