Drug and alcohol addiction are chronic conditions that must be treated professionally. Unfortunately, if your loved one is an addict, you know that they tend to avoid getting the help they need. Oftentimes, this is because they are afraid of change or do not know how to ask for help.
When your loved one is avoiding recovery, one of the best things you can do is stage an intervention. A drug and alcohol intervention is a meeting facilitated by a professional where you and the loved ones of your addicted family member gather together to convince them to attend treatment. These meetings use emotional appeal, positive pressure, and the support of the entire family to push your loved one to accept the help they need.
But how effective are drug and alcohol interventions? Do they really work? Keep reading to learn more about the efficacy of addiction interventions.
Why Do Addiction Interventions Work?
Addiction interventions are well-organized processes designed to break through your addicted loved one’s denial so they can recognize and change their self-destructive behaviors by going to rehab. Each person involved in the intervention will be prepped by planning out what to say, ensuring that their input will be positive and actually beneficial to the process.
Because of the intense planning that is put into an addiction intervention, this tactic is highly effective in convincing your loved one to attend drug and alcohol rehab.
Reasons why interventions work include:
Emotional Appeal
When you stage an intervention, all of your addicted loved one’s close family members and friends will be included in the process. Each one of you will work with a professional to write statements to read out loud to your addicted loved one. These statements are intended to be highly emotional, highlighting how your loved one’s addiction has affected each of their family members.
When your loved one hears these statements, they will be overcome with emotion. They will hear how each one of their family members supports them, believes in them, and wants them to get better. An emotional appeal of this size will be enough to convince your loved one that they need to seek help.
Positive Pressure
When your loved one is surrounded by their close family members and friends, they will experience something known as “positive peer pressure.” This is a type of peer pressure that results in a positive outcome, rather than the negative peer pressure you are probably familiar with.
Feeling the positive pressure from you and your family members will motivate them to get better and convince them that professional addiction treatment is what they need.
Solidarity in Support
Lastly, when your loved one is surrounded by all of the people they love and care about they will realize how much support they have. A huge aspect of addiction recovery is having a strong support system, so gathering with your family members and friends to convince your loved one to attend addiction treatment is highly effective.
Additionally, they will hear the statements that you and the other participants put together. These statements will be full of supportive language that helps them realize they have a strong support system to learn on throughout the recovery process, ensuring that they do not feel alone during a difficult and challenging time.
How Often Are Interventions Effective?
Interventions are one of the most effective methods of convincing an addicted loved one to go to rehab. Whether your loved one attends treatment in that instance or not, the seed has been planted. Showing your loved one that they can come to you for help when they are ready for treatment is a good outcome, even if they are not ready at the time of the intervention.
Additionally, the boundaries you and your family members will set with the addicted loved one will start to induce positive behavioral changes within the entire family. This means that even if they refuse treatment, they will have to change their negative behaviors to continue receiving support from you. As a result, they will move closer and closer to accepting the idea that rehab is the best option for them.
Important Ideas to Remember to Stage an Effective Intervention
The most important thing you can remember when staging an effective intervention is to hire an addiction interventionist. Interventions must be carefully thought out and well-planned to provide you with the results you want and help your loved one accept treatment. Having a professional to help you with the planning process will ensure that no mistakes are made.
Other important ideas to remember when staging an intervention include:
- Do a lot of research beforehand
- Seek intervention support by hiring a reputable professional
- Read reviews and testimonials from the professional interventionist you are using
- Think about who should participate and who should not
- Be prepared to set boundaries and uphold them
- Have an addiction treatment program ready to admit your loved one immediately after the intervention
- Write a script to keep your thoughts together
- Deliver your messages carefully and in a supportive tone
- Continue to provide support and uphold boundaries even if they refuse treatment
Get The Care You Need and Deserve
Woburn Addiction Treatment is a leader in the addiction treatment field, with proven success in facilitating long-term recovery. Our team of top clinical & medical experts specializes in treating addiction coupled with mental illness, ensuring that each person receives individualized care. Call us – we’re available 24/day, 7 days/week.
Find Drug and Alcohol Intervention Support Today
When your loved one is struggling with addiction, watching them continually refuse treatment can be difficult. The best way to get them the help they need is to stage an intervention to convince them to attend professional treatment.
Holding an intervention for a loved one is never easy. Between determining who should be present to planning what everyone will say, a lot goes into every intervention for addiction. The team at Woburn Addiction Treatment is here to help you organize and execute an intervention for your loved one who is addicted to drugs or alcohol. We work closely with Certified Intervention Professionals through our addiction treatment center near Boston, MA, so you can be sure you’re approaching the intervention in the best way possible.
Contact us today to learn more about helping your addicted loved one.
