If someone you love is experiencing issues with addiction, it may be time to stage an intervention. However, most people haven’t experienced an intervention before. Therefore, they do not know how to stage an intervention. If you go about staging an intervention the wrong way, your friend or family member could become resistant.
Sometimes it’s less about how to stage an intervention and more about how to stage an effective intervention. Here’s what you need to know.
The Importance of Staging an Intervention
In the past, you may have discussed your loved one’s harmful behavior with them. You may have even told them they need to quit, or that they meet the symptoms of alcohol addiction. But you probably found all your words landing on deaf ears.
It’s extremely hard for someone with an addiction to recognize that they have one. Addiction is inherently difficult to self-diagnose. It warps a person’s perception.
Interventions are useful because they force people to face undeniable evidence that their addiction is out of control. During an intervention, they are given examples of their behavior and are confronted by a large group of their friends and family.
Mostly, an intervention makes it harder for an individual to deny that they have a problem. But, with all that in mind, most people don’t know how to stage an intervention on the fly.
How to Stage an Intervention
Staging an intervention takes work. First, you need to decide whether the time is right. Is your loved one truly addicted? Has their addiction started impacting themselves and the people around them? Do others feel as though they are addicted?
Next, you need to create a group of people who believe that your loved one needs an intervention. This group should be filled with people who genuinely want to help and who have been a victim of your loved one’s behavior or have observed your loved one’s behavior.
Usually, an intervention is filled with close friends and family. Once the group has been created, it’s time to talk about your feelings and rehearse what you’re going to say. Ensure that everyone writes down what they want to say, so they don’t freeze up later on. Concentrate on tangible things, such as things your loved one did that hurt others.
Ideally, this will trigger a moment of clarity.
How Not to Stage an Intervention
Now that you know how to stage an intervention, it’s time to learn how not to. Here are some classic “don’ts” of staging an intervention.
- Don’t be accusatory. You are discussing ways that your loved one’s addiction has harmed you. By doing so, you are helping them come to a realization.
- Don’t include people who may be overly emotional, or who may not be on your side. An emotional family member may make the confrontation too dramatic and may prompt your loved one to leave.
- Don’t confront them when they are under the influence. Not only may they not retain anything from the intervention, but they may also react negatively due to the substances.
- Don’t go in without practicing beforehand. If you haven’t written down what you’re going to say, you will likely forget something or not be able to make your point. It’s easy for someone to argue with someone who isn’t well-prepared.
- Don’t drag the intervention on too long. Everyone should say their piece, and then the intervention can end. By dragging it on too long, it can start to feel more like a punishment than an opportunity for help.
Not every intervention will work the first time, but that doesn’t mean that staging an intervention isn’t important. You may need to have multiple interventions, or you may need to wait to see the effects of your intervention later on.
Serenity House Detox & Recovery
While everyone will find their way on their own time, an intervention at the very least shows your loved one that you care about them and that you aren’t alone in noticing the changes that are happening to them. It is exceedingly rare for individuals to recover and heal from addiction to drugs or alcohol on their own. Like any disease, addiction requires professional support to help them make a lasting recovery. The counselors and therapists at Serenity House Detox & Recovery offer comprehensive and customized therapeutic services for all our clients. This makes sure their unique needs are met. Some therapies include:
- Group Therapy Program
- Individual Therapy Program
- Meditation Therapy Program
- Nutrition Therapy Program
- Talk Therapy Program
- Trauma Therapy
- Yoga Therapy
Once you stage an intervention for someone you care about, they need to take the next step. Have them give us a call at 866.294.5306 to get started on their road to recovery.
