For those who are addicted to substances, they may not know where to turn when they realize that they need help. They may have committed family members and friends who want to help, but none of them know exactly what they should be doing to move forward. If you are ready to quit, you may very well realize that you have a hard road ahead of you. There is help out there if you seek it out. Look in to conducting an intervention for yourself or for a family member who needs to quit their addiction. This guide will help cover some of the basic information you need to know about setting up an initial intervention session soon.
The first thing to realize is that there are several different levels of intervention that you may want to try out. The right intervention for you may depend on your overall willingness to actually quit the substance once and for all. There are some people out there who have realized the debilitating role that addiction can play. It can ruin your career, your finances and the relationships you have with others. Unfortunately, there are also some people who haven’t yet come to terms with the fact that they are addicted to a substance. Interventions can be designed for those who fall anywhere on the spectrum between these two types of people.
If you or your family would like to stage an intervention, it may be best to hire the services of a professional counseling team. There are agencies out there with trained staff who have dealt with intervention strategies before this. They may have dealt with cases much like yours in the past, so they can bring a good deal of experience to the table. Talk to them ahead of time and they will likely be able to work out a plan of action. A good intervention will usually be a team effort, so it will take time to properly arrange. You will want to get as many committed people on board as possible, because they will be your support structure in the first few weeks of the process.
There are also many different environments in which the intervention will take place. For many, this intervention could happen in the home setting. This could be a good choice for addicted individuals who are likely to comply with the terms of the treatment method. It is also comforting to receive this kind of intervention in their own home. It should be set up in an non-threatening way, so it doesn’t feel like the person is being accused of anything. This can be a chance for family members to express their love for the person, as well as to talk about how they think the addiction has affected all of their lives. Sometimes it is important for the addicted person to see just how damaging these substances can be for the lives of everyone involved.
Another option may be to stage the intervention at a treatment center. This may need to be used in case the addicted individual is unlikely to want to quit, but feels that they ought to consider it. These treatment centers may even be the place where they will spend their first few weeks off of their substance. This can be a dramatic way to stage an intervention, so steps should likely be taken to reduce the stress it may cause. The family should be present and willing to participate if possible. The intervention team should also be willing to discuss treatment options and explain why they think these measures are necessary.
Some individuals may be quite resistant to the idea of quitting at first. They may not want to agree that they even have a problem that needs to be addressed. If this is the case, it may be worthwhile to gather some compelling evidence of their substance addiction. If they have been arrested for the substance in the past, you could talk about how they would not want to get another arrest on their record. You may also want to talk about the implications of their substance abuse on their careers and families.
In all, the intervention should be a coordinated team effort that concentrates on providing the help that an addicted individual needs. These interventions should not be the time to lash out at one another or make accusations. Rather, they should just present a calm and considerate case for why the person should take the first few steps they need to quit their addiction once and for all.
