Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Planning
• Method 2 of 3: The intervention
• Method 3 of 3: The aftermath of the intervention
• Tips
• Warnings

If someone close to you is addicted to drugs, gambling or alcohol, it can help to organize an intervention. People who are addicted often deny that they have a problem. During an intervention, you gather all friends and family and a professional to share with the person how their addiction has affected their life and the bond you have with them.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Planning

1. Consult a professional. To increase the success rate, you should always consult a professional who can guide the family through the process and increase the chances of the intervention being successful. You can consult the professional in advance to go through and plan everything. You can also invite him to attend and assist in the intervention if one of the following is the case:
   • The person in question has (had) mental health problems.
   • The person may be reacting aggressively to an intervention.
   • The person has exhibited suicidal behavior at one time or another.
2. Form an intervention team. This should consist of about 5 to 6 people who the person in question respects. The parents, brother (s) / sister (s), other family members and best friends are good candidates for this. Invite people who have suffered under the influence of the person's addiction. It is important to invite people who can be trusted in difficult times and in the future, as an intervention is the first step on a long journey.
   • Do not invite people who do not trust the person in question. The person you want to help may get angry and leave and it is likely that the person will not want to seek help anymore.
   • Don't invite people who might get too emotional or defend the person. If the addict has a good relationship with his sister but she always supports him in his addiction and defends him against everyone, there is no point in inviting her.
   • If you think someone should be present but he or she keeps disrupting the intervention, don't invite him or her, but have them send a letter for someone to read.
3. Find a good treatment plan. A treatment plan is an important part of an effective intervention. It's not enough just to tell someone they have a problem and need to quit their addiction. Make sure you have a treatment plan ready for the addict to get started on right away.
   • The treatment plan should include a number of ways in which the addict can get help to overcome their addiction. This may mean that the addict has to go to rehab, undergo psychotherapy, or undergo some other treatment. Professionals decide what is best in such situations. Find out in advance what steps are required to get someone into an institution, and what you need to do in advance. You may also need to figure out how you're going to get this funded.
   • Prepare a list of support groups that the addict can volunteer for. You can also offer to bring the addict here.
   • Make sure you have a plan to check if the addict actually went to the clinic. If it is a hospital in which the addicts will be admitted, you must plan in advance how you will take the addict there. If it is a clinic that does not house people, you must appoint someone to take the addict to the clinic and someone to pick up the addict.
4. It was decided for consequences to be attached to the addict's behavior in the future. Each person who will be present at the intervention must consider consequences that come into play when the addict does not adhere to the treatment plan. This is difficult, but everyone must be willing to change to help this person make a fresh start. The goal is for the addict to realize that their behavior will no longer be tolerated. This will make it more difficult to maintain this behavior.
   • If family members occasionally let the addict sleep at their home or even give them money, you must tell them that this is no longer allowed.
   • The people closest to the addict may have to divorce (if they are married to the addict) or change their relationship with the addict in some other way.
   • Consider legal action. Consider whether you should still pick up the addict when they are in a prison somewhere else. Make sure that the addict understands that you are not going to pick them up or provide other help that will allow them to maintain their behavior.
5. Choose a location and a time. When you have fully planned the intervention, you must choose a date, location and a time for everyone to attend. Choose a place where the addict feels safe, such as in someone's home. Each person attending the intervention should be aware of the importance of this and make sure they arrive on time. A late arrival is disruptive.
6. Practice beforehand. An intervention can be very emotional, so it is useful to practice beforehand. It is very important that everything runs smoothly during an intervention, and if practiced beforehand, this increases the chance that everyone will say what they want to say when the time comes. If your intervention is led by a professional, this person should help you practice and plan the intervention.
   • Communicate openly with each other and note in advance how the addict's behavior affected you and others. Gather facts about the addict and make sure that everyone participating in the intervention keeps it secret and does not talk about it afterwards.
   • List behaviors that will no longer be tolerated. Next to each behavior, list what you will do if the addict continues to do so.
   • Write out what you want to say in advance and make sure everyone else does. It is not necessary to memorize everything, it is not a performance. The important thing is to say everything you want to say without deviating too much from what you wrote down beforehand.
   • Make sure you are prepared for how the addict will respond and know in advance how you are going to respond to this. If the addict is very defensive or angry, everyone should be able to deal with it without derailing the intervention.

