Have you ever wondered if gathering all your friends and family to catch an addict off guard in the form of an intervention is actually effective? Yes. Interventions truly are effective in influencing addicts to get help.
According to the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, over 90% of individuals involved in an intervention with a trained specialist agree to get help.
If you do not have the time or resources available to hire a trained specialist, it is important that you take the right steps to prepare before staging an intervention. It is crucial that you prepare yourself as well as other attendees mentally for the ordeal.
Prepare by following these tips:
- Do not yell, shame, or point fingers during the intervention. Refrain from blaming or venting your anger during the confrontation. Acting angry or negatively will place the addict in a defensive state. They may walk out of the intervention at this point and will not agree to treatment. Rehearse what you are going to say before you gather everyone. It often helps to write down your speech so you stayed focus on the point of the intervention.
- Keep the meeting short and sweet. No one wants to hear a long, drawn-out story about why your loved one needs to get help. You need to keep the story concise and get to the point. Again, rehearsing your speech ahead of time will ensure you get all of your points across in five minutes or less.
- Research before the meeting. Telling your loved one to get treatment can be extremely overwhelming. You need to go into the situation with a plan. Research treatment facilities or providers that can help. You need to confirm facilities have openings and the program fits your loved one’s personality and needs. The more information and resources you have available at the time of the intervention the better chance you have of convincing them to get help.
- Follow through. It is important that your loved one understands there are consequences to their actions. Lay out an ultimatum that they either get help or something will happen (be in you will cut them off financially, you won’t support them, etc). If you make this type of ‘threat’ you need to be sure to follow through. If you have a history of saying things like this, it is going to be difficult for them to actually believe you this time. Follow through with what you say so they realize they need to get help now.
Interventions can be an extremely effective tool and they are often used to convince addicts to get the help they need. At Asana Recovery, we are here for you every step of the way. If you are planning an intervention, it is important that you have information regarding the different types of treatments available, the detoxification process, and what therapies are often used in treatment.
If you are considering staging an intervention for someone you know, contact us at (949) 438-4504 to see how we can help you.
