Preparing For The Intervention
“After years of chronic alcoholism and drug addiction, I was unable to help myself in any way,” writes author Jeff Jay. “Although I had been a national merit scholar, president of my high school student association, and head of the alter boys, I was now homeless and penniless. I had a bleeding ulcer, a bleeding colon, and neuropathy of the legs. I was unable to eat solid food and I was sleeping under bushes in the city parks. But I still didn’t think that I had an alcohol or drug problem. I just thought I had a little cash flow problem.” Denial is the hallmark of drug and alcohol addiction. Therefore, you may come up against some tough obstacles when you’re planning the intervention that will ultimately save your loved one’s life.
The first step for an intervention is to choose the members to be involved. This group generally consists of three to eight people comprised of family members, friends, coworkers, clergy or a professional interventionist. Each person must be firmly committed and able to look the addict in the eye and say “You have a problem.” They must firmly resolve to end the cycle of enabling to really help the person. The team members must have intimate, first hand knowledge of the situation to successfully break through the addict’s denial. You must select people who have leverage and influence over the individual, who have the ability to make an emotional impact. In some cases, a seemingly helpless person like a young child could have the largest impact. Never underestimate the power of love. Prior to the intervention, a chairperson and a detail person should be chosen to facilitate the process and to keep a record of everything.
Prior to the intervention, certain decisions must be made. Part of the plan will include choosing a treatment center, checking with the insurance company to see what’s covered, pooling resources privately, working with other agencies to get the treatment subsidized if need be, and finding the best treatment providers in the area. The ideal abuse treatment facility is an inpatient or residential center, rather than outpatient treatment. A Medstat intervention study found that residential stays of 21-28 days were twice as effective in preventing relapses, as compared to outpatient stays of 7 days or less.
When planning the intervention, you’ll need a plan that guarantees the substance abuser’s presence. You’ll need to rehearse with all participants, all the way down to where each person will sit and the order in which the letters are read. Your location should be in a safe place in case the reaction is violent. A safety plan should be devised in advance. If the intervention is taking place in the abuser’s home, then arrive as a group 30 minutes in advance. Review objections and responses and hope for the best! While this may be a tumultuous ordeal, there is no substitute for love and honesty in the therapeutic process. Accept that this brief intervention may fail, as you can’t force anyone to get help if they truly do not want it, but help cannot be sought without your support net of encouragement.
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