Worrying about a family member struggling with addiction takes a lot out of a person. What’s more, interacting with someone who doesn’t yet acknowledge a growing problem is often a painful and frustrating problem. To properly help someone in need, understanding what’s an intervention and how it works is crucial.
What Is an Intervention?
Despite the dramatizations in popular media, an intervention is not anything spontaneous. Many people have the misconception that interventions can begin by simply announcing it out of the blue. However, suddenly confronting someone who’s struggling with addiction is more likely to have the opposite effect, as they may feel attacked. Instead, an intervention should be a very professional and carefully organized event.
What Does an Intervention Look Like?
More than anything, it’s vitally important that all participants leave their heaviest grievances at the door. They may feel justified in having outbursts, but it’s not healthy for the discussion that has to happen. The participants may feel confused about why the addiction is happening or angry about the trauma that has resulted from it, but lashing out isn’t helpful. An intervention should always be a carefully orchestrated and calm event in which family members and friends can appeal with supportiveness rather than repeating the cycle of accusations and pain. Giving in to stress only puts more stress on the loved one, who’s likely entering into the foreign situation of an intervention with a degree of stress and frustration.
Working with Professionals
Outpatient centers dot the country and act as crucial informational and therapeutic havens for people struggling with addiction in their day-to-day lives. Speaking with a professional therapist will give you the strongest understanding of what’s an intervention and how it works. More importantly, your local rehabilitation centers can work with you to design a carefully constructed intervention. Having a professional on hand to guide the conversation is also an important way to keep everyone’s emotions down and their ears open.
