How to Do an Intervention with an Addict or Alcoholic

Organizing an intervention is not a trivial matter.

If you have a loved one or a family member or close friend who is out of control with drugs and alcohol, then it might be time to take a look at organizing a formal intervention.

Many people have seen the television show by the same name. Watching an intervention on TV is one thing, but of course this is real life and you don't want things to go badly, and you are already dealing with a difficult situation. So here are some things for you to consider if you are thinking about putting together a formal intervention:

1. Don't just rush into it.

This is something you want to consider carefully before you jump right into it. Consider the fact that most drug addicts and alcoholics feel a bit alienated, and a formal intervention is likely to push them away in some cases. In other words, your carefully staged intervention could backfire on you in a big way, and result in even more bitterness and distance than what you might already be experiencing.

Therefore you will want to think carefully before going through with your plan. A series of informal interventions should be attempted long before you ever get to this planning stage. In other words, you should try to verbally convince the loved one to get help or seek treatment in an informal setting. This should be attempted several times by various people before a formal intervention is ever attempted.

2. Define the goal

The first thing you want to do is to define the goal of the intervention. What do you want the addict or alcoholic to do? What action do you want them to take? What commitment would you like to see them make?

Some examples of these goals: "We want you to check into the treatment center downtown tomorrow morning," or "We want you to commit to long term treatment at the halfway house that you lived at last year." Notice how these are nice and specific, with no wiggle room.

An example of a poor intervention goal would be: "We want you to promise that you'll never drink again." Notice how that goal ambiguous and doesn't answer the "how" of getting clean and sober. It is just another empty promise from the addict or alcoholic.

3. Planning

You want to think a couple steps ahead, if possible. What if the person agrees to go to treatment? Do you have arrangements made in advance? Is it possible to make arrangements in advance? With some treatment centers it definitely is possible, so do some calling around and talk to the admissions people and get a feel for how you could arrange things.

Obviously the best case scenario is to have an open spot waiting for them at a treatment center. Sometimes this is not always possible. It might be worth calling around and being patient a bit so that you can find a way to arrange a spot for them somewhere. It doesn't do much good to get them to agree to seek help if you don't have any help lined up for them.

Worry less about the quality of the treatment center and simply pray that the person is ready to take a look at their life and make a change. If they are truly ready for recovery, then the quality of the treatment center is almost irrelevant. There is no magic bullet. Just get them in somewhere and that is half the battle. The rest is up to them.

Of course there is a lot more to actually carrying out the intervention in a loving and non-threatening way so that the addict is most likely to agree to seek help. There is definitely a fine line and it is a bit of an art to show someone that you love them enough to step in and try to save their life by convincing them to get help. The chances that they will agree to go to treatment might very well depend on how everyone presents themselves in the actual intervention.