Planning an intervention is a very delicate and emotional process, but it shows that you care about the individual and it may just be the push they need to finally seek professional help. You want to make sure that everyone involved is in close relation to the person and it would be best to have an intervention specialist present to facilitate. Regardless of how you decide to initiate the intervention, there is a set of commonly accepted steps that should be performed to make sure you achieve the best possible result for your loved one.
Necessary Steps to Planning an Intervention
Whether it’s drug or alcohol abuse your loved one has been using; the steps for an intervention are fundamentally the same.
- Form a planning group. The first step is to create a group that is dedicated to helping the individual overcome their addiction and should be composed of people that are directly affected by this person’s repeated substance abuse.
- Become knowledgeable about interventions. Whether you decide to have a professional facilitate or not, you and your group members should learn about different intervention techniques and psychology behind an intervention.
- Plan your intervention with helpful notes. You don’t want your intervention to be completely off the cuff. You and your group should take notes or, at least, bullet points of what you’re going to say.
- You should also decide beforehand the consequences of your loved one refusing to go to rehab or change their actions in any way. This could involve anything from kicking them out of the house to taking away their right to see their children.
- After you have held your intervention meeting and discussed the affect their substance abuse has had on the lives of everyone in the group, make sure to set a follow-up schedule. You should meet with your loved one regularly to ensure they are making the effort to stop abusing, either by seeing a counselor or some other form of rehabilitation.
Planning an Intervention Recap
The most important thing to remember is to make sure you have all your bases covered and you understand the proper information before planning an intervention, the rest is just following the simple structure above. Help your loved one receive the guidance and knowledge they need to overcome their abuse problem.