An intervention is an orchestrated attempt by family and friends to get a family member, friend, or loved one to seek help for an addiction or other similar problems. When one has tried everything possible to inspire or convince their loved one that they need help, but they will not admit into a program, an addiction intervention program is a successful tool in helping you help your loved one escape from the grips of denial, rationalization and projection.
By approaching them from a place of love and compassion, with help facilitated by a addiction interventionist, you will be helping them understand the problem that they have and that a treatment program is needed. Using a professional interventionist will not only ensure that you have taken the appropriate approach, but will also give you peace of mind knowing that you have expressed your love and concern in a professional, impacting, and very effective manner.
Addiction Intervention Process
An intervention is a very strategic process that must be facilitated and properly executed by an addiction intervention specialist to ensure desired results. In order to effectively perform a substance intervention, an intervention team will be established and then thoroughly prepared with the information required for attaining success. All parties involved will understand the purpose, process and techniques of the intervention.
- Alcohol and Substance Abuse: A Deadly DuoAlcohol and substance abuse is a dangerous combination. You need professional help in order to treat both addictions.
- User, Abuser, and Dependent: What's the Difference?User, abuser, and dependent. You've heard these words before in the context of alcohol addiction, drug addiction, or gambling addiction. What are their differences?
- Addiction DefinitionAddiction is also classified as a progressive disease. This means that the habit will only intensify as time goes on if nothing or nobody intervenes with the addiction.
- Intervention FAQsHere are some of the most common questions that families often ask about an intervention, whether for drug, alcohol, or substance addiction.
I have been clean for two years and was on anything and everything (mostly pain meds) for eight years! It is hard to explain to a drug addict that they will find a way to be happy again…even more happy than they were before they did drugs! When you are an active addict it is so hard to believe it and have hope of such a thing but it is very possible! That is what I always thought “I will never be as happy as I feel when I am high” but it is not true! I have dealt with all of the things that have led me to drugs in the first place and I can appreciate everything so much more than I did before! I always say everything happens for a reason! I think the biggest misconception of addiction is that a drug addict can just stop overnight and that it is an easy thing and it is a choice! If it was that easy nobody would become an addict in the first place…nobody decides when they are a child that they want to be a drug addict when they get older! It saddens me that people do not understand it and critisize addicts instead of try to help! I wish everybody writing in here luck in the positive outcomes they are seeking!!!
Hello my name is Marie. My husband had 3 operations on his back in 2011and 2012. He was given pain killers and did really we’ll for over a year and a half with them. His Dr decided it was time to tell him to find a pain clinic. So he found one and was very happy with them, until he liked the high he was getting from Oxy’s. Then for another year, he was taking them too quickly and found that he would be in serious pain after and would start drinking hard alcohol. Now, he doesn’t have a pain clinic because he has been kicked off because of the drinking. So he has resorted to having either alcohol or rubbing alcohol and I have to keep our money on me instead of the bank. A couple of weeks ago he almost died cuz of drinking 2 bottles of rubbing alcohol and was in icu with a tube in his throat for 2 and a 1/2 days then he was transported to a psych ward. He is such a good convincing dinner and convinced the staff he was in severe pain and would never do it again. He was supposed to go to intensive outpatient therapy, alas he hasn’t done it. He swears he will do it but then yesterday he went and got another bottle of booze. He is such a rude mean person but only mentally abusive thank you God. Now this morning, he started again on the rubbing alcohol right in front of me. I freaked! So he knocked the bottle into the sink. He had it hidden cuz I went thru the house and made sure all the rubbing alcohol was gone. Guess he went and bought some more. My daughter [his daughter] is so traumatized and he won’t talk to her about his depression and alcohol abuse and pain pill addiction. He tested me yesterday saying he wants to die. I don’t know what to do no hospital will keep him longer than the insurance company will allow and he just reverts every time cuz of the pain he goes thru. I worry that one of these days I won’t cone home in time to call paramedics and I will have to tell our kids and grand kids that dad or grampa is dead and you won’t be able to see him ever again. WE NEED HELP CUZ THE INSURANCE COMPANY WONT AND HE IS ON SSD AND I am along with my daughter that brings in the money. WE DONT HAVE MUCH TIME I THINK AND ARE SEVERELY DESPERATE. HELP US PLEASE
Hello I am So Concerned for my Dearest Closest Friend , she is 41 and continues to drink , her liver has been at dangerous levels and the doctor has told her several times to get help ~ She has been in treatments for only a month at a time and then she is released back to doing the same destructive pattern of drinking ~ please please please someone on this interventiontv please help Kelli ,
AA (alcoholics anonymous) can be a great starting place. and they also provide support, and resources, for both the addicted, and the family. Primarily it’s for the addicted, but they also are there for the family whos lives are impacted by their loved ones addiction to alcohol.
