With addiction and substance abuse in general being so prolific and so widespread and so unfortunately common and all-encompassing, it becomes necessary to really buckle down and study different intervention methods when you are considering trying to help out a family member or loved one who is addicted and who is abusing drugs and alcohol. There currently exist multiple different intervention methods for the reason of being able to offer such methods to different people who are addicted and struggling in different ways. The whole idea here is that different approaches will work for different people, depending on various factors. It’s up to the family members and loved ones to study the addict and his or her personality, and to then compare it to different intervention methods to try and discern which method or technique will be the best of them all.
One of the first things to get out of the way is to figure out whether or not one would like to approach the addict with a direct type of intervention or an indirect one. The two are like night and day, so it is key to get this figured out first before proceeding.
Direct Intervention
This is the classic intervention method, and it is basically what everyone thinks of when they think of intervention. A direct intervention is a very old, been around forever, tried-and-true, proven method that originated in the 1960s through the work of Dr. Vernon Johnson, and it’s been memorialized in countless movies, television shows, books, and plays since that time. It is classic, it is iconic, and it is workable. In fact, this type of intervention has been shown so many times and displayed in mainstream media so much that almost anyone could describe how it works even if they have no experience or history with addiction whatsoever.
Here’s how it breaks down:
1. In essence, a family holding a classic, direct intervention holds a series of private meetings with a certified interventionist, and they develop a script for the talk, (the talk being the future discussion with the addict).
2. These concerned family members then each individually outline why the addiction is an issue, and they develop consequences that will befall the addicted person if he/she refuses to get help for the addiction issue at the end of the intervention.
3. These planning sessions can be difficult indeed, but they must be pushed through if success is to be had. Interventionists can sometimes help the individual members of the intervention to overcome these concerns by reminding them that, if nothing is done, then the addict will simply continue on with his or her deadly and dangerous habits indefinitely.
4. The next step is to actually confront the addict, have each individual speak to him or her, and to try to convince him or her to go to rehab.
Indirect Intervention
An indirect intervention is not as common and has not been around for as long, but it is still effective and it is still quite beneficial. This method strives to help the addicted person to heal by also helping the family to heal all as one. This is a much more relaxed, more loving, more “chilled out” type of intervention. The family essentially works with a specialist and learns more about the addiction itself and exactly how they can communicate about addiction with the person that they love and how they can slowly and surely nudge them in the direction of getting help for their addiction crisis once and for all. The addicted person can attend any and all meetings the family has with the therapist too, but the family continues to obtain help, even if the addicted person chooses not to respond to the help. It is sort of a, “We are all going to heal and get better whether you want to or not,” type of mindset that the family members and loved ones adopt, and it is quite effective and beneficial.
Addressing Addiction
The key factor to remember is that any method of intervention is better than no method at all. Intervention works best when the right type of intervention is applied on the right individual, but truthfully any intervention at all will be better than none. The important part to remember is to stay brave, to stay resolute, and to keep working at it with the addict until you get as good result from it. In the end, you will be more than happy that you put the effort in even if it initially appears to be a lot more trouble than it is worth at first.
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