Another effective technique to reduce or stop your loved one's drinking and/or drug use is to reward their positive actions. Here are some examples of positive actions: helping you do chores, spending time with kids, taking steps toward solving problems, etc.

When you recognize and reward a positive action, this makes the positive action more likely to happen again. This is called positive rewards.

Giving positive rewards is an important and powerful way to influence change, but it is not always easy. It may feel more important to focus on the negative consequences of your loved one's use. This is understandable, but there are important reasons to focus on positive rewards.