Addiction is not limited to just meds and drinking… SIB is another thing that can be addictive… especially for those who have the chemical release in the brain that can happen when this is done.. Can you reach out to a therapist? or local mental health center?
Hi my name is Chelsea now im 20 years old and since age 12 I have been battling anorexia and bulimia, now im currently anorexic but no one seems to think its a problem since im not super emaciated looking or anything, but its a demon in me that i struggle with every single day on a daily basis and its ruined every single aspect of my life, I also have a severe dependance to marijuana since 15 I need it every day just to unwind and get away from the eating disorder voice and thoughts in my head that are taunting me, when i cant smoke all i seem to think about is when ill get my next high. Whats worse is that the past 2 years i have also been snorting coke on and off as well, going on these binges then trying to steer away from it cold turkey, and every time i get off it i always relapse, i have also experimented with other drugs like hash, crack, oxycodone, ecstacy and speed as well. My own bf isnt aware of what kind of drugs i actually tried in my life, neither do my friends or family.
Hi my name is kalee. My boyfriend is suffering with the addiction of heroin, suboxene, blues, and any other drugs he can get his hands on. We thought that he would change when he went to jail but that never happen. Nothing is working and we honestly don’t know what to do, he says he wants to be clean but I honestly don’t believe it. He says he is clean and then I look at his arms and he has multiple needle marks on his arms. I don’t know what to do anymore and nor does his mom. We have been together for a little more then 6 months and he is only 18 and is hard into drugs I’m scared that if he doesn’t get help now things will only get worse. Can someone please help and give me some advice.
How can I apply to set up an intervention for my daughter? I am so scared for her. I am an addict, in recovery, who gave her and her sister up to their dad when my addiction got in the way of caring for them. My recovery has taken years, and I will be the first to admit I will always have an addictive personality. My oldest daughter is doing great, and she continues to teach me every day about myself, and teaches me better ways to relate to her. I feel we have a good relationship now, considering all we have been through.
My youngest daughter is addicted to meth, and my oldest daughter has told me that my addicted daughter is also diagnosed bipolar. She recently lost custody of her children, ages 2 and twins that are just about 1 year old. My oldest daughter has custody of the 2 year old, and her dad and step mom have custody of the twins. My addicted daughter just had emergency surgery for abdominal abcesses inside. She even left the hospital AMA one night, to I’m sure go get high, and then came back the next morning. She tells me she is living without power, heat, food, or anything. I offered her to come stay with me, as I am in another state. I would getc her into treatment and away from what she knows. Now my oldest daughter is mad at me for this. She thinks her sister has had enough help, but I want to offer help until she gets it. This is my cry out to the universe to help my daughter not be like me.