Method 2 of 3: The intervention

1. Invite the addict without telling them what for to prevent them from showing up. It's crucial that you don't tell the addict in advance that you want to have an intervention or they probably won't come. Come up with a plan so that you can get the addict to the place they want without them knowing what's going to happen. For example, you can invite them to dinner at someone's house, or have them invited by a friend.
   • Make sure your plan isn't too suspicious. Ask the addict to do something you would normally ask them to do.
   • Everyone must already be in the room where intervention will be held at that time. When the addict arrives, immediately state why everyone is present and start the intervention.
2. Make sure everyone has their say. Make sure that everything is the same as during the exercise. Get everyone off and have everyone say their prepared piece. If a professional has been invited, he can lead the intervention. Allow everyone to explain how the addict's actions have negatively affected their lives and how much they love the addict and how much they want everything to be improved.
   • Yelling and other angry or confrontational behavior is discouraged as it gives the addict an excuse to walk away. People must keep their angry feelings to themselves if they want the intervention to be successful.
   • It's good when people can express their emotions. It is good if they can express their sadness and hope for the addict. This can cause the addict to seek help.
   • Avoid the mood being too light because you are doing something serious.
3. Present the treatment plan you created. When everyone has had their turn, the leader of the group must explain the treatment plan to the addict. Make sure the addict understands that this treatment plan is the result of much preliminary work and research and is recommended by experts and endorsed by all attendees. Ask the addict whether or not they want to implement this plan.
   • Discuss what will happen if the addict declines the offer. It should be understood that there are negative consequences of declining the offer.
   • Know that the addict may get angry or cry or laugh at everyone. Always emphasize the seriousness of the situation and do not let yourself be discouraged.
4. End the intervention with concrete steps. As soon as the intervention is over, the addict must start treatment. This could mean taking the addict to a clinic where they can kick the habit or begin therapy. Make sure the addict makes a promise to complete the treatment and will do anything to avoid relapse.

Method 3 of 3: The aftermath of the intervention

1. Support the addict if they choose to seek treatment. It may take a while before you can judge whether the treatment has been successful or not. Even if the treatment initially appears to have been successful, it can take a long time for the situation to feel stable and familiar again. Make the addict feel supported during this difficult time. It is important that all people who participated in the intervention do the same and ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible.
   • Many people are quite cynical and negative during the healing process, they complain about the clinic, the therapist, the other members in the support group, etc. However, never convince yourself and make sure they complete the treatment. Resist the temptation to feel sorry as this can weaken the addict's resilience.
   • Never accept half measures. The addict may try to convince you that they are already cured after two weeks of treatment or that they think three therapy sessions a week is too much. Make sure the addict adheres to the treatment plan approved by professionals. Half measures hardly ever work.
2. Be prepared that the addict is unlikely to accept help at first. The addict will deny and get angry and decide not to go to a clinic. Since you cannot force anyone to treat themselves, you have to wait until the addict is ready. All you can do is encourage the addict to stick to the treatment plan and make it clear that you will always help them through the healing process.
   • Even if the person declines treatment, this does not mean that the intervention has been futile. The addict now knows that the family thinks they have a big problem.
   • By discussing these issues openly, you ensure that the family does not continue to fuel the addiction.
3. Do what you said by indeed linking consequences to the addict's behavior. It can be painful, but it is important that the addict's actions actually have consequences if they choose to continue their life as usual. If you do nothing and just see it as before the intervention, the intervention has indeed made no sense. Until the addict has mastered his addict, there is always a chance of a relapse. In that case, it is best to cut off all money flows to the addict, and break with the addict or do anything else that will affect the addict's life and possibly cause the addict to return. continues on the right path.
   • If there is another crisis later, you can make use of it. For example, if the addict ends up in prison or hospital, you can use that experience to illustrate why the addict needs help. A second intervention can also help.
   • Always remember to help the addict heal. Sometimes family and friends have to sit and watch an addict hurt themselves for a long time before they get the help they need.

Tips

• Listen to what the addict has to say but don't agree. Keep explaining why you think the addict has a problem. Never let yourself be talked about. Allow each person to say what they think while looking the addict in the eye.
• This can be painful for the family and it may seem like everyone has conspired against the addict, but this is less painful than the addict dying or getting into serious trouble because of their addiction.
• You can also use this best with children / teenagers who never want to listen and grow up for gallows and rad. However, you must apply this appropriately, you should not make an elephant out of a mosquito.
• This is a commonly used method by many famous people. Betty Ford's children used an intervention to convince her to seek treatment for her alcoholism. Eventually she started the Betty Ford Center (a well-known American rehab) because of this.
• Addicts often choose to be treated in a clinic rather than accept the consequences of their behavior. Don't let them put this off, though!

Warnings

• Before taking any action, consult lawyers to make sure you cannot be charged with kidnapping or unlawful deprivation of liberty.
• Make sure that the person's addiction is severe enough and that the addict's behavior is causing more harm to others than the intervention is to the addict.
• Denial doesn't always mean an addict is lying, some addicts are telling the truth when they say they have everything under control. However, be self-critical and honest, and consider if the addict is actually doing you harm or if this is more about control.
• Notice the addict's mental state. For safety reasons (for both the addict and the other people present) an intervention can only be performed when the addict is not high.