What is an Intervention   Intervention Objectives

What Is An Intervention?   An intervention is a gift of love. It is a caring confrontation professionally orchestrated to break through the walls of belligerence and denial and allow an individual who is suffering from an addiction to get the help they need. It is the greatest gift my family ever gave to me and one I wish to share with you.   Historically, it was believed by treatment professionals in the drug and alcohol field, and even those recovering in Alcoholics Anonymous, that a practicing alcoholic/addict must hit "rock bottom" before he would benefit from any kind of help for his addiction. Under that kind of belief system, addicted individuals could not be reached before thy had lost everything--jobs, home, family, health...everything. Unfortunately, many addicted persons reached their bottom only in prisons, mental institutions and/or death.   Today, the picture is not so grim. Intervention is an emerging technique in the treatment field that is successfully allowing recovery to begin before the alcoholic/addict is allowed to reach the depths from which many never emerge. Instead of waiting for an addicted individual to reach their bottom, and hopefully seek treatment, a crisis can often be precipitated so that treatment becomes an accepted alternative. Precipitating this crisis is the aim of the intervention.   Intervention confronts the alcoholic/addict with a realistic assessment of the dangers and damage being done by his behavior in a way that cuts through the denial barriers so commonly erected in the psyche of the addicted person. These layers of denial are so deep that they can rarely be overcome without a competent intervention prior to reaching the bottoms previously mentioned.   The intervention process is a caring confrontation by individuals important in the life of the alcoholic/addict. By sharing their perceptions in a structured, caring way under the direction of a qualified interventionist, an individual can be brought to see the necessity of treatment in a way that no amount of arguing, nagging, threatening or cajoling could ever accomplish.   The intervention process is not aimed solely at getting the addict/alcoholic to accept treatment, since that focus only serves to minimize the complexity of the problem. In reality the intervention takes place on the entire environment of the situation, changing the dynamics involved so that alcoholism/addiction can no longer comfortably exist. It is only when the environment will no longer "enable" the alcoholism/addiction that the individual will become most available to treatment options.   An intervention, properly done, is the best known way to help an addict/alcoholic who stubbornly believes he can "fix" himself without the help of others. An intervention is also ideal for those who are in denial that they have a problem at all.

Intervention Objectives   The primary objective of the intervention is to have the individual agree to immediately enter into a chosen treatment facility. However, the intervention will only be truly successful if a change is made to the entire family environment.   It is often said that alcoholism/addiction is a "family disease", I prefer to think of recovery and healing as a "family process". Most of the work of the interventionist will be with the family and significant others in the addicted person's life. The actual formal intervention is usually the smallest portion of the process. After all, once the individual agrees to go to treatment, the formal intervention is over.   It is in the treatment facility that the host of physical, psychological, spiritual and family issues can be dealt with. The treatment facility and the counselors there will work with the individual and the family to address specific concerns and design a long term treatment strategy. Our goal in the intervention is merely to get the individual to the point where they are willing to accept this course of action.   Perhaps equally important as this outcome though more difficult to measure is the effect of the intervention on the other family members. It is hoped that a healing process can begin that will continue regardless of the status of the addicted person. A vitally important message that the interventionist will attempt to convey is that recovery is both possible and necessary for everyone in the environment.         The educational goals will include:   * what to expect from treatment * what should be your role during and after treatment * what are enabling behaviors * what happens if treatment "fails" * what to do if the intervention "fails" * how to love an addict without enabling their behavior to continue * what to expect, how to respond after the treatment period is over   These and many other issues and concerns are vitally important to the recovery and healing of everyone involved in the process.   From my perspective, the intervention process has no end. I will continue to be available to all of the individuals involved any time there is a need.

Monarch Interventions 562-754-4548 rmartin@monarchinterventions.com