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Intervention That Are Respectful
We Focus On The Family
Traditional Interventions
In 1973, Vernon Johnson’s book “I’ll Quit Tomorrow” first hit the shelves. This groundbreaking book outlined ideas about how to help an alcoholic or addict before he or she hit “rock bottom”. This book really marks the beginning of what we know and understand about interventions.
Johnson was adamant that alcoholics and addicts were killing themselves, so he believed in getting them help by any means necessary. Many of his ideas are still used by interventionists to this day. In fact, most, if not all of the interventions seen on TV follow his model.
- The traditional model of intervention requires this:
- Meeting in secrecy behind the addict or alcoholic’s back
- Writing letters to the individual about how his/her using has caused an impact.
- Arranging a surprise meeting between the group, the interventionist, and the addicted individual.
- Creating a plan of action for where to send the person to treatment if he or she agrees
- Working to coerce the person to. goto treatment at the actual intervention.
As you can imagine, there are inherent pitfalls in this approach. While most substance abusers are intellectually aware of the damage they have been causing and would genuinely like to stop hurting themselves and loved ones, for that individual, it really is like asking if he or she would like to give up breathing. It can be that intimidating.
The surprise element of the traditional interventional model also can create problems. A lot of people don’t particularly enjoy surprises, so the reaction can be anywhere from annoyed to violent. While the participants can be incredibly loving, the basic idea is to implement a consequence that the person has to face if he or she doesn’t agree to go to treatment. Based on that, many interventions are “successful” in that the person agrees to go to treatment, but far too often, the person goes with a prison mindset. They do their time while waiting to get back out and use again. There is very little motivation to change.
When Is The Traditional Intervention Method Necessary?
There are times when using the “surprise party” model of intervention is necessary. We’ve done more than 100 drug and alcohol interventions this way, and the process can be very stressful (for the interventionist as well as all the participants). This approach can be useful in one situation.
If the substance abuser is actively engaged in behavior that is placing himself/herself or others at risk for harm, it’s imperative to do an intervention as immediately as possible and work to get that person the necessary level of treatment. For example, a physician that is practicing while impaired would be placing patients at risk. This would be a scenario that might need a traditional intervention. We have been involved with many impaired physicians and have helped hundreds if not thousands get into recovery.
A Less Stressful Model Of Intervention
A Kinder, Gentler…More Effective Intervention
Our Interventions Focus On The System
Believe it or not, but addicts and alcoholics rarely get sick alone. There are others involved and when there are others, there is a system. A family is a system.
If we only pay attention to the addict, the system gets ignored. When that happens, it puts all the individuals in that system at risk- for relapse and continued decline. More than that, if you’ve spent time living with an addict, it can be an incredibly traumatic experience. The people in a relationship with an addict or alcoholic can become just as sick as the addict. Our interventions address these dynamics so that the entire system can begin to heal.
The traditional interventional model can often begin to feel like a blaming session. That’s just not something that we allow. It’s just not helpful.
Addiction is prevalent in many families in our country. It’s been our experience that with most families where there is one addict or alcoholic, there is often more than one. In fact, we’ve seen many, many situations where NOT being an addict would mean that person was an outcast from the family. This is part of the reason we moved to a different model of interventions.
The Invitational Model Of Drug & Alcohol Interventions
A Better Model With Better Outcomes
It sounds completely counter-intuitive, but there is definitely a genius behind our approach to doing interventions this way. We’re not just congratulating ourselves, we’ve seen the results.
Rather than dealing with all the hostility and potential aggression of the traditional model, we simply arrange for the family to meet for some education about all the ways addiction harms the family. We set a time and place for the meeting and 48-36 hours before the meeting is to take place, the addict or alcoholic is given a direct invitation. We tell you exactly what to say and how to say it. No drama. Just a straightforward, honest approach.
We set up a series of meetings where we discuss a host of issues and topics related to addiction while developing a plan for how to address the issues. From there, we work on holding each person accountable for their part in the solution.
Many people ask, “But, what if the addict doesn’t show up?” Simple. We still have the meeting.
In more than 90% of our interventions, the addict absolutely shows up because they want to deter the conversation that he or she knows will go on “behind my back”. Even when the addict doesn’t show up, our interventionists help the family begin to develop a plan for healing. This address changes the family can begin to make that allows the addict to experience more consequences of their own behavior.
Very frequently, we have addicts volunteer to go to treatment in order to help out the family. It’s an amazing process.
Call us today at 770.569.3801 to discuss the situation your family is dealing with. We would love to help your family get into recovery. An intervention will lead the way.
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Reaching Out is the First Step to a New Life
Reach Out, Ask Some Questions. Start Today.