We teamed up with Church Health group in Memphis, Tennessee to deliver the first of three parent coach trainings last weekend. Over the course of the training program, we worked with nine family members who have been impacted by their child or a loved one’s substance use. While they all shared very different personal stories, they were united in their desire to help other parents who are currently struggling with substance use in their own families.

A parent coach training is a weekend-long intensive program, where parents and guardians receive free, specialized CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training)/Motivational Interviewing training to learn how to be a volunteer parent coach for the Partnership. The trainings are conducted by expert, PhD-level clinical staff from our clinical partner, the Center for Motivation and Change, an experienced parent coach ‘mentor’ and professional staff members from the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.

Once trained, parent coaches commit to volunteer for six months and during that time they provide one-on-one support to other parents who in need of help through personalized guidance over the phone. Parent coaches also participate in bi-weekly training and support calls to discuss current cases, challenges and review key points from the training program.