For most people, dealing with a family member who has a drug and/or alcohol problem is a daunting task. There are so many questions and concerns that can consume the process, making a final decision on anything seem impossible. If the situation warrants an intervention, there are even more questions one has to answer, the main one being if the family should conduct the intervention on their own, or if they should hire a professional interventionist.
The main benefit to hiring a professional interventionist is that they come with a lot of experience. This means that they have dealt with addicts who refuse, who get violent or who get angry. They have dealt with addict who say they will go and then change their minds. They have dealt with all sorts of treatment facilities and likely know which one is a good fit for your loved one. And most importantly, they know how to conduct a successful intervention.
Interventionists Also Help the Family
The first thing to understand is that, while the ultimate goal of an intervention is to get the addict into treatment, the intervention itself is also designed to help the family members of the addict. This is because as the addict has been using, the family members and those closest to the addict have been the ones to feel the destruction of the addiction. They have been abandoned, lied to, ignored, hurt or tricked in many ways as the addict has sought out and used their drug of choice. In order to successfully intervene upon someone, the addict has to understand that those behaviors are no longer tolerated. An interventionist’s first goal is to help the people in the addict’s life realize what they have been allowing to occur and how the addict is really treating them. Once this is achieved, the addict no longer has those types of emotional holds on the family.
A professional interventionist is trained in dealing with all sorts of situations that come up in an intervention. But most importantly, they do not have any history with the addict. This means that the addict is less likely to be combative with the interventionist or attempt to manipulate or charm them into agreeing that treatment is not needed. An intervention should be a process where the addict feels love from those closest to them, but also feels the gravity of the situation and what exactly is at stake. The interventionist is there to ensure that this occurs.
When determining which intervention company to hire, there are some key points that should be kept in mind. First, make sure that the interventionist is aware of the treatment center already picked out. If there is not a treatment center picked out interventionists should be prepared to suggest a few that would be a good fit for the addict.
Choosing a Treatment Center for the Intervention
This is an important step because an intervention should never be done unless the treatment center has been chosen and a bed is waiting for the addict. Next, an interventionist should accompany the addict to treatment. This extremely important point helps to ensure that the addict will not have a change of mind as the travel to the chosen facility or encounter any sort of medical situation without a chaperone. The interventionist should also have paperwork for the family to fill out that states what they are expecting to have happen at the intervention and what they are paying for. This is to protect both parties and any professional interventionist will have this protection in place.
