Introducing Invitation to Change© Workshops: Evidence-Based Family Recovery Support Coming Soon to the Serenity Circle

For too long, families affected by addiction have been told there's nothing they can do except practice "tough love" and wait for their loved one to hit "rock bottom". But that advice is is dangerous, because for many rock bottom means death. What if families actually believed they have the power to influence positive change ... when they have the right tools?

The Serenity Circle is excited to announce the upcoming launch of Invitation to Change © (ITC) workshops, bringing one of the most effective, evidence-based approaches for family addiction support directly to our community. Led by ITC workshop leader Karen Bernetti, these transformative sessions will provide families with the practical skills and compassionate framework they need to support their loved one's recovery while protecting their own well-being.

What is the Invitation to Change Approach?

The Invitation to Change Approach represents a revolutionary shift in how families can respond to a loved one's substance use. Unlike traditional methods that often leave families feeling powerless, ITC empowers loved ones with new understanding, practical skills, and hope for positive change.

Developed by the Center for Motivation and Change and grounded in three evidence-based approaches, ITC draws from Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This comprehensive approach has been extensively studied and found to consistently outperform traditional approaches.

The foundation of ITC rests on three core pillars:

Understanding: Learning a new way of looking at substance use - one based in compassion and care rather than judgment and frustration.

Awareness: Staying connected to your values, feelings, and limits as a vital part of the change process.

Action: Building communication and behavior skills that promote positive change and growth in your loved one.

The Science Behind Family-Centered Recovery

Research consistently demonstrates that families play a crucial role in recovery outcomes. The Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) model, which forms the backbone of ITC, has been studied extensively across diverse populations and and proven more effective than traditional interventions, with success rates of 64-74% in engaging people in treatment.

In clinical trials, families using CRAFT strategies reported significant improvements in their own happiness and family cohesion, while experiencing reduced anxiety, depression, and anger. Perhaps most importantly, the individuals with substance use disorders significantly reduced their substance use regardless of whether they entered formal treatment.

This evidence challenges the long-held belief that families must wait helplessly on the sidelines. Instead, it proves that when families have the right tools and understanding, they become powerful catalysts for positive change.

Understanding: Shifting Perspective for Better Outcomes

The first pillar of ITC - Understanding - fundamentally changes how families view their loved one's

substance use. When dealing with addiction, it's natural to think the person is selfish, uncaring, or morally bankrupt. You might wonder, "How could they do this to me?"

While these reactions are completely normal, they often make it harder to help effectively. ITC teaches three crucial concepts that transform understanding:

Behaviors Make Sense: Even when you can't see it, your loved one's substance use serves a purpose for them. People don't use substances because they're "crazy" or "bad". They use because the behavior meets an important need. Understanding this doesn't mean you have to agree with their choices, but it helps you respond more effectively.

One Size Does Not Fit All: Your loved one has specific, individual reasons for their substance use. Similarly, there are many paths to change. Recognizing this individuality helps both you and your loved one find approaches that work for your unique situation.

Ambivalence is Normal: Since substance use serves a purpose, people naturally feel conflicted about giving it up. This ambivalence is part of the change process - not a sign of failure or lack of motivation.

Awareness: Building Self-Awareness and Emotional Strength

The second pillar focuses on developing crucial self-awareness skills. As families try to help, they experience intense emotions—pain, anger, fear, and grief alongside love, hope, and desire for connection.

ITC teaches three essential awareness components:

Self-Awareness: Learning to recognize your thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and reactions while staying connected to your values. This awareness helps you see that your love and your pain are "two sides of the same coin" - you can learn to work with both.

Willingness: Since loving someone with addiction is often painful, ITC helps you find ways to accept this struggle instead of shutting down or becoming angry. Willingness allows for the vulnerability that comes with truly caring.

Self-Compassion: Moving away from self-blame and shame while treating yourself with kindness during the challenging change process. This self-compassion becomes a model for how you can treat your loved one as well.

Action: Practical Tools for Positive Change

The third pillar - Action - provides concrete communication and behavior tools that create real change. This section includes two vital components:

Communication Skills: How you talk to your loved one can either start the change process or shut it down. When situations are difficult, it's natural to want to yell, lecture, or withdraw. However, these responses rarely lead to positive outcomes.

ITC teaches collaborative communication skills that open your loved one to the possibility of change while increasing connection rather than creating distance. These aren't just techniques for talking to someone with addiction - they can improve all your relationships.

Behavior Tools: Your actions also matter tremendously in encouraging positive behaviors and discouraging negative ones. ITC teaches you how to recognize and reward positive changes, making them more likely to happen again. You'll also learn to allow natural consequences and set respectful limits that make negative behaviors less appealing.

Practice, Practice, Practice: At the center of the ITC wheel lies consistent practice. Just like learning a new language or sport, these skills require time and repetition to become natural. The approach encourages patience with yourself and your loved one as you both navigate this learning process.

Meet Your Workshop Leader: Karen Bernetti

I'll be leading the Serenity Circle's ITC workshops as a Level 1 certified ITC workshop leader. My background combines professional expertise with lived experience - I'm a Recovery Support Specialist, certified yoga instructor, and founder of the Serenity Circle, and I deeply understand the unique challenges families face when addiction affects their loved ones.

