How to Plan an Intervention that Will Help Your Loved One

Planning an intervention can be a daunting task, especially if you have never done anything like it before. Friends and family members of addicts can make a difference in helping their loved ones stop abusing drugs and attend treatment, and this is where interventions often come in. Below are tips for planning the type of meeting which will be most helpful to your loved one.

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Invite Helpful Individuals

You will want to invite around five to eight people (friends, significant others, or family members) to participate in your loved one’s intervention. It is best to choose people who

  • Your loved one trusts and has respect for
  • Will not become overly emotional or accusatory
  • Have known the individual for several years or longer
  • Want to see a change in the person’s behavior

If you invite someone and they tell you they cannot attend, they can write a letter to be read by someone else at the intervention. Certain people should be excluded if they will not positively affect the situation. This is not a time to worry about hurt feelings; it is a time to consider your loved one and what is best for their recovery.

Be Thorough

addiction intervention strategies

An intervention can help you help your loved one find recovery.

Don’t just ask the addicted individual’s close friends and family members to show up at a specific time and hope that, when everyone speaks from the heart, your loved one will accept their feelings. The best way to create the type of intervention that actually helps people is to plan out every step, including what everyone will say, what treatment you think the individual should attend, and what the consequences should be if they do not follow through.

  • Have the people you invite to the intervention write prepared statements to help avoid the possibility of it turning into an argument. Ask them to read these statements at the intervention word for word.
  • According to the NIDA, “Trying to locate appropriate treatment for a loved one, especially finding a program tailored to an individual’s particular needs, can be a difficult process.” Make sure you do all the work this entails before the intervention starts so you can provide the individual with solutions. Also you should know exactly how the individual will get to the treatment center as well as how the treatment will be paid for.
  • Giving your loved one consequences, should they refuse to get help, can show how serious you are and how much thought you put into what you’re telling them.

Be Prepared for All Possible Outcomes

Your loved one may respond to their intervention well and realize that it is time for them to make a change. In this instance, it is important for you to get them to treatment right away, and you should be prepared to take them to a facility directly after the intervention. However, some individuals attempt to laugh off their interventions or become angry. If this is the case, it is important for you to stand firm and implement any consequences you have indicated to them.

Planning a helpful intervention for a loved one isn’t easy, but by being thorough and serious, you can better ensure its success.

For help finding treatment call 800-895-1695 toll free anytime.

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