Intervention Programs Provide Assistance to the Addict and the Entire Family

Intervention programs encompass more than the time it takes for a family to sit down with an addict or an alcoholic to persuade the individual to get appropriate treatment. Rather than thinking of them as an event, the individual's loved ones should have a broader view and realize that the intervention is really part of a lifelong process to help the addict get and stay well.

An intervention is only the first part of the process. A family can expect that it will take a couple of days. The family will state that the way things have been is no longer going to be allowed to continue. Once the family members are on board, the first step is for them to meet without the addict or alcoholic being present.

To encourage the individual to get the help he or she needs, the family must adopt different ways of relating to him or her. If all it took to get someone into treatment that really needed it was a concerned family member bringing up the issue, then there would be no need for an intervention. The addict's illness affects all of his or her family members, and unless the people closest to the addict are committed to helping him or her achieve and maintain sobriety, the process will fail.

A loving family who wants the best for the individual who has been abusing alcohol or another substance must be part of the solution. The addiction exists in the framework of the family, and each person in the unit has been affected by the addict's behavior. Intervention programs take this fact into account and recognize that for the addict to do well after completing a treatment program, his or her family and friends must be committed to helping to support the person's new sobriety.

During the initial family meeting all the attendees are told that the addict or alcoholic will need to go to a residential treatment facility. This type of program means that the addict can focus on his or her recovery without the distractions of the people and circumstances that can trigger a desire to use again. Not only does the addict need to go through a detoxification stage, but he or she must also get treatment that looks at the root of the addiction and deals with the underlying issues that gave rise to it.

A quality program that involves the family as well as the addict or alcoholic is an important step in the process of dealing with the addiction. The addict is the person with the issue, but the people close to him or her have also contributed to it. Changing behavior patterns so that the family members are no longer ignoring the addiction or feeding into it by enabling the addict is very important.

Family members may contact an interventionist when they have finally reached the end of their rope in dealing with the issue. By the time that point happens, there have been numerous occasions where the family members have talked to, pressured or threatened the addict to try to get him or her to change, but to no avail.

Unless the family unit is given the right help and support, the addiction treatment process is not going to be successful. Intervention programs are set up to help the family make the radical changes necessary so that everyone can move forward into a new phase of life that includes sobriety for the addict or alcoholic.