Intervention Services

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/how-interventions-work-in-real-life

Drug addiction is a horrible disease that usually affects whole families. The friends and loved ones close to the addict are often submerged into a world of chaos, confusion and anger. The effects of the addict’s actions often interfere with other people’s lives, especially family members.

What is an intervention?

Intervention is a professionally directed, education process resulting in a face to face meeting of family members, friends and/or employer with the person in trouble with alcohol or drugs. People who struggle with addiction are often in denial about their situation and unwilling to seek treatment.

They may not recognize the negative effects their behaviour has on themselves and others. Intervention helps the person make the connection between their use of alcohol and drugs and the problems in their life.

The goal of intervention is to present the alcohol or drug user with a structured opportunity to accept help and to make changes before things get even worse.

During the intervention, these people gather together to confront the person about the consequences of addiction and ask him or her to accept treatment. The intervention:

Provides specific examples of destructive behaviours and their impact on the addicted person and loved ones
Offers a prearranged treatment plan with clear steps, goals and guidelines
Spells out what each person will do if a loved one refuses to accept treatment

Success Consult with a Board Certified Interventionist

Consulting an Addiction Professional, such as an Interventionist, can help you organize an effective Intervention.

A Interventionist, addiction professional will take into account your loved one’s particular circumstances, suggest the best approach, and help guide you in what type of treatment and follow-up plan is likely to work best.

It’s especially important to consult an Intervention professional if you suspect your loved one may react violently or self-destructively. The intervention occurs only once. This is strictly for effectiveness. An intervention occurs in a controlled environment that includes a trained counsellor. Once the intervention occurs, daily life must go on. An addict must choose whether or not they enter into rehab. Whether they agree to it or not the family must stick firm to the consequences that were outlined during the intervention

Success of an Intervention

Accomplishing these two main goals often reflects a successful intervention.

To gauge the success of an intervention, the goals of the intervention must have been accomplished. If the addict seeks treatment due to the events of the intervention, then the intervention is a partial success. If the family members affected by the drug addiction have also been able to find some solace after the intervention, then another goal has been met.

Chance of the Addict Seeking Treatment

According to research more than 80 percent of all addicts who participate in an intervention seek treatment within 24 hours. Of the remaining 20 percent, more than half enter into treatment within a week. This is a very high success rate and suggests that an intervention is highly recommended as the initial phase in drug recovery.

Interventions help drug addicts come to terms with many, if not all, of the adverse effects associated with their addiction. Once they are aware of the far-reaching consequences of drug abuse, most addicts actively participate in the treatment process.

Success Rate of Helping Family Members

Helping family members requires numerous steps that must be accomplished. First, all attendees of the intervention should be educated on addiction and the motivation behind compulsive behavior. This helps them start understanding the actions of the addict. Then, all members are instructed on how to cope with the negative emotions they are experiencing. As a whole, the intervention team must come to terms with the addiction and learn how to focus their motives on helping the addict seek treatment.

Success of an Intervention

Accomplishing these two main goals often reflects a successful intervention.

Chance of the Addict Seeking Treatment

According to researchers more than 80 percent of all addicts who participate in an intervention seek treatment within 24 hours. Of the remaining 20 percent, more than half enter into treatment within a week. This is a very high success rate and suggests that an intervention is highly recommended as the initial phase in drug recovery.

How does a typical intervention work?

Much of the intervention process is education and information for the friends and family. The opportunity for everyone to come together, share information and support each other is critically important. Once everyone is ready, a meeting is scheduled with the person everyone is concerned about.

An intervention usually includes the following steps:

Make a plan.A family member or friend proposes an intervention and forms a planning group. It’s best if you consult with a qualified professional counsellor, interventionist, addiction specialist, psychologist, mental health counsellor, social worker or an interventionist to help you organize an effective intervention. An intervention is a highly charged situation with the potential to cause anger, resentment or a sense of betrayal and you need the expertise to manage these behaviors.
Gather information.The group members find out about the extent of the loved one’s problem and research the condition and treatment programs. The group may initiate arrangements to enroll the loved one in a specific treatment program.
Form the intervention team.The planning group forms a team that will personally participate in the intervention. Team members set a date and location and work together to present a consistent, rehearsed message and a structured plan. Often, non family members of the team help keep the discussion focused on the facts of the problem and shared solutions rather than strong emotional responses. Do not let your loved one know what you are doing until the day of the intervention.
Decide on specific consequences.If your loved one doesn’t accept treatment, each person on the team needs to decide what action he or she will take. Examples include asking your loved one to move out or taking away contact with children.
Make notes on what to say.Each member of the intervention team describes specific incidents where the addiction caused problems, such as emotional or financial issues. Discuss the toll of your loved one’s behavior while still expressing care and the expectation that your loved one can change. Your loved one can’t argue with facts or with your emotional response to the problem. For example begin by saying “I was upset and hurt when you drank…”
Hold the intervention meeting.Without revealing the reason, the loved one is asked to the intervention site. Members of the core team then take turns expressing their concerns and feelings. The loved one is presented with a treatment option and asked to accept that option on the spot. Each team member will say what specific changes he or she will make if the addicted person doesn’t accept the plan. Do not threaten a consequence unless you are ready to follow through with it.
Follow up.Involving a spouse, family members or others is critical to help someone with an addiction stay in treatment and avoid relapsing. This can include changing patterns of everyday living to make it easier to avoid destructive behaviour, offering to participate in counselling with your loved one, seeking your own therapist and recovery support, and knowing what to do if relapse occurs.

