Alcohol Intervention
It is not uncommon for alcoholics to reach a point in their life where the alcohol addiction has taken a toll on their lives, consuming them, but yet they still find themselves unable or unwilling to admit there is a problem. Because of this mindset, they don’t ask for help from family or friends. During this time, a family intervention is crucial in helping the addict realize the problem and come to the decision to get help with his or her addiction. Intervention can be conducted with outside help or can also be done with family alone. Often the success rates are higher with interventions, which include a professional intervention counsellor, although both means of intervention can be successful if done properly.
Depending on any complications that may arise, an intervention is a carefully staged process that could take two to three days to implement. The first day is generally spent planning the actual intervention process. Everything should be planned out in advance such as where the intervention will take place, which will be at the intervention when it occurs and which treatment facility the person should attend. It’s important that when you choose the place of the intervention that you choose a location where the addict is comfortable. Knowing they are in a place that they recognize and feel comfortable in can make the intervention process go much smoother. When making the decision of who should or shouldn’t be at the intervention, it’s key to not include anyone who the addict doesn’t respect, or anyone who would cause them to go into a rage. Including family members or friends that the addict loves and respects increases the success rate possibilities of the intervention, and of the addict actually listening to what each person has to say. It’s also extremely important to have an alcohol treatment facility ready to accept the addict if they should agree to treatment. If the alcoholic has time to think about it by there not being a treatment facility on standby, the chances of them changing their minds are greater than if the facility is ready and waiting for the person.
Once you begin the intervention it’s important that you take the approach of letting the addict know that you love them and will never stop loving them, but are unwilling to watch the person kill themselves with alcohol. In cases of the alcoholic not being willing to accept treatment or is refusing there is a problem, it’s always advisable to have a plan ‘B’. This would be considered by many as the tough love approach, which would give the alcoholic no other option but treatment. This would mean that the family has to be prepared in these situations to cut off all help and support of the addict, including financial support, housing and living arrangements, offering them treatment and nothing else. This is not an easy process to have to follow, but if the alcoholic is not ready to accept treatment, it could be the only option available to the family. It’s important to remember that even though the person is battling a alcohol addiction, the family doesn’t stop loving them, but what they are doing is not acceptable.
