In times like these when substance abuse and addiction has become such a serious aspect of American society, much thought has gone into what are the best ways to intervene with individuals when they are abusing drugs alcohol and do not want to get the help through rehabilitation that they so desperately need.
This is called intervention, and of this there are several different kinds and types. Different styles of intervention will be workable and successful under different circumstances. The key is to discover the type of intervention model that will be the most workable for your specific loved one. Depending on the personality, some intervention models will work better than others. Some will have outstanding results and others will have terrible failures. The person who is abusing drugs or alcohol but who is innately a very social individual will probably benefit better from a group intervention rather than a one-on-one confrontation. Someone who is more family oriented and isn’t very outgoing and sociable will probably benefit more from a one-on-one talk with his or her spouse or parent.
A confrontational intervention is rarely a poor choice when picking out a type of intervention to perform on your loved one. Confrontational interventions have been around for very long time and have proven it to be immensely successful. A confrontational intervention is not for the faint of heart though.
A confrontational intervention implies just that. Confrontation. This is an intervention style that is a far cry from the loving and caring and gentle intervention style. This style of intervention is best used on people who are little bit tough to convince of things. This style of intervention is also particularly beneficial and helpful for older adults, parents, working-class Americans, veterans, senior citizens, heads of household, and generally respected and admired individuals who have turned to the path of addiction.
The Steps of a Confrontational Intervention
A confrontational intervention breaks down into three main parts:
1. The first part is called the contact phase. This is that initial shock value of getting a group of people together and really getting into the individual’s face and communicating your collective displeasure with the individual about his or her habits. You and the fellow interventionist team members must not be afraid to really cross some boundaries here and to really make it clear to the individual just what he or she is doing that is wrong. This initial contact phase should only take a few minutes but it’s designed to shock the addict into a sort of wakeup call and reality check as to where he or she stands with the rest of the family. It’s designed to create humility in the individual.
2. The next step is the accountability phase. You don’t want to make individual feel like he or she is worthless, as that will most likely simply inspire further substance abuse in him or her. However you do you want to get in from the very start the understanding of exactly what he or she is doing that is wrong and what exactly he or she is truly responsible for. That is why this form of intervention is so successful and so workable when it is used on older adults, parents, business owners, opinion leaders, veterans, etc. It’s all about making them realize what the effect of their actions are having on others who are connected to the member why upon them for help and succor.
3. The third and final step is to very intensively and without backing down get an agreement from the individual to accept help. This is often the hardest step so this is where those engaging in the intervention really must make sure that your loved one gets the collective message. The step could take hours or even days. However, if the previous two steps went very well I will perform correctly, the step can be quite easy. The step involves a reiteration of everything discussed in the previous steps with a constant repeat of the importance that must be put on the loved one going to rehabilitation to handle this addiction. This is where you and any other intervention members need to make it very clear to him or her that this type of behavior, despite the individual’s position in the family or group, will not be tolerated any longer. You and everyone in it and in the intervention must be strong enough for it and then this individual is himself or herself. This is where the entire group must not back down until the individual has excepted humility and agreed to seek out treatment.
The Pros and Cons of a Confrontational Intervention
This intervention model is by far one of the best as it is capable of convincing even the toughest individuals that they need to go to rehab.
1. Some of the pros are that are that it can focus on morals, principles, ethics, integrity, honesty, responsibility, accountability, code of honor, and other characteristics of good human nature. If these are really gotten in during intervention then rehabilitation itself will be much easier have a much higher chance of being successful and confrontational intervention is the only interaction model that really pushes these points home.
2. As a result of this, the vast majority of those who receive a confrontational intervention and do agree to go to rehabilitation as a result will be successful in rehab and will stay sober for the entire rest of their lives after rehabilitation is complete. Essentially, confrontational interventions have a very high success rate of post rehab grads who received a confrontational rehab initially.
Confrontational interventions do run a risk though and this must be considered before one attempts to do one.
1. You must keep in mind that these interventions are not for the faint of heart, and if they’re not done correctly they can actually seriously damage your relationship with the addict.
2. While this is a con, it can easily be avoided by enlisting the help of a professional confrontational interventionist to assist with the process and ensure that it goes well and smoothly.
Notes on the Confrontational Model of Intervention
• This form of intervention is not for the faint of heart. But it works, and it works well. This style of intervention will really put an addict on the spot and give him or her a real slap in the face wakeup call as to just how serious of a life-threatening situation he or she has gotten into. This type of intervention operates a lot like a traditional intervention, with family members, loved ones, and interventionists gathering around with the addict and confronting him or her.
• This intervention is all about accountability, responsibility, morals, and obligation though, and less about love and compassion. This intervention is particularly successful when used on individuals who used to be very moral and accountable people, like addicted military veterans. Years ago in previous decades, this model of intervention was actually considered quite harsh by today’s standards and involved using indirect force on the addicted individual, (even forms of manipulation in fact), to usher the addict quickly and without argument into some form of treatment facility and consequently to rid him of his substance abuse behaviors of all degrees.
• This type of intervention is still used a lot today and it is immensely successful, but today those who use it use it with a little more restraint as it will often not work unless it is used on the right personality. For example, a sixteen year old girl who is smoking crack on the weekends would probably not respond well, but a sixty year olds veteran who had become a pain pill abuser would.
Confrontational Intervention: A Tried and True Intervention Model
There are many different types of intervention processes and procedures, and there exists this many because different addicted individuals will respond differently depending on their personalities, their age, their social status, and the substances that they are abusing and how long they have been abusing them for. If the circumstances are correct and estimated accurately, confrontational intervention is exactly what is needed to really drive home the point of a need for change and a need for sobriety and increased responsibility in your loved one’s life.