My personal journey through family addiction provides authentic understanding of the pain, confusion, and hope that families often experience. My professional training in evidence-based approaches like ITC, combined with mindfulness and holistic wellness practices, creates a comprehensive support experience that addresses families' emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual needs.

I've been where you are. I know what it's like to feel helpless, to try everything and have it backfire, to love someone so much while feeling like you're losing yourself in the process. The ITC tools actually work - not just for supporting loved ones, but for reclaiming peace and wellbeing.

What is the Serenity Circle?

The Serenity Circle is a online wellness community specifically designed for families impacted by a loved one's addiction. Unlike traditional support groups that focus primarily on tough love, detachment and not "enabling", the Serenity Circle recognizes that families need comprehensive support addressing their holistic wellbeing.

The community serves parents, partners, siblings, adult children, and friends of people struggling with addiction and mental health challenges. They feel exhausted from walking on eggshells, frustrated by communication breakdowns, and desperate for tools that actually work to support their loved ones while protecting their own well-being.

Members have access to daily inspiration, yoga and meditation sessions designed for real people with real stress, (no prior yoga experience necessary). They participate in Family Recovery Roundtables where they can share openly without judgment, learn from guest expert interviews and educational content, and connect with others who truly understand their journey.

The Serenity Circle operates on the revolutionary principle that when families heal first, they become powerful catalysts for positive change throughout their entire family system.

Why ITC Workshops in the Serenity Circle Make Perfect Sense

Integrating ITC workshops into the Serenity Circle creates a uniquely comprehensive support experience. While our community provides ongoing emotional support, stress management through mindfulness practices, and peer connection, the ITC workshops add crucial practical skills for direct interaction with loved ones struggling with addiction.

This combination addresses the full spectrum of family needs:

• Emotional regulation through yoga, meditation, and mindfulness practices

• Practical communication skills through ITC training

• Ongoing support through community connection

• Evidence-based strategies for both self-care and family interaction

• Holistic wellness addressing mind, body, spirit, and relationships

Members won't need to choose between emotional support and practical tools - they'll receive both in an integrated, mutually reinforcing approach.

The Impact of Evidence-Based Family Support

Research consistently demonstrates that family involvement significantly improves recovery outcomes. However, most families lack access to evidence-based training. Traditional approaches often focus on what families shouldn't do rather than empowering them with what they should do. This leaves families feeling helpless and guilty, creating additional stress in already challenging situations.

ITC workshops in the Serenity Circle change this dynamic by providing families with:

• Clear, actionable strategies for supporting positive change

• Understanding of addiction as a complex condition rather than a moral failing

• Communication skills that work in real-world situations

• Boundary-setting techniques that protect families while maintaining connection

• Ongoing practice opportunities within a supportive community

What to Expect from ITC Workshops in the Serenity Circle

The upcoming ITC workshops will be offered as intensive learning experiences within the Serenity Circle community. Members can expect:

Comprehensive Curriculum: Working through all three pillars of Understanding, Awareness, and Action with thorough explanation and practical application.

Interactive Learning: Small group sizes that allow for personal attention, questions, and real-time feedback on challenging situations.

Practice Opportunities: Safe spaces to rehearse new communication skills and receive supportive feedback from other participants.

Ongoing Support: Integration with the broader Serenity Circle community for continued practice and reinforcement of learned skills.

Follow-up Sessions: Opportunities to check in, troubleshoot challenges, and celebrate successes as families implement new approaches.

Beyond Individual Families: Creating Cultural Change

The integration of ITC workshops into the Serenity Circle represents more than just skill-building for individual families. It's part of a larger movement to transform how society views and responds to addiction.

By teaching evidence-based, compassionate approaches to family support, we're creating ripple effects that extend far beyond our immediate community. Families who learn these skills become advocates for more effective, humane responses to addiction in their broader communities.

This cultural shift is desperately needed. Despite decades of research showing that addiction is a complex brain condition requiring comprehensive treatment, stigma and shame continue to prevent people from seeking help. When families learn to respond with understanding rather than judgment, they contribute to an environment where recovery becomes more likely and sustainable.

Looking Forward: Registration and Community Integration

The Serenity Circle will announce registration details for ITC workshops in the coming weeks. These sessions will be available exclusively to community members, reinforcing our commitment to providing comprehensive, integrated support for families navigating addiction's impact.

Current Serenity Circle members will receive priority registration, with new members welcome to join the community and participate in workshops as part of their membership benefits.

For families ready to move beyond helplessness toward empowerment, beyond frustration toward understanding, and beyond isolation toward community, the combination of ITC workshops and Serenity Circle membership provides an unprecedented level of support and practical tools.

The evidence is clear: families can make a powerful difference in recovery outcomes when they have the right understanding, awareness, and action skills. The ITC workshops in the Serenity Circle provide exactly these tools, delivered within a supportive community that recognizes families as essential partners in the recovery process.

Your loved one's recovery matters. And your recovery matters too.

Ready to learn evidence-based strategies that actually work for supporting your loved one while protecting your own wellbeing? Join the Serenity Circle community and be among the first to access our upcoming ITC workshops. Because you're not powerless, you're not helpless, and you're definitely not alone.