Clinically Reviewed by
Dr. Olalekan Otulana (Advanced Practitioner)
All information on this page has been reviewed and verified by a certified addiction professional.
Last Reviewed: 20th June 2022
Addictions are very serious conditions and may require professional intervention followed by evidence-based treatments in a rehab centre in order to overcome them. Many people experiencing addiction will refuse to admit that they have a problem with drugs or alcohol and so will not seek treatment, even though they definitely need it. This is where the intervention will come in.
If you’re not familiar with interventions or if you know someone who is suffering from an addiction and you want to find out more about interventions, read on to find out everything you need to know about what an intervention is, how to stage your own intervention and the keys to a successful intervention.
An intervention is a controlled type of supportive communication that is designed to help break through a loved one’s wall of denial about their addiction. When an intervention is successful, it helps to motivate those experiencing addiction to seek professional treatment. Many rehab centres can help with the process of interventions through a social worker. They can give you advice on how to conduct your own intervention, or they can put you in touch with an intervention counsellor who can take the lead in the intervention.
An intervention is a constructive way to help your family member or friend with their addiction. When you get involved in the process of an intervention, you will be showing your genuine concern for your friend or family member’s health and welfare. This is often enough to help motivate those struggling with addiction to realise that they do need help and to start the process of recovery.
Interventions are very useful when you have a friend or family member who is suffering from an addiction. If this person is refusing to seek treatment for their addiction, interventions can be very effective in helping to open the person’s eyes. The intervention can help them realise just how much their addiction is affecting their health, wellbeing, and the lives of those people around them.
Bringing friends and family members together in this way can be quite a powerful way to express the message to the person, and it makes it much more likely that the person will end up listening to what is being said to them. This experience can often result in addicts accepting the messages from their loved ones and agreeing to go to a rehab centre to get the help they need to overcome their addiction.
An addiction intervention will consist of the person attending a pre-arranged meeting with their family and friends. This is often unbeknownst to the addict until they arrive at the scene of the intervention.
Every family member or friend will need to write a speech directed toward the individual. This speech is read out loud at the intervention. The letters should typically aim to express how much the person means to them, the effect that their actions and addiction are having on them, a description of how they want the relationship to work moving forward, and asking them to accept the proposed addiction treatments that are being put before them.
Before you stage an intervention, you must take the time to prepare in full. You have to be completely ready to stage the intervention. Be sure that all of the attendees know their role in the intervention so that everything runs smoothly.
Below is a list of steps that may help you run a more successful addiction intervention:
When conducting an intervention, there are several things that you should keep in mind if you want the intervention to be a success. These include the following:
The point of an intervention is not to accuse the person or place blame on them. Instead, the point is to show compassion, genuine concern, and support. You need to make sure you go into the intervention with the right type of attitude if you want it to be a success. You need to encourage and motivate those struggling with addiction rather than scare them away.
Preparation is key when it comes to addiction interventions. It’s very helpful to have a rehearsal before the intervention with everyone present. That way, you can practice the order in which things will be said, and this can help ensure everything runs smoothly on the day. Make sure everyone has what they want to say written down on paper. This will help to prevent the person from being overcome with emotion and saying things they don’t mean or things that may not help in the intervention.
The intervention should end by giving your loved one an opportunity to make a choice. This choice should be met with some consequences. For example, if the person does choose to attend rehab for an addiction treatment programme, you should offer your support or maybe offer to pay for it if you have the means to do so. If the person refuses to go through with the treatment plan, you should set some limits on things. For example, refuse them access to finances so that they can’t feed their addiction or explain to them that you can’t see them anymore if they continue with their addiction. These should all be actions of love.
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Raffa manages the day to day caring services here at Cassiobury Court. Dedicated to the treatment and well being of our visitors she is an outstanding mental health coach registered with BAAT (British Association of Art Therapists). Raffa has outstanding experience in managing rehabs across the country and is vastly experienced at helping people recover from drug and alcohol addictions.
Dr. Olalekan Otulana MBChB, DRCOG, MRCGP, DFSRH, FRSPH, MBA (Cantab)
Dr Otulana is a highly experienced GP and Addiction Physician. He has a specialist interest in Substance Misuse Management and he has a wide range of experience in the assessment, management (including detoxification) and residential rehabilitation of clients with various drug and substance addiction problems. His main aim is to comprehensively assess patients with addiction problems and determine their treatment needs for medical detoxification treatments and psychological interventions. He is also experienced in managing patients who require dual drug and alcohol detoxification treatments.
A strong healthcare services professional with a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree from Cambridge University Judge Business School.
