What Is An Intervention?
What is an intervention; an intervention is to intervene in a loved one’s life to help them get the help they need to become healthy and to prevent the addiction process from furthering. The end goal is usually some form of addiction treatment.
Usually, an intervention can consist of just family members or just friends, or a combination of both. The most important aspect is to have people with mutual love and respect for the person needing help. It is frowned upon to have people that are not liked by your loved one there. This can cause a conflict and may do more harm than good. It is important to have guidance from a professional to help prepare a well-thought-out program. A professional can help facilitate the program and keep everything going in the right direction.
People may ask, “What is intervention, and how can that help?” This can be a giant first step in getting a loved family member or a friend the therapy that will benefit them. The first step is to find professional help to lead you in a healthy execution of the plan. Make a strategy to execute the project in the most compassionate way possible. Being sympathetic is a great step to help answer the question, “what is an intervention, and does my loved one need that?”
Professional Interventionist
A professional interventionist can help answer the question, “what is an intervention, and how can this help my loved one?”A professional interventionist is when a loved one of the person addicted hires an expert who specifically counsels people with mental issues or addiction to help facilitate a meeting to get the necessary help. They are well trained to guide the meeting in the right direction. They also can help diffuse a volatile situation. They are also well trained and can suggest the right type of program your loved one may need to ensure success in therapy and life.
Explaining Intervention
Explaining what intervention is and why it is essential will be helpful for your loved one. Your loved one should not know about the intervention until it is time for the intervention to take place. Letting them know will help take out the fear of the unknown. Sharing the knowledge you obtained will keep them at ease and let them know you really care about them and took the time to research this for them. Everyone is a unique individual, and each person has their unique individual needs. You may also choose to find out what insurance they have to recommend what the costs will be. This will help take some of the anxiety and pressure off of the person needing help.
Determine Who Will Be in the Intervention
Determining who will be in the intervention is an important step. This step is crucial to the success of your meeting. In this gathering, you want the people there to be those that love them the most. You may want to talk to the people joining the meeting about the intervention and exactly what it is. Mutual respect of the people joining the intervention and the one you are seeking help for is crucial. You do not want anyone at the meeting who will make your loved one feel awkward. You do not want anyone there who will sabotage the intervention. You want it to be comfortable, so there is less resistance, and they are more apt to listen to what the group has to say.
Taking Notes
Having a rehearsal before the intervention will be helpful. This will help determine what needs to be said and what does not need to be said. You want the meeting to be direct and to the point. You want everyone on the same page. You may want to keep a journal of what needs to be said to keep the meeting on point. Also, review what intervention is with the members of your intervention team, so they have a complete understanding of what to expect.
Compassion is Key
Remember, everyone has their own circumstances. Be understanding and sympathetic towards the needs of your loved one. Show that you love them and you want only the best for them. Do not raise your voice or be demeaning towards them in any way during the intervention. Having to talk about what is an intervention and why it can help is a great way to start your journey.
Location is Key
When you choose a location, make sure it is a cozy and convenient place. You want your loved one to feel at ease. Choose a familiar place. You want to have a place where they feel comfortable talking and communicating their feelings. That sense of security will help them listen and not flee from the meeting. You want to conduct the intervention in a serene atmosphere.
Ready Set Action
You do want the members of your team to have an action plan and their action plan to have consequences. There need to be consequences if your loved one decides not to seek the help they need. If you are going to present them with consequences, make sure you follow through on the consequences. Knowing what an intervention is and the consequences are key elements to helping guide your loved ones and getting the help they need.
Listen
Everyone wants to be heard. Listen to your loved one. Let them talk. Let them express their concerns. Let them express their feelings. They want to be validated. Show your concern with your ears. After they are done talking, gently redirect them into getting the treatment and the reasons why you think they should get treatment. See if they understand what an intervention is and why they are there.
Assessment And Treatment
An assessment by the professional interventionist will help determine which treatment options for them would be best. Therapy options may vary from case to case. You may want to research what your loved one’s insurance will cover and look for treatment centers that would best suit your loved one.
Several Different Categories of Therapies For Intervention
Once you determine what intervention is, there are several different categories for intervention. Intervention is not just for alcohol or drugs. The possibilities for intervention are:
- Alcoholic addiction
- Prescription drug addiction
- Illegal drug addiction
- Compulsive eating addictions
- Sexual addiction
Alcoholic Addiction
Alcoholism, or alcohol addiction, affects every part of society. No social group seems to be immune to alcoholism. Alcoholism can affect your neurochemistry. Alcoholism affects every part of life, including family and professional life. There are various indications of alcoholism, and they are:
- Professional implications
- Loss of employment
- Sneaking alcohol
- Lying about alcohol use
- An escalation in the use of alcohol
- Relying on alcohol
- Avoidance of loved ones
Professional implications can also include the severity of loss of employment. Alcoholism can cause an escalation to other drugs. Sometimes other underlying issues need to be worked out by a professional.” What is an intervention?” and “how can it help?” are great questions for loved ones looking for a solution for the alcohol addiction of a loved one.
Prescription Drug Addiction
Prescription drug use and addiction is a continuing concern in this country. Prescription medication misuse is on the rise. Incorrect information can be a contributing fact to this situation. Patients not being told about the medicine’s addictive qualities is another contributing factor to this growing problem. There is a false sense of security that prescription drugs are less harmful than illegal drugs. Prescription drug addiction may also lead to illegal drug habits.
Illegal drugs
There are many different types of illegal drugs. Each of these drugs affects the human brain differently. Narcotics disrupt the messenger signals in the brain. Drugs affect several different parts of the brain. Drugs may lead a person to do things they would never normally do. Sensitivity is key when dealing with a person on illegal narcotics. Intervention can be a start to getting a loved one in treatment and help their progression to a healthy life of sobriety.
Compulsive Eating Addiction
Having an eating disorder is a common addiction. Food addiction and compulsive eating addictions disorders are more difficult to overcome than you may think. Food is something you have to continuously have to stay alive. For this reason, you are faced with your addiction on a daily basis. People may ask, “what is an intervention for compulsive eating?”. Compulsive eating can cause your body to become very sick, and then you will be faced with a plethora of other problems if not resolved.
Sexual Addiction
Sexual addiction is the compulsion of sexual acts. This is even more personal and may require a smaller and more intimate group. At times a sexual addict could possibly have other addictions or mental issues along with sexual addiction. This addiction may be well hidden from a spouse and loved ones. This can cause bodily harm and cause sexually transmitted diseases. This may be hidden from everyone. This could even include addiction to pornography, which is done in the privacy of one’s own home. Have a professional to help answer, “what is an intervention for a sex addict, and can it help them?”. The goal is to have your loved one get help, not be pushed away.
Encouragement
No matter the addiction, the goal is to get your loved one the help needed to cure their addiction. Your encouraging words may help the patient start with their therapy and help keep them going through their therapy even when they feel like they have failed or will fail. Even if they were upset with the intervention, after going through the therapy, they need they may realize what the intervention is and how it changed their lives.
Follow-up
Follow-up with your loved ones and see how they are progressing. Let them know you are still there for them. You will have to make a choice to follow through with the threats you have made during the intervention. If they have refused therapy or dropped out, those consequences now become a reality and need to be executed. You do not want them to think your words or threats mean nothing and are empty.
Contact us
Granite Mountain Behavioral Healthcare is a great place to start for the answer to the question of what is intervention. You can contact us at 928-756-0694 for you or a loved one to start on the journey to a successful recovery.
