Interventions

Staging an intervention is one of the best ways to help a loved one who needs treatment understand that need and seek help. You can stage interventions that will benefit your loved one by following a series of steps and considering all the possible outcomes of the scenario.

If someone you love is in need of addiction treatment, contact someone to find safe, reliable rehab centers that will cater to their needs.

What Is an Intervention?

An intervention is a planned meeting where the members of an addict’s family and their other loved ones get together to help convince the addict that they should seek treatment. It takes time and planning in order to achieve an effective intervention, and in the end, your loved one still may refuse to seek help. However, this can often be a successful option for those hoping to help their loved one seek treatment.

How Do You Plan an Intervention?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Addiction is a disease that affects both the brain and behavior.” Therefore, one must carefully follow several steps in order to create a strong intervention plan.

Step One: Understanding your intervention

You may want to do some research about successful interventions in the past as well as making sure you understand the issues with which your loved one is struggling. The more you understand about intervention and the process, the easier it will be to go along with what your interventionist expects of you during this difficult time.

Step Two: Choosing your intervention team

Call someone who can help you have a successful intervention.

It is best to choose a group of about 6 to 8 people. This way, your loved one won’t feel overwhelmed but they will understand their friends and family members concerns.

When choosing your intervention team, it is also best to make sure the people you invite will be able to stay calm and won’t deviate from the plan. If someone wants to come but feels they will not be able to follow these rules, they may choose to write a letter to be read by someone else at the intervention.

Step Three: Make a plan

Everyone should plan out what they are going to say. It can help to write it out beforehand and to read what you’ve written verbatim at the intervention, as emotions can run high. This is can help you avoid saying something you don’t want to say.

It is also important to know exactly what you plan on doing whether your loved one decides to seek treatment or refuses help.

Do You Need a Professional Interventionist?

Having a professional at the meeting can be a helpful option. The individual who comes to your intervention may be a professional interventionist, a therapist, a drug counselor, etc. Choosing to have someone else help you with the event can benefit you in a number of ways.

• The interventionist can ensure that everyone stays on track and keeps calm. If things start to escalate, it will be their job to steer the conversation back to a healthy place.
• Having a professional at the intervention takes some of the burden of the event off you and your loved ones and allows you to focus just on helping the addict.
• In many cases, having a professional in the room will help the addict in your life understand just how serious the intervention is.

However, if you cannot afford to hire a professional or if you do not feel you need one, it is not always a requirement for a safe, effective intervention.

What Happens at the Intervention?

Everyone takes turns telling the individual how they feel. Then, the addict has a decision to make: seek treatment or not. Obviously, the goal is to help them get into treatment, and if they say they will, it is important to have an option already lined up. This accomplishes two goals: getting the addict into treatment as soon as possible and ensuring that they cannot lie about their intention to seek help.

Unfortunately, in many cases, even the best planned interventions don’t always work. Sometimes, the individual will still refuse to seek the help they need. If this occurs, you will need to have set consequences for their actions and you will need to stick to them.

• During the intervention, it is important to tell your loved one exactly what the consequences will be if they do not seek treatment or if they say they will but do not. According to the American Clinical and Climatological Association, “Lying [is] an essential element of addiction,” and your loved one must understand there will be consequences if they lie or refuse help from now on.
• You should choose what the consequences will be beforehand, and make them clear to your loved one. You may tell them you will no longer loan them money, allow them to live with you, allow them to see your children, etc. This may seem harsh, but it is necessary in order to help your loved one understand how serious the situation is.
• After the intervention, you must absolutely stick to these consequences. For example, if your loved one asks you for money but still refuses to seek help, don’t give in.

How Can I Make Sure My Intervention Is Successful?

There is no surefire way to make sure your loved one will seek treatment because they may or may not choose to. But as long as you plan accordingly and ensure that the individuals at the intervention care about your loved one’s recovery, you will be able to create a plan that has a strong chance of working. If it does work, make sure to get your loved one into treatment immediately. If it does not, stick to the consequences you have set and consider other options.

Recovery Is a Process

Having friends or family members involved in the process of recovery can often make it much more successful. In order to learn more about staging an intervention and to find treatment centers to help your loved one create a strong, successful recovery, call 800-996-6135(Who Answers?) now.

Sources

1. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2018). Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction.
2. Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association. (2008). Addiction in Medicine.