The Intervention
An Intervention is a great act of love! An addiction intervention is a life saving mission whereby loving family members and concerned friends or employers are educated about addiction and led by a trained Addiction interventionist for the purpose of helping the Alcoholic or Addict with an opportunity to gain recovery.
Alcoholics or Addicts have often lost the ability to ask for help and live with the delusion they can stop on their own and do not need help. The truth is the alcoholic, addict, compulsive gambler, spender, sex addict, food addicts, workaholics are trapped in a powerful, chronic, progressive and often fatal illness that left untreated has serious consequences for both the addicted and those who love and care about them. Addictions rob people of their lives before it kills them.
THE INTERVENTION PROCESS
1. Assessment / Consultation, The primary contact and the interventionist will meet to construct a brief history and pertinent information concerning the substance abuser. We will discuss the participants to determine their willingness and appropriateness to participate. I caution you to be very careful about whom you tell about the intervention. We need to make sure the people we tell will not sabotage the intervention by informing the addicted person. we will discuss the logistics such as when and where. We will have someone bring the addicted person to that meeting without advance notice. We will also discuss the Strategy of intervention that will be most effective. All of our interventions are handled in a respectful, non-shaming or blaming manner. We will assist to select the treatment center where the patient will have the best chance of being successful in their recovery. Considerations concerning insurance coverage, financial and special needs of the patient will be discussed. We will help facilitate an easy admission.
2. Pre-intervention / Family meeting, This is when the participants prepare and rehearse with a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of an intervention. We want to hold up a mirror for the addicted person to look into and see how others are seeing them. Addicted persons have blinders, impaired insight, great shame, faulty judgment, resistance and denial. A good definition of denial is: It is easy not to see that which we do not want to believe. The interventionist has the job to lead participants through these potential land mines. We will discuss how vitally important it is that family members receive a complete understanding of the disease of addiction and information on how the family members gain services and support for themselves. We recommend family members starting counseling or support programs prior to or when the patient is in treatment.
3. The Intervention, The primary purpose of the intervention is to assist and encourage the addicted person to go to treatment. This is a life saving mission. It is not uncommon to be confronted with the addicted person's denial and resistance. This is where you need a trained interventionist to help you deal with the denial, the resistance and help participants stay firm with their request for the addicted person to get help that day. What ever happens, the seed will have been planted and often will bear fruit at a later date. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FAILED INTERVENTION!!!!
4. Treatment Monitoring, This Service is recommended for patients that Attend Outpatient Treatment. In some cases outpatient treatment may be appropriate, however, in some cases it may be due to insurance or financial restrictions. Outpatient treatment can be effective with the right type of support program. It is advisable to incorporate a Recovery Coach or Monitor, someone to help guide the patient and keep the patient engaged in treatment and support groups. The coach or monitor will interface with treatment professionals and patient to ensure compliance with program. The Coach or monitor will also provide feedback to family or Significant others concerning progress if requested.
Basically, the Family Intervention has proven to be Extremely successful. This process is where the participants meet with the interventionist to prepare for the intervention without the knowledge of the addicted person until the actual intervention.
The most important concept of this process is that we do not allow for the person being intervened upon to in some way sabotage the process.
A word of caution. Today, with alcohol and other drug addiction interventions being broadcast on television, participants often believe they do not need a trained person and they can do it for themselves. The danger in this is there may be one and only one opportunity to approach the sick person and get them to proper help. Untrained and unskilled participants do not want to blow this chance. Trained, credentialed professionals are capable of assessing the health and well being of the potential patient, dealing with their denial and resistance plus determining the treatment facility that will have the best outcome for each person.
Family members and other significant people in an addicted person's life get sucked into the addictive process. The addiction affects everyone in an addicted system. With the best of intentions and out of love, concern and not knowing what to do they end up prolonging but never preventing the addiction. How do family member do this? Primarily by enabling and rescuing.
What is enabling? Enabling is consistently doing for another person what they could and should be doing for themselves. Rescuing is not allowing the addicted person to experience the consequences of their addiction and actions. Without guidance and direction it is easy to keep repeating this pattern.
Much has been said about allowing a person to "hit bottom." An addicted person is on an elevator going down to the basement. Sadly, riding on this elevator with them is the people who they love and who love them the most. We know that through education, treatment and help, everyone can get off on whatever floor they find themselves. Often, the family member needs to get off first.
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