Drug and Alcohol Intervention

There are many common misconceptions about an intervention and its goals. Most people think that an intervention is about getting someone to go to treatment or rehab. In actuality, that is the result of a properly delivered intervention, but not the true goal itself. Getting someone to go to treatment isn't necessarily a difficult thing to do. We are partnered with the leading drug and alcohol intervention provider in the nation and they average 6-10 successful interventions per week. Again, getting someone into treatment isn't necessarily a difficult thing to do. But if the addict isn't properly handled through the guidance of a qualified intervention specialist, if the family isn't empowered enough, then many times you will find yourself with a loved one checking himself out of rehab within days of arrival. The goal of any intervention should be much more than temporarily convincing them to go. If a family wants to achieve a long-term solution then they must achieve several goals in addition to just getting them to go to treatment. Outlined below is a summary of these goals:

The 7 Goals of a Successful Drug or Alcohol Intervention

• Empower the family through education on addiction and enabling.
• Remove any enabling factors that are contributing or allowing the addiction to continue.
• Set healthy boundaries within the family so that they are no longer negatively affected by the drug or alcohol use of the alcoholic or addict.
• Create a solid team within the family that works together instead of independently.
• Change the dynamics within the family to more effectively handle the addiction and increase the willingness of the alcoholic or addict.
• Formulate and implement a long-term recovery plan in order to increase the chances of permanent abstinence and then adhere to the plan as a family.
• Learn effective tools to not only get their loved one to treatment, but to help keep them there and focus on recovery after he returns home.

Getting someone to want to stay in treatment, increasing their willingness to apply the fundamentals of recovery, changing the family dynamics, having them commit to completing the entire treatment program and the apply the principles of recovery after they return home should be the true goals and are considerably more important than just "getting them there" with bags in hand.

Be very wary of the "weekend warrior" interventionist. This is someone who comes out with the intention of only creating a plan to "talk your loved one into treatment". It takes much more than a sobriety date, a certification and good intentions to make an effective interventionist.