Im not sure were I go to try to get an intervention for my mom. Im scared and would love for her to get help b4 letting her in my life. I am 27 yrs old and when I was 2 my dad won custody of me and my sister and brother due to my mother not showing up to court. I was always told she was passed out and didnt wake up on time. She gave up and never faught. My dad took us to make a better life for us. He worked 3 jobs at times to support us. When I was 11 my sister contacted my mom and my mother said she was clean and have been for 3 years so my dad allowed her to visit. My younger brother dicided he wanted to go back to cali with her.. I was shocked and devistated… I called everyday I got scared bc our talks became distant and weve always been close.. I then asked if I could go see my mom and brother to so at 11 I got on a plane by myself from minnisota to cali. When I got there it all became a blur.. the next thing I remember is waking up in the same cloths a week later.. I dont even remember the whole ride to her house.. she said I was just sick from the climate change.. that I slept the whole time I remember looking at me sad.. but then it was like everything was normal for a while.. but soon I started realizing my mother was drinking ALOT I mean cases a day.. beng drinking. I asked what was going on. She said its just beer no biggy. Soon she begun spirling out of control.. sleeping with all sorts of men acting and saying she had a demon in her that takes over and one night I woke up to her with a night up to my brothers throat.. and being 11 I knew I had to fight or he was going to die.. I faught her off grabbed my brother and ran as fast as we could.. I took him to a friends house the man who looked out for us due to the fact my brother might have possibly been his. So I left him there..I knew hed be safe and to keep my mom away I returned. She begged and said she was sorry.. I then stayed in hopes to get intouch with my father for help. Being 12 then and watching my mother start smoking weed..to then harder drugs I even watched her prostitute for money for drugs. It got so bad she wasnt feeding me and I was becoming weak.. it got so bad I walked in on her shooting up.. she was so high out her mind she was in functional I in resault I went and dug in a dumpster for food. Before to long I was rushed to the hospital with sever dehydration and malnutrition. … she lied and said I wouldnt eat.. I spent 2 weeks on I.v.s and my arms strapped down.. soon I was released and finally was able to contact my father… at 12 yrs old I went home only 92 lbs… I dont know how I made it..I prayed for her everyday since.. and I am so greatful we made it. In 2007 my brother passed away… it broke me..as I watched my sister call to tell my mom..I felt she had no right to know…the calls were felled..I was so releaved. But with noone seeing my mom the suspishion if she still lived grew and my sister searched.. and found her.. she again says shes clean but only has a few beers now just to keep her alive…. however.. to me I cant believe its safe bc a few beers is to many. I have a son now and will be damned if I let her get close knowing she still drinks..so pls id love to get her help bc I cant fight this battle of her back in our lives… I fear for my familys life..
I lost my oldest son 4 years 1month and 26 days ago. He was with me 25 years 6 months and 13 days. Since his death my other 2 sons are a mess. 1 is a combat veteran with PTSD and turned to drugs the other just turned to drugs. I guess this is their way of coping with their loss. I have tried to help but now I’m just angry. We all went thru the same tragedy. My fear is I’m going to bury another child if not both. I’m sure I don’t know all the drugs they are on but I’m not stupid, we all know. They are now 26 & 28. They have both done a 30 day program but they need help. I need them to be ok I can’t bury another child. I could make a list of the drugs I know about but that list is the ones everyone has mentioned. My family needs help to put us back together even though we are missing one. We can’t even have family dinners or pictures because it’s too hard knowing one of us is gone. PTSD and the loss is the root of the problem but now I think they just like being high. I managed to pull myself thru the best I can but it still feels like yesterday. I don’t have the strength left to deal with their drug problems and all that goes with it trying to keep myself together and have my career. I’ve put everything into helping them and didn’t have someone to get me thru. I have found my peace by getting involved in some charities and changing my career to something I have a passion for. I needed to feel something besides pain and I want my children to be able to do the same. I still have walls and don’t let many people inside my world but yet in my career I deal with people. My family needs help, all of us for different reasons. My boys are addiction, mine is grief and loss and how to learn to be happy (if I’m truly happy that means I let go of my grief and that’s what I hold onto to hold onto my son. I have been diagnosed with PTSD but I can function at work because the only person I have is me.. My daughter is a lot like me that way and it’s not healthy. Is there some kind of family help out there? I don’t have the financial resources for us, I’m single and there is no father in the picture at all, just me. I just can’t do this anymore and I want my grandsons to have a good and healthy childhood. That is the basics of my story but there are a lot more details. We don’t live in an area that has a lot of help. I just want to put what’s left of my family back together and have my kids healthy, happy and to live their lives to the fullest. I know the son I lost would want his family to get thru this. He was such a good person and so full of life. He was military also. I have tried the resources thru the military but I’ve given up on that. Please if anyone reads this and has any ideas or knows of programs I would love to talk to you.. ~ thank you JJ