Intervention Help

When someone you care about refuses to get help for an alcohol or other drug problem – Intervention is a caring, lifesaving process.

An intervention is a caring, lifesaving process used to convince a chemically dependent person (i.e. one who id addicted to any drug or chemical, including alcohol) that treatment is necessary for his or her addiction.  Contrary to myth, people don’t have to “hit bottom” in order to receive help.  An intervention creates a crisis by bringing the bottom up.

Significant people in the chemically dependent person’s life become the participants on the intervention “team”.  These can include families, friends, clergy, neighbors, employers and co-workers.

The Intervention Team meets before confronting the chemically dependent person.  Participants are helped, through counseling and education, to be non-judgmental and emotionally supportive while also being very clear and direct.

Why Intervention Works:

• Strategy is planned and guided by a professional.
• There is strength in numbers
• The intervention is planned for a time when the dependent is sober or close.
• Through training, group members have gained more insight into the dependent’s problem.
• Participants are no longer addressing the dependent in an angry manner.
• Guided by the specialist, the group precipitates a crisis by moving the “bottom” up and presenting carefully planned choices for change.
• The group’s united, supportive and firm stance makes it difficult for the chemically dependent person to continue to deny the problem, thus opening the door to recovery.

Corporate Interventions are also available.  When there are clear symptoms of substance abuse and job impairment, a Corporate Intervention may be the most enlightened approach in human and economic terms.