How Does An Intervention Work For Addiction?

An intervention is an organized process to support someone struggling with addiction. It’s a time for loved ones and professionals to come together, express their concerns in a safe and controlled environment, and work towards the goal of helping the individual struggling with addiction. 

Interventions can be difficult processes for everyone involved, but when done correctly, they can be extremely effective at addressing the underlying issues of addiction. 

In this today’s post, we’ll dive into how an intervention works for addiction; from the planning process to the actual meeting itself.

What Is An Intervention Exactly?

An intervention is a structured conversation between a person struggling with addiction and their loved ones. The goal of an intervention is to get the person into treatment for their addiction.

Interventions can be done in many different ways, but they all have the same goal: to convince the person with addiction that they need to seek professional help. Many times, people with addiction are in denial about their problem and will not seek help on their own.

Interventions usually involve family members and close friends expressing their concern for the person with addiction. Importantly, an intervention professional is often involved, to help plan the intervention and make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.

Everyone will share how the person’s addiction has affected them and their relationship. This is often done in a letter or at a meeting where everyone expresses their feelings at once.

The hope is that by hearing how much their loved ones care and are affected by their addiction, the person will be motivated to seek help. It is important to remember that interventions should always be done with the goal of getting the person into treatment, not shaming or guilting them.

Why Do Interventions Work?

Studies and mountains of anecdotal evidence have shown that interventions can be successful in getting people into treatment for addiction. There are a number of reasons why this is the case. 

First, when people are confronted with their problem in a direct and non-judgmental way, they are more likely to be open to change. 

Second, interventions provide a support system for the person struggling with addiction, which can be crucial in early recovery. 

Finally, interventions can help to break down the barriers that keep people from seeking help, such as shame and denial and the actual work of seeking treatment.

Types Of Interventions

Almost all interventions follow the same basic format, but there are different types of interventions designed to address different types of addiction and different stages of addiction. The three most common types of interventions are:

1. The Johnson Model: This type of intervention is designed for people who are in the early stages of addiction and who have not yet developed a strong dependence on drugs or alcohol. It involves a group of family and friends coming together to confront the addict about their drinking or drug use, and to offer support and encouragement to seek treatment.
2. The ARISE Model: This type of intervention is designed for people who are further along in their addiction and who have developed a stronger dependence on drugs or alcohol. It involves a professional interventionist working with the family and friends of the addict to help them plan and carry out an intervention.
3. The CRAFT Model: This type of intervention is designed for people who want to help a loved one struggling with addiction, but who are not sure how to go about it. It involves educating the family and friends on how to best communicate with the addict, setting boundaries, and providing support.

The Intervention Process

An intervention is a structured process designed to confront a person about their addiction and encourage them to seek treatment. 

Any intervention for addiction should involve people who are close to the addict and who want to see them get better. This includes friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else who is important in the addict’s life. The goal of an intervention is to get the addict to realize that they have a problem and need help. The interventionists will try to get the addict to agree to treatment and offer support in any way possible.

The intervention process typically involves four key steps:

1. Planning the intervention: This step involves deciding who will participate in the intervention, what will be said, and what resources will be available for the addicted individual once they agree to seek treatment.
2. Confronting the addicted individual: This step is often the most difficult, as it involves confronting the person about their addiction and its negative effects on their life and relationships. It is important to remain calm and avoid judgment during this step. Oftentimes, ultimatums are given at this step as well, such as friends and family members withdrawing specific types of support if the addict keeps using.
3. Offering help: Once the addicted individual has been confronted about their addiction, it is important to offer them help in seeking treatment. This may involve making arrangements for transportation to a treatment facility or providing financial assistance for treatment costs.
4. Following up: After the intervention, it is important to follow up with the addicted individual to ensure that they are following through with their commitment to seek treatment. This may involve attending support group meetings or staying in touch via phone or email.

Get Help For A Loved One Struggling WIth Addiction— Today

An intervention is an incredibly powerful and effective tool for tackling the issue of addiction. It can be a difficult moment in which to confront someone you love, but interventions are ultimately designed to help that person seek out treatment and get their life back on track. 

By offering compassion, support, honesty and understanding during the process, friends and family members can make a big difference in helping an addict begin their journey of recovery. One of the things you can do for your addicted loved one is providing support in finding treatment. Give us a call at (888) 981-8263 and we can see if our facility might be the right fit.