Family intervention services is an organized meeting between family, friends, and a professional interventionist who are engaging a loved one addicted to drugs or alcohol. It is a calm conversation about his or her substance misuse, and the goal is to get them convinced to attend treatment. Family intervention attempts to achieve many results with the addict, such as increasing their awareness, motivating them to attend treatment, and following through with an action plan. Additionally, the professional interventionist is counseling those in the family who are enabling the addict as these are the individuals who could derail the intervention. During an intervention, there are also many things not to do, which could cause the intervention to go sideways, and all the work the family has put into the process was for nothing.
The Goals of Family Intervention
During a family intervention, the purpose of the process is to increase the awareness of the addict. Drugs and alcohol consume a person physically and emotionally. Anyone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol is blind to the consequences of their drug use. A professional interventionist helps the addict open their eyes to the effect of their substance misuse and the impact it is having on their family and friends. The impactful statements made by those in attendance accomplish this. Everyone at the intervention is raising the awareness of the addict. The family intervention process also motivates the addict and gets them to agree to treatment. It is easy to stay motivated to use drugs and alcohol because of the effects. However, the realization of never using drugs or alcohol again and spending months within a treatment center takes the professional help of an interventionist to keep the family on track with motivating the drug user to seek treatment.
Before the intervention takes place, there is an action plan developed, which creates a strategy for recovery with step-by-step goals and guidelines. In the event the addict refuses treatment, the family will have decided on a bottom line or consequences. At this point in the intervention, if they are rejecting treatment, the family members will warn the loved one what each one will do if they do not attend drug rehab. Hiring a professional interventionist ensures the family can plan and time the intervention right. Organizing an intervention should never wait until the last minute, and it can be done at any time. The intervention is scheduled during a time of day or week when you know the drug users are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Planning the right time is not easy but having a professional interventionist there to help does make it easier.
With effective communication and planning an intervention is successful. The professional interventionist helps prepare the family for what to expect, such as the roller coaster of emotions from the addict. Despite any emotional reaction, it is crucial to stick to the plan and insist they attend treatment. Every precaution is taken, which is why a professional interventionist is vital to have in attendance. The family should be ready for anything, but when it is all over, it ends with your loved one attending a drug rehab center.
What is Enabling and Why is it Dangerous?
The concept of enabling revolves around doing for others what they can and need to do for themselves. A family member or friend misconstrued their actions with the addict for helping and supporting. Parents, for example, are hardwired to help their children and do not want to see them struggle. Siblings want to help their brothers or sisters and spouses want to be there for their significant other. However, enabling behavior shields the drug user from experiencing the full impact and consequences of their behavior. Professional interventionists spend a considerable amount of time counseling a family that is enabling the drug user. The family member or friend who is always bailing the person out of a tight spot would derail the intervention.
Enabling behavior is protecting the addict from the consequences of their substance abuse or keeping secrets about their addictive behavior. Someone who is enabling an addict will make excuses for the addict’s behavior or bail the addict out of trouble, such as paying debts, hiring lawyers, paying bills, etc. Unfortunately, enabling family members of friends blame others for the addicted person’s behavior and see the problems of the addiction as a result of something else. People who are enabling an addict are often afraid of confrontation and will avoid the drug user but will give them money whenever they ask. Anyone who is enabling an addict will do everything but get them the treatment they need. Professional interventionists squash this and provide the counseling the family requires to overcome enabling.
Family Intervention—What Not to Do
Staging a family intervention seems easy and straightforward, but not all family organized interventions go as planned. Hiring a professional interventionist does guarantee a better degree of success, especially with knowing what not to do during a family intervention. During the planning of the intervention, the interventionist will not choose family members, friends, or loved ones who are overly emotional. The intervention is designed to secure a simple yes or no answer from the addict using those who have an emotional connection to the addict. There is a rollercoaster of emotions projected by the addict during the intervention, which those involved must be prepared for.
Never stage an intervention when the addict is likely to be intoxicated or high. A certified interventionist will help a family select a time when they all know the drug user is as sober as possible. Any level of sobriety will ensure they react more calmly and rationally. Also, do not hold the intervention at home or a place the addict knows, as it becomes easier for them to find a way out. Never go into an intervention without some type of plan, which is why a family interventionist is there to help. Successful interventions are scripted affairs, and never speak unrehearsed, which leads to never using the time to apply guilt or place blame.
An intervention is not a negotiation, and those involved are only seeking a yes or no answer. If things do not go according to plan, do not panic because anyone addicted to drugs or alcohol reacts in different unpredictable ways. A professional interventionist prepares the family for everything they should expect during the intervention. Finally, never give up hope if the answer is no, and they still refuse despite the consequences. The family must be prepared to move to the next stage, and a trained intervention specialist will help a family understand the process every step of the way.