A successful Intervention must be planned carefully to work as intended. A poorly planned intervention can worsen the situation — your loved one may feel attacked and become isolated or more resistant to treatment.

If your loved one refuses help

Unfortunately, not all interventions are the wanted outcome. In some cases, a loved one may refuse the treatment plan. But, as stated above, most interventions are successful. In some cases, a person may refuse help at the time of the intervention, but as a result of the intervention, come back and ask for help later.

Often, children, partners, siblings and parents are subjected to abuse, violence, threats and emotional upheaval because of alcohol and drug problems. You don’t have control over an addicted person’s behavior. However, you do have the ability to remove yourself — and any children — from a destructive situation.

Even if an intervention doesn’t work, you and others involved in your loved one’s life can make changes that may help. Ask other people involved to avoid enabling the destructive cycle of behavior and take active steps to encourage positive change.

As more people are introduced to the idea of an intervention, they ask about the success rate associated with the process.

Many people are hesitant to use an intervention without knowing if it will truly help their loved ones. Fortunately, a well-structured, organized intervention moderated by a professional interventionist often leads to success.

Goals of an Intervention

Each intervention has at least two main goals – getting the addict to seek treatment and to help repair any damage that exists within the addict’s family.

An addict suffers from numerous health problems and is at risk of developing serious medical complications, such as heart problems, liver failure and communicable diseases. Proper treatment is the best way to ensure that the addict is able to become drug-free and reduce the risk of future health problems.

Success Rate of Helping Family Members

Education and training in the pre Intervention will help family members find away to repair the harm caused by the drug addiction.

In terms of educating and helping family members, every intervention can be considered a success. Once the goals of the intervention have been established, evaluating its success is simple.

If you need help determining whether an intervention is right for you or your loved one or if you have questions regarding the effectiveness of an intervention, contact us today.

Family Intervention; Help a loved one

Executive Intervention: Help a colleague

People sometimes engage in self-destructive behaviour, rejecting any assistance others may offer. Intervention, when done correctly, is extremely effective in helping these people accept help.

Long used for substance abuse (alcohol abuse, drug abuse) and addiction (alcoholism, drug addiction), intervention is now also used for compulsive behaviours including gambling, sex addiction, computer addiction, and eating disorders.

If someone you love is in jeopardy due to an addiction to drugs or alcohol, do not believe the myth that he/she must “hit bottom” first, in order to be helped. “It is absolutely untrue,” says Dr. Phil, “because bottom may be six feet under.” A structured intervention, if done properly, will lead the dependent person to the help needed to begin recovery. Keep the following points in mind when you are ready to confront the chemically-dependent person.

Set your team.
Get concerned people around who will help. Each person has to be willing to look the addict in the eye and say, “You have a problem, and you need help.” If one person feels uncomfortable about that, you’ve got a weak link who should not be involved in the process.

Confront factually, but with love, care and concern.
Bring any information collected to the intervention that describes in detail the evidence that your loved one is using drugs. Confront him/her with content, not argument.

Remember that you are talking to the drugs, not the person.
Any time someone is addicted to drugs, the substance takes over their reasoning and problem solving, and creates all types of paranoia and anger.

Create a crisis for the troubled person.
Remember that arguments are a comfort zone for a person on drugs because it allows him/her to stay in denial. Bring it to a head by giving him/her a choice to get treatment, or face the undesirable alternative, such as jail, getting kicked out of the house, having no contact with family, etc.

Focus only on chemically-related issues.
Keep it focused on the fact that the addict has a disease for which he/she needs professional help. Be specific about when, where and with whom a chemically-related incident happened. Stay on point without emotions or distractions. It’s not about yelling, screaming or your opinions. It’s about facts.

Get a commitment to go to treatment or be prepared to break contact.
You have to be prepared for the hard decision of letting that person go if treatment is refused. It doesn’t just affect the addict, it takes a toll on the entire family.

Have a firm, immediate plan.
You don’t want to waste time after you get a commitment. If the person agrees to get help, have a treatment center set up to admit him/her immediately. If the person does not agree to get treatment, know in advance how you will respond.