Intervention Questions and Answers
Q: What is
an intervention?
A: An intervention is a proactive educational
process aimed at disrupting the downward spiral
of chaos and crisis within families or organizations
caused by addiction. The intervention team comes
together, usually led by a professional, in an
effort to move all persons involved out of crisis,
with the more specific goal of providing immediate
help and relief to the identified individual.
Q: What is the goal of an
intervention? And how successful are they?
A: The traditional goal of an intervention has
been to provide solutions to individuals in crisis
from addiction. The modern goal of intervention
often termed the “systemic” model,
takes a broader view of crisis caused by addiction
and attempts to provide solutions not only for
the identified individual but for the family or
system surrounding the individual as well. At
AIR we believe that addiction is a family disease
and that our first responsibility is to help those
that are willing to get help – typically
the family. While making help available to the
identified individual is our objective, it is
not our only objective and it is not the way we
define success. We define success not only by
the number of individuals that enter treatment
but, more importantly, by how many families we
are able to move out of crisis.
Q: I have someone in my
life that is in crisis. How do I know if an intervention
is appropriate?
A: An intervention is appropriate if you as the
friend/family/co-worker can no longer in good
conscience sit by and watch the situation deteriorate.
When you have decided that you have to do something
to help arrest or alter the situation then an
intervention is
appropriate.
Q: I’m not sure if
this person is drinking, using drugs or just going
crazy. I don’t know any details I just know
that things are not even close to normal anymore
and are moving towards frightening and unsafe.
Do I need all the facts before I confront someone?
A: No. You only need legitimate concern for the
individual’s welfare or for that of the
people he or she comes in contact with who may
be suffering or in danger due to the their crisis.
Q: If I have an intervention
I’m scared that it might make the situation
worse. What if they never speak to me again?
A: An AIR directed intervention is a gentle, loving,
factual, conversational process. It is not a showdown
or a test of wills. The process is designed specifically
to improve the lives, perceptions, and choices
of all involved. Never speaking to someone again
because they show up in your life to let you know
that they love you, they see you struggling and
that help is available is not a reasonable response.
Q: Not everyone surrounding
the identified individual is on board with the
idea of an intervention. What should we do?
A: Encourage them to talk to AIR. A great deal
of fear is still extant today around the idea
of what people think happens at an intervention
different then what actually takes place. If they
still feel that being part of the team is not
for them we will honor that choice and move ahead.
Q: I feel as if I am betraying
the person I am trying to help by participating
in an intervention. Wouldn’t it be better
if I didn’t join the team so that they will
feel as if they still have someone they can trust?
A: No. This comes up as the most common fear among
intervention participants. The fear is that they
are playing the “Judas card” and betraying
the trust of their family member or friend. The
reality is that we are coming together as a team
to make help available to someone we know who
is struggling. If we take ourselves away from
the team and set up separate “trust”
situations we debilitate the efforts of the group
to bring all of the secrets to light, to disrupt
the “conspiracy of silence.” By bringing
secrets out in the open we disabuse them of their
power. By talking about what’s going on
we break the “conspiracy of silence”
– the greatest form of enabling.
Q: How long is the entire
intervention process? How long is the actual intervention?
A: The process, from initial inquiry to intervention
meeting can be as long as several weeks to as
short as the next day. In certain crisis situations
it is imperative to take immediate action to prevent
the identified individual from harming himself
or others. When possible more planning is always
appropriate. The most important thing to remember
is that analysis equals paralysis, which is why
the best thing to do in crisis is to get out of
the problem and into the solution. Our clients
typically feel relief and hope from the moment
they book our services and get into action. The
quicker they get this stage behind them the sooner
they begin the healing process themselves. The
actual intervention usually lasts no longer than
an hour. All the hard work of preparation by the
team, the staff at AIR, and the interventionist
is done in advance.
Q: Who should be part of
an intervention team?
A: Family, friends, spiritual advisors, co-workers,
or supervisors are all appropriate. The interventionist
will work with you to build a well-rounded and
effectual team.
Q: Everyone seems to think
that maybe if we just talk to him he’ll
go. Can we hope to have any success if we pull
their family and friends together and have a more
informal intervention?
A: Our experience is that informal family or co-worker
interventions often do more to alienate the identified
individual and complicate the situation when a
real intervention is called for later on. A professionally
facilitated process guided by an experienced interventionist
can save years of concern, expense, and frustration.
Q: I think an intervention might be
appropriate and I would like to talk to someone about my situation.
What do I do next?
A: Call our National Call Center at 800-561-8158 and speak
confidentially with one of our crisis consultants.