One in seven Americans will develop a substance abuse problem. However, only 10% of those who require assistance will receive it.
The addiction victim isn’t the only one who suffers from substance misuse. Friends, families, and even coworkers suffer as a result of their actions.
While many people feel powerless in the face of a loved one’s addiction, there are steps you may take. You can, however, make matters worse if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Interventions can be beneficial, but you must avoid typical intervention blunders to convey the correct message.
Continue reading if you want to learn how to stage an intervention. Ocean Recovery is one of the most reputed drug rehab centers to stage a successful intervention. To know more about it, click here to continue.
Table of Contents
What Is An Intervention?
An intervention is an organized attempt to address a loved one with addiction about how their drinking, drug use, or addiction-related behavior has affected everyone around them in the context of substance use and recovery.
An intervention involves family, friends, and perhaps even employers and colleagues to tell the victim in their own words how the individual’s addiction has impacted their lives.
The term “intervention” can be misunderstood because it can refer to various evidence-based and effective therapeutic techniques for treating addiction.
Motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy and couples therapy are a few ones among them.
How Do Interventions Work?
Most alcohol and drug treatment programs include counselors trained to assist families in preparing for the confrontation, which is always held in a controlled environment, carefully chosen to put the person in the most likely position to listen.
Often, these interventions take place in the workplace, with the employer’s full cooperation.
The intervention can come as a complete surprise. It may impact the victim in an unimaginable way that the interventionists may not be prepared to handle.
Still, newer strategies have been devised in which members of the intervention team inform the addict that they are speaking with a counselor about their drinking or drug use several days before the intervention.
Common Mistakes You Need To Avoid While Holding An Intervention
For every family and situation, professional intervention is not an option. Instead, the decision to go down the intervention route should be decided thoughtfully and with the help of a professional counselor.
Find the common mistakes that you must avoid during an intervention:
1: Not Holding A Rehearsal
You won’t truly understand how to do an intervention unless you first try it. Rehearse what everyone wants to say with everyone you plan to invite.
Interventions can be emotionally draining. So you want to make sure you’re doing and saying the appropriate things so your message is clear and the addict doesn’t feel assaulted.
Make a decision about who will speak and what they will say. Then, allow them to practice their speech not to become nervous and forget the most crucial points during the actual session.
Make a strategy for getting the addict to the intervention and decide how they will get there. You must ensure that people attend to hear what you have to say.
2: Choosing Wrong People On Your Team
Not everyone is a suitable candidate for intervention. Don’t invite their drinking buddies if you’re hosting an alcohol intervention.
Don’t invite folks who will bring up all of the dire consequences of addiction.
Instead, invite the people who have the most influence on the addict’s life and make them feel welcome and protected.
In this manner, instead of fleeing out the door, they’ll listen. You can also tell them about the important healthy habits they can incorporate in their lives to come out of the addiction.
3: Preferring Condemnation Over Kindness
It’s tempting to use guilt and humiliation to persuade the addiction victim to see the light, but it’s not practical. Instead, it only makes them feel worse and encourages them to continue to use.
Instead of dwelling on the past, focus on making the person feel loved and cared for. Don’t use your words to hurt people.
Use gentle words and express your worry. If the addict does not feel ganged up on but rather surrounded by caring and loving individuals, they are more inclined to listen.
In your role, be loving yet strict and steadfast. Keep in mind that this person’s life depends on you remaining forceful and insisting that they follow the prescribed treatment plan.
4: Not Hiring A Professional
It’s a good idea to hire an expert. They know what to do if things go wrong during the intervention.
A specialist can provide practical advice and tactics to guarantee your loved one understands what you’re saying. They’ll keep everyone focused, on target, and upbeat.
A specialist can provide practical advice and tactics to guarantee your loved one understands what you’re saying. They’ll keep everyone focused, on target, and upbeat.
An intervention specialist will remain emotionally detached, which is a significant advantage in such a stressful situation as an intervention.
5: Giving Up Too Soon
Addiction is exceedingly difficult to overcome. It’s not uncommon for people to relapse after a period of abstinence.
Don’t give up on them, even if it’s irritating and unpleasant. They require your assistance, and they are deserving of your love and support.
Enabling is not the same as love and support. You can’t save them, but you can assure them that you’ll always be there for them.
If an intervention fails on the first try, it does not mean it is a total failure. If you maintain your position, the addict will eventually change his mind and seek treatment.
To Conclude…
Confronting someone with an addiction is a dangerous technique that can often backfire, making the addiction victim feel attacked, isolated, and misunderstood rather than encouraged.
In many circumstances, an intervention may exacerbate the addict’s addiction, leading them to seek solace in alcohol and drugs, as well as the companionship of others who understand, such as drinking friends and drug dealers.
Therefore, if you want to know more about them, reach us in the comment section. We will get back to you with an answer in no time.
