Most people know that the Hippocratic oath states, “First, do no harm”. At Pathfinders Intervention, we found ourselves questioning whether or not the traditional interventions do exactly that.
When we talk about traditional interventions, we’re talking about the Vernon Johnson approach to dealing with an addict or alcoholic which was based upon the principal of getting that person by any means necessary. Over the years, there have been countless stories of people taking that idea to extremes, but mostly, this interventional style involves a surprise party of some sort.
Here’s how a traditional intervention goes. Typically, someone in the family calls an interventionist who arranges a meeting with that person and anyone who might participate in the intervention. The process is outlined and everyone goes home and writes letters that they review with each other and the interventionist. Details are worked out about when and where the “target” of the intervention will be met. Naturally, that person has no idea anything is brewing.
This means that person walks into a room somewhere, often under false pretenses, the interventionists introduces himself and tries to get the person to sit down long enough for the letters to be read. He facilitates the process of trying to get the person to agree to go to treatment right then which, of course, has all been pre-arranged.
The problem is that most addicts and alcoholics genuinely don’t appreciate being surprised. That’s where things tend to go awry.
With traditional interventions, you have to worry about negative reactions as well as escape routes, potential for violence (physical or verbal) and other potentially problematic issues. An angry addict often tends to inflict even more pain on an already wounded family. This approach to intervening, based on the surprise alone, can be said to foster hostility. There is often an open attempt to coerce the addict into treatment (i.e. if you don’t go to treatment today, I will divorce you/no longer support you, etc.). Most of us don’t appreciate being coerced into anything much less something we know is good for us. This leads to resentments and can even carry over into treatment. We’ve seen many addicts reluctantly go to treatment but spend the first few weeks or months focusing only on the intervention. This wastes valuable (and expensive) treatment time and diverts attention away from the important aspects of dealing with the addiction.
Because of this, the traditional intervention is an extremely stressful event. Some experts even argue about the logic of using secrecy and dishonesty (that’s part of planning a traditional intervention) to deal with the secrecy and dishonesty of addiction. Plus, the entire process is very binary. The intervention is a failure if the person doesn’t go right to treatment that day. That’s exactly the type of thinking that fosters addiction in the first place. Lastly, but most importantly, the traditional intervention focuses on one thing- the addict or alcoholic. The rest of the family is all but ignored. The simple truth is the family needs as much or sometimes more treatment than the addict. The substance abuser isn’t always the sickest person in the room.
We know this: if a sick person who lives in a sick family system goes off to treatment and comes back into a sick system, the chances of a good turnout aren’t so good. But, if the system improves, everyone’s chance of recovery improves.
We know there is a better way to do an intervention.
At Pathfinders Interventions, we use more of an education approach to our interventions. Our goal is to help the family begin healing. No one is singled out. No one is blamed. Everyone is encouraged to look at their “stuff”. When that occurs, the family system begins to improve. Recovery isn’t just one person’s job. It’s everyone’s.
Using this approach keeps in mind that no one gets sick alone. Likewise, no one gets better alone. No one is more influential to you than your family. They have the most pull, but if they’re pulling you toward staying sick, that’s no good. We simply help everyone begin to understand what’s happening in the family and begin to move toward recovery.
Pathfinders Interventions is a local Atlanta based group who specializes in helping families begin to move toward recovery. We bring our extensive experience with individual addicts & alcoholics, groups, and treatment centers to assist your family with your particular situation. Call 770.569.3801 for a free consultation.