Intervention Strategies
A word about interventions
Any time you are considering an addiction intervention for a family member, friend, or loved one, there are a number of considerations to be aware of such as intervention strategies. It is important that you are aware of several aspects regarding the intervention itself as well as the addicted individual’s circumstances or situation.
The purpose of the intervention – first and foremost, remember that the intervention is an act of love. It is not conducted to attack, blame, or shame the addicted individual into admitting that they have a problem and then seeking out help for it.
Understanding the individual – realize that the addicted individual is dealing with denial issues and the delusion that they can stop being addicted whenever they choose. This creates the illusion of being able to heal themselves when in reality, they are incapable of doing so.
Choosing the best intervention strategies – for an intervention to be successful, the individual must admit to having a problem and seek help immediately. Oftentimes, this necessitates making sure that you have chosen the intervention services which are best suited to the needs of the addicted individual. Since no two individuals are alike, there is no single intervention strategy that will work for every addicted individual.
About intervention strategies
As was mentioned in the last point above, the type of strategy employed by the interventionist, family members, friends, and loved ones to help the addicted individual will vary from one individual to the next. Typically, any one of these intervention strategies usually include three stages as follows:
Assessment – certain aspects involved in the assessment stage include the interventionist learning as much about the individual as possible, as well as their suspected substance of choice. Numerous questions will be asked such as:
- Who will be participating in the intervention process?
- Who will be financially responsible for payment of the service?
- What treatment and recovery center is best suited to the addicted individual’s specific needs?
- Will there be any type of insurance involved?
Orchestration – this stage typically involves the actual intervention itself where the addicted individual is confronted by the interventionist, family members, friends, and loved ones. During the intervention, it is imperative that all the members do not react negatively to the addicted individuals reactions. Remember that the addicted individual may (or may not) react angrily and violently to the intervention. So it is critical that the intervention strategy includes educating the members in how to deal with these situations.
Successful completion – the true measure of success with anyintervention strategies that are used is how effective the intervention is at getting the addicted individual to admit to having problem and then immediately seeking out a treatment and recovery facility that targets their specific needs.