All About Intervention

It is time to take the step and begin intervention!

Thousands of people need interventions in order to successfully overcome addiction and regain control of their lives. The fact is, interventions save lives, but it doesn’t always happen the first time around and in some cases, interventions do fail. If you’re not sure what an intervention is or what the steps are to intervening in a drug or alcohol addiction, this guide will help you to fully understand intervention and decide if it’s right for your loved one.

Intervention Goals

The goal of an intervention is to help an addict get the help that they need to overcome addiction. Rather than allow a loved one to hit rock bottom or to shatter their life any further, an intervention offers them help in an effort to preserve their dignity and reduce the level of shame that they feel when they are addicted to drugs or alcohol. The goal of the intervention is not to make the loved one feel bad or fall deeper into addiction but rather to get the help they need to make a full recovery and overcome addiction to drugs.

Many addicts will refuse treatment over and over again. It may even seem impossible to get a loved one into drug rehab because they simply refuse to go. One of the primary goals of an intervention is to break through the many barriers that have been built around an individual’s addiction and get them to accept the help that is being offered to them. The way that these barriers are broken is by showing the addict that the family members love them and care about them and only want what’s best for them.

Naturally an addict will put up their defense mechanisms when they are confronted about their addiction. One of the goals of an intervention is to avoid touching points in the addict that will cause them to block you out. This can be difficult to do because many addicts are highly defensive and you may find it difficult to figure out what you can say without having them put their guard up. An interventionist can help you to better understand what to say and they can moderate the conversation to assure that the defense mechanisms are kept at bay.

Steps of an Intervention

The intervention process should not be jumped into. Many interventions fail simply because the individuals performing the intervention are not aware of the proper way to do an intervention and they do not properly plan the intervention. The most important part of an intervention is proper planning as the success of an intervention is dependent on planning.

It’s important that you work with a professional interventionist to assure that the planning and carry out of the intervention goes without a hitch. Many things could go wrong or get confusing, the family could easily collapse and the addict could easily sink deeper into addiction if the intervention fails so it is very important that you work with a qualified interventionist to assure the greatest chance for a successful intervention. Interventionists work closely with drug rehab centers to assure that individuals make it into treatment and follow through with the rehab program that is offered to them.

Before the intervention takes place the family members should come together with the interventionist to discuss how the intervention will take place, where it will take place, what time it will take place and other pertinent information. This is part of the planning phase. During this time the family members and loved ones will also work on writing letters that they can read to their addicted loved one at the intervention. The purpose of the letter is to tell the loved one that you care, discuss how much the addiction has changed them and the family and also let them know what will happen if they choose not to go into drug rehab.

Finally, before the actual intervention takes place the family members and the interventionist should do a quick walk through of the entire intervention to assure that everyone is on the same page and ready for what’s to come. Planning and taking the time to prepare for an intervention is what will ultimately lead to the successful intervention process. For more information or for help finding an interventionist that can help call Rehab Centers to speak with a referral specialist at 800-481-6320Who Answers? today.