Intervention Tips & Strategies

If you have a loved one suffering from an addiction, finding them consistently under the influence can be painful. Though the idea of an intervention may seem a bit extreme to some; it is a positive way to help your loved on understand the extent of their issues while working towards a positive outcome for all involved.

Friends and Family

Make sure to include close friends and family members of the addict. Though it can be difficult to get everyone on the same page, the potential for a positive outcome will be heightened with a unified group. Participants should be supportive, loving, and compassionate throughout the process, with an end goal of getting the subject the help they require.

Professional Help

Intervention services are always a huge help to friends and family members throughout this process. A trained interventionist will be able to help organize, plan, and moderate the intervention, while serving as authoritarian, educator and mediator.

Denial

Some addicts may not realize that they even have a problem. These individuals have fallen into the routine of addiction, where their perception of normality has become skewed. This denial must be broken if the addict is to alter their behaviors and seek help. In order to break through this barrier, intervention participants must offer real life examples of how the addiction has negatively affected their lives, and the life of the addict.

Blame – Anger – Shame

Blame, anger and shame should each be avoided throughout the intervention process. Participants are encouraged to disregard these emotions and feelings during the intervention while embracing empathy, compassion, and love. The more positive friends and family members are towards the situation, the better chance there will be for a happy result.

Staging An Intervention – A How-To Guide

Planning an intervention is a wonderful means of offering help to someone who is struggling with addiction issues. When uncertainty comes into play, seeking the aid of a trained interventionist may provide you with the support and guidance you need to ensure a happy outcome. Intervention services are able to offer experience and organizational skills, while helping participants understand what to expect throughout the process.

1 – Get in touch with treatment facilities that offer services that cater to the type of help the individual requires. Different programs will often specialize in different areas As such, it’s important to locate a facility that understands and is able to provide the type of treatment needed.

2 – Communication is key. Prior to the intervention, be sure to meet with all participants, including the interventionist to discuss exactly how the event will be handled. It is important for each participant to be on the same page; acting as a unified force, rather than individually.

3 – Select a location, date and time that works for the majority of your participants. Though it can be difficult to accommodate everybody’s schedules, it’s important to understand that this process has little to do with convenience; this is life or death.

4 – Invite only those who are respected and loved by the individual struggling. This should include individuals who understand the severity of the issue at hand, and who are interested in working towards a positive outcome.

5 – Stay focused. Stay Positive. A dark, accusatory, and dreary atmosphere will do little to alter your addict’s behaviors. Going into the intervention with a helping of love, compassion, and understanding will work to break down the addict’s defenses, while working to better than chances of a positive response. Leave your blame, anger, and other baggage at the door. Understand that regardless of the addict’s decision following the intervention, that a positive and healthy change is underway for you, and everyone else involved. 

How To Write An Intervention Letter

An intervention letter is something written by a loved one to a person struggling with substance abuse or some other self-destructive behavior. During a drug intervention, the subject is invited to a specific and neutral location, where family and friends have come together for the express purpose of communicating their concern and love for the individual. Each participant writes out and reads aloud a letter of their own, with a request that the subject seek help.

1 – Begin your letter with an affirmation of affection or love for the individual. Write out a few line recalling happy times, specific events, and special instances that were shared in a positive manner between you and the recipient.

2 – Cite specific incidents that involve negative behaviors as exhibited by the individual when under the influence. Detail your anger, hurt, and embarrassment. If the intervention subject happens to be your spouse, you may want to include details pertaining to how these behaviors have negatively impacted the relationship and children. Avoid exaggerations, and stick to the facts, leaving little room for argument.

3 – Request that the individual accept the help being offered. Outline consequences that will take place if help is not sought. Be specific and firm: “If you don’t seek treatment today, this marriage is over.” Provide them only with consequences that you are actually able to enforce. Close your letter with a statement of affection and love, while making a final appeal for the subject to seek help.

4 – Perhaps the most important aspect of any intervention letter is honesty. Avoid accusatory language that may drive the individual inward. So long has each incident can be described in detail, there is no reason to sugar-coat the reality of the situation. 

Family Intervention – A How-To Guide

Each and every family keeps its own unique dynamic; the specifics of which are largely dependent upon the personalities of the members within. When a single member is struggling with a particularly difficult obstacle, it is crucial to rally around that person to help ensure a positive and successful outcome. In this entry, we will discuss how to properly plan and implement a family requested intervention with a healthy dose of love, care and forethought.

Instructions

1 – Plan ahead. Get in touch with the individual’s close friends and family members well in advance to ensure they are able to attend the intervention. This will work to ensure that a strong and determined support system is in attendance once the intervention is unveiled.

2 – Contact a professional interventionist to organize and moderate the event. These individuals can help direct you throughout the planning process, while serving as an authoritarian figure during the actual intervention. Dealing with an intervention can be stressful enough without the burden of catering to everybody else’s concerns and questions. An interventionist will be able to ease these stresses, while asserting a dominant role outside of the family dynamic.

3 – Make certain that the individual in question will be at the designated meeting spot at the specified time. When requesting their attendance, you may be forced to be a little vague… but know that this serves only the greater good. Long story short, do not tell your loved one about the upcoming intervention!

4 – Hold the intervention. Provide each participant the opportunity to communicate their concerns with love, respect, and confidence. Avoid any blame, negativity or personal character attacks. Remember that the point of the intervention is to help, not hurt.

5 – Do your best to reach a positive outcome. Whether the individual agrees to treatment, rehab, or another serious lifestyle change, the goal should always be to leave the intervention in a better position than prior to it.