Intervention
If you care, is there really any other choice?

Caring Intervention - Preparation

What can we do if we care and are concerned about someone? We can do nothing, but then nothing is likely to change. The problem and our concerns will likely continue to grow.

We can express our concerns openly and honestly. Although we cannot change another person, we may be able to motivate them to want to change by approaching them with our concerns. This is especially vital in cases of impairment due to alcoholism, drug addiction or severe mental, emotional or physical disabilities.

Massive denial is the common denominator in all cases of impairment. As a result, the individual is often unwilling, and in some cases deluded and incapable of rational self-assessment and therefore unlikely to seek help spontaneously. Before they get help, they must see the need for help.

Those of us who care and are concerned may be influential in this regard. We can present them with reality - help them see what we see. If we do not do this, then we may be denying them the opportunity to see the nature of their problem and obtain help. We enable the problem to continue.

Before an intervention, you need to do your homework:

1. What do you hope to accomplish?
   1. share your caring and concern
   2. have them see the problem as you see it
   3. see problem resolved - professional help may be required. Know where to find it.
      
      
2. What specific behavior (attitudes, emotions, actions) led to your concern?
   1. abnormal, inappropriate, self-destructive, anti-social?
   2. frequent or prolonged?
   3. what are your feelings about the behaviors?
      
      
3. What type of reaction do you anticipate?
   1. probably defensiveness - expect to meet with denial, rationalizing, blaming, placating, anger, etc.
   2. based on your relationship, what do you expect?
   3. meet defensiveness with facts
      
      
4. What is the best time and place for the intervention?
   
   
5. Who else could be involved?
   1. staff, family, friends, colleagues, co-workers
   2. only those who feel genuine caring and concern
   3. a group can be more effective than one to one

See also Caring Intervention - Guidelines

Our appreciation to Vernon Johnson, the pioneer of modern interventions, and to Derek Lacroix for this information.

Principles of Intervention

How you can help

Intervention and the Family

Intervention Preparation

Intervention Guidelines

Addiction thrives in secrecy. By confronting the situation you no longer enable the addicted person. If the person is not ready to accept help then you must learn how to detach with love and let go of the outcome.

In our love for others we often unintentionally provide a safety net that prevents the addict from facing the full consequences of their addiction.

They are often the last to know they have a problem. They are sick people needing to get well, not a bad people needing to get good.

The chemically dependent person takes hostages a opposed to having healthy relationships.