Painful isn't it, watching a loved one struggle with addiction

Time to make a difference

Do you have a family member caught up in the chaos that often comes with addiction? You may be feeling helpless and powerless, not knowing what to do. You may have tried many ways of supporting them all to avail.

You may have tried attending support groups that suggest a ‘tough love’ approach or heard ‘let them hit rock bottom’ unfortunately rock bottom can often result in devastating consequences. You might have been told you are co-dependent and enabling your family member or friend. This can leave you with a sense of guilt and blame and let’s face it you don’t need any more judgements to carry. We want to help our loved ones without losing ourselves in the process. It’s that simple but not easy to implement.

About Me

So, let me introduce myself. My name is Tina Berry and I am a therapist/coach and family member. I have experience, both professionally, and personally from a lived experience. I have supported clients in my online private practice on a one to one basis and in small groups. As a parent, and a daughter I have experienced the affects of addictions and know only too well the pain it causes.

In the past I would quite often ask myself ‘why is it I can I support my clients but find it near impossible to support my loved ones’. The reason being the emotional bond runs deep with my loved one and all rational thought disappears in the midst of chaos.

My motivating reasons

Dealing with a parent with addiction as well as other members of my family has been a difficult road to walk. I have been in search of support for myself and loved ones for many years. This I feel is the reason I am motivated to support other family members and friends. To gain a better understanding, awareness and to learn tools to assist better communication not only with our loved ones but in other aspects of our lives.

I can help.

Fortunately, in 2021 looking for a way to gain support for my own much-loved family members I discovered CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training) It was the first step to realising that, as a family member I could help my loved one by focussing on building a positive relationship with him. Recognizing that I needed to look after my needs too and in doing so become a positive role model for change.

After qualifying as a CRAFT practitioner, I discovered ITC (Invitation to Change) which is an approach that includes evidence-based therapies such as CRAFT, MI (Motivational Interviewing), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment therapy). It was an approach that matched my values of compassion, kindness and that it was evidence based. Combined with the CRAFT approach it has been instrumental in helping me to learn more about addiction and how to support my loved ones in a loving, compassionate and kind way

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