Drug addiction is an unfortunate yet common occurrence in the United States. According to USA Today, around 48.7 million people struggle with substance abuse. It can be challenging to know how to help loved ones with addiction.
Conducting a drug intervention is a common method used to let your loved one know they’re struggling with an addiction. This blog will discuss our top successful intervention tips. We’ll also talk about how interventions can motivate a person to seek help for their addiction.
What’s a Drug Intervention?
An intervention is a planned process that friends and family can do with the help of a healthcare professional. We recommend working with a licensed drug counselor during the process.
Some of the things that are included and talked about during the intervention are:
- The effects of their drug addiction
- Examples of their destructive behaviors
- How their addiction affects their loved ones
- Provides a treatment plan with clear guidelines and steps
- Lays out the consequences of they don’t seek treatment
How Do Interventions Work?
While intervention strategies vary on a case-by-case basis, most interventions include the same basic elements. This isn’t an easy thing to undertake, but it can make all the difference in helping your loved one seek treatment.
Create a Plan
You or one of your loved ones may have had the idea to conduct a drug intervention. As we mentioned before, you need to involve a licensed professional immediately. This can include one of the following individuals:
- Addiction professional
- Mental health counselor
- Social worker
You’ll work with the professional to create an effective intervention. Interventions can become highly charged situations. Strong feelings of resentment, anger, and betrayal may arise and you’ll want a third party there to help.
Gather Relevant Information
You and the rest of your intervention group will need to gather information about your loved one’s drug addiction. A few things you’ll need to research include:
- What’s causing the addiction
- The scope of their addiction
- Treatment options
Decide on What Outcomes You Want
While the goal is to help your loved one enroll in drug addiction treatment, you’ll need to decide on what to do if they don’t agree. Each person involved will need to come up with what action they want to take. For example, they could ask the individual to move out if they don’t seek treatment.
Take Notes on What to Say
Each person in the intervention group needs to come prepared with what they want to say. Understandably, you may get nervous and forget your talking points during the intervention. That’s why having notecards with key talking points is a helpful tool.
Connect With an Experienced Drug Counselor
Holding a drug intervention for your loved one is a major decision that you may only get one shot at. You want to ensure the process goes smoothly and the way you want it to. That’s why it’s important to work with an experienced healthcare professional during the process.
At HOPE Guides, our drug counselors have the tools required to effectively manage a drug intervention. Our coaches have the knowledge, success, and experience needed to help you conduct a drug addiction intervention. Contact us to learn more and to book a consultation.
