Interventions are often talked about in the addiction community. Families and friends sometimes aren’t sure of how to approach the topic of addiction with someone who needs help. Your loved one might have brushed off your concerns in the past. Or, you might think that they will get angry at you if you try to talk to them alone. An intervention offers a more strategic way to bring up the need for addiction treatment along with its benefits.
Instead of making an idle comment that your loved one might ignore, you’ll be presenting them with a series of facts and personal statements that strikes straight to their heart. The main aim of an intervention is not to upset or shame your loved one. Instead, it is meant to convince them that they need to seek professional addiction treatment to get off of the dangerous path that they are currently on. Someone who is dealing with an addiction might not always be able to see how their actions are affecting others.
At times, they may even be too far under the influence of drugs or alcohol to care. Even if your loved one sees what is happening, they may not feel like they have the ability to do anything about it. Feeling helpless is common for people with an addiction. Seeing a group of people who care about them all come together can remind them that they have the support they need to overcome anything. Making sure that you achieve the goal of getting your loved one into treatment requires carefully planning an intervention that is set up for success. Here’s what to do to get started on planning your loved one’s intervention.
Who Is Qualified to Host an Intervention?
You might be wondering if you are capable of pulling this off. After all, an intervention is a big deal, and you don’t want it to fail. The good news is that any intervention will have some degree of success since it causes your loved one to face their addiction out in the open. Putting a stop to secrecy paves the way for more conversations in the future. You are likely perfectly qualified to host an intervention if you are considered to be close to the person who needs help.
A spouse, adult child, best friend or even close coworker could all be potential hosts of an intervention. It is also best if you are not currently using drugs or alcohol with the person you are intervening for since this could cause them to try to reassign blame. If you don’t feel like you would be a good host, then you can also work with someone within the addiction treatment community. Sober companions and counselors are often available to come to an intervention and help mediate the conversation. A sober mentor or counselor can help you work through these steps of planning and executing the intervention:
- Prepare a list of people to invite to participate
- Take control over whose turn it is to speak during the meeting
- Assist with making sure that personal statements are meaningful and helpful
- Redirect an intervention that takes a rough turn
- Offer a personal experience story about the effectiveness of treatment
What If Our Intervention Goes Awry?
A carefully planned intervention could get emotional, but it shouldn’t get out of control. When an intervention goes awry, it usually means that one of a couple of things could have happened. It is possible that you thought the person would be sober, but they are not. If this is the case, then it may be best to reschedule the intervention for another time. If possible, simply send everyone on their way with plans to discuss what to do next in the future. If your loved one remains calm but refuses to get help, then everyone should stick to their defined consequences that they laid out during their personal testimonies. This part is hard, but remember that most people eventually come around and agree to go to treatment when they realize that everyone is serious. Your intervention can continue to work long after you all go home.
What Happens If We Are Successful?
After all of the hugs and tears, you need to be ready to present ideas for what happens next. Your loved one might be so startled by the realization that they need help that they’ve never even explored their options for treatment. Prepare a list of their options before you start the intervention along with the types of care that they will receive. Once you get your loved one’s approval, then go through your list to decide on details such as where they want to stay and who they want to talk to as they begin their treatment. Are you finishing up your plans for an intervention? Let us give you some ideas for your loved one’s treatment plan that they’ll be comfortable accepting. Reach out to us at 833-285-1315 to talk to our counselors today!
