What is a Drug Intervention?

A drug intervention is a process of getting your addicted loved one to stop denying the fact that they have an addiction problem. The idea is to help them overcome their fear of getting treated for their disease. In most cases, a drug intervention is where closest family members and an intervention specialist are present in a comfortable environment. Here they discuss the effects of their loved one’s drug abuse and plead with their loved one to get help. Ideally, the family has already laid out treatment options for him or her to take action after the drug intervention. If the addict doesn’t decide to go into treatment, they may face consequences from their family such as no longer being enabled or financially supported. 

Drug Intervention

A drug intervention is a process of getting your addicted loved one to face the fact that they have an addiction problem. In a sense, a drug intervention attempts to wake up the addict so they can overcome their fear of getting treatment.

Drug interventions can be held for any type of addiction to list. Alcoholism, opiate addiction, marijuana, prescription drugs, cocaine, narcotics, or even sexual addiction are just a few examples. Any substance can hinder a person’s life if it becomes a need to function throughout the day. In many ways, the addiction can cause the user to neglect daily responsibilities. Therefore, a drug intervention could be of great use to open up in getting treatment.

A drug intervention can sometimes be confrontational. The addict has usually presented facts of their using and the impact it has had on their family and loved ones.

The goal in a drug intervention is provide enough evidence to the drug addict that their drug use is killing them. From there, the family provides no other option for them but to get help.

What is a Drug Interventionist?

A drug interventionist is a professional who helps the family of a drug addicted individual. The interventionist helps to connect with them on a mental, non-judgemental level. He or she persuades the addict, in the presence of family, into getting treatment for their life-threatening habit. Interventionists act as a mediator or guide through the meeting by taking part in a drug intervention.

An interventionist educates, supports, and provides direction to the family of the addict before the meeting. Additionally, they offer guidance, assistance, and training while helping the family select the right treatment plan for their loved one. Through the meeting, they help keep things honest and open. They can help any potential hostile emotions or intense outbursts. Finally, the interventionist follows up with treatment and aftercare sessions in order to ensure that there isn’t an accidental relapse.

When is a Drug Intervention Needed?

If you or your loved one is continually abusing any illicit drugs, alcohol or even prescription drugs such as painkillers, there is a problem. Like any other problem, drug addiction and alcoholism will not go away by itself. There needs to be honesty, time, and willingness to heal. For many families, it is easy to overlook the signs of drug addiction and the signs of drug abuse. A lot of times, it may seem less uncomfortable to merely pretend everything is okay. In reality, though, failure to address the problem of addiction can have dramatic adverse outcomes for all.

Warning Signs of Drug Abuse

Drug Abuse Warning Signs

What are the Signs of Drug Addiction
How to tell if someone is using drugs
The Top Signs of Drug Addiction
Drug Use Warning Signs
Alcoholism Warning Signs
Risk Factors for Drug Addiction
Signs of Prescription Abuse

Signs of Drug Use
Drug Addiction Signs
Physical Signs of Drug Abuse
Behavioral Signs of Drug Abuse
Signs of Meth Abuse and Signs of Cocaine Abuse
Signs of Xanax Abuse
Signs of Opiate Addiction
Signs of Shooting Up

Alcoholism Warning Signs

What are the warning signs of Alcoholism
How do I know if I am an alcoholic?
What are the warning signs of alcoholism
Am I an Alcoholic?
What are alcohol withdrawal symptoms?
How do I know if I am an alcoholic?
Alcoholism Resources

Our professional Drug Intervention team has experience with a variety of addictions including meth, heroin, Xanaxopiates, alcohol, and cocaine.

Why should I consider a Drug Intervention?

There can be a wide range of reasons why someone would need a drug intervention. Some may require a drug intervention to face the reality of being an addict. Others may need to know how much their family cares about them. Whichever the reason, many people can find encouragement to get treatment from their drug intervention. Reasons for intervention could include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Since the usage of drug and alcohol lowers a person’s awareness which may lead to severe financial decline, damaged relationship, serious health problems, etc.
  • The drug addict tricks him or herself into thinking that they are unable to deal with the pain or sickness accompanied by withdrawal from the drug.
  • They use drugs as a gateway to ignoring their problems and stress.
  • Drug abusers believe that that are not able to go throughout the day without drugs in their system.
  • A drug-addicted individual may develop low self-esteem after being addicted to a drug that they begin to involve himself or herself in criminal activities to support their habit.
  • He or she does not have confidence in any treatment method. 
  • The addict isn’t aware of how much they need help.
  • They might think they aren’t “bad enough” of an addict yet.

Reasons for Drug Interventions?

Whether you or your loved one started abusing drugs by peer pressure, tried it out of curiosity or were prescribed pain medication and got hooked, the truth of the matter is that no one truly wants to be an addict. No matter what that person says, they don’t like being dependent on drugs or alcohol. Hence, it’s the reason for them to deny the fact that they do have a severe problem.

What Is a Drug Intervention

The whole point of a conducting a drug intervention is to draw out the desire within your addicted loved one to become sober. This happens by gently persuading them into starting treatment. It helps them to understand not only how badly their addiction will harm them both short-term and long-term, but let them be aware of how it affects those who love them as well.  

Family Role Within a Drug Intervention

The first most important thing that the family must do is to first decide on the persons that will be apart of the drug intervention team. This team should consist of only those with a healthy and meaningful relationship with the addict, such as;

  • Spouse / partner
  • Kids of the addict
  • Bestfriend
  • Siblings
  • Close family friends

By all means, the intervention team is there to ensure that they get in contact with a professional interventionist. For that reason, the team can provide someone who will assist you in selecting the best treatment option for your loved one.

Families should always have a backup plan as well as consequences to deal with every situation that they are 100% willing to execute. This means that if your loved one refuses to get help and continuously denies their problem, you have a plan to make them reconsider. This includes;

  • Cutting off financial support
  • Moving them out of the home
  • Changing locks on the house
  • No more emotional support 
  • No more enabling their drug problem

Steps Of A Drug Intervention

Some drug interventions can be as simple as a few phone calls with the family to explore options for their loved one to get the help they need. In either case, this can be done over the phone with our team.

Every drug intervention is different. As we are dealing often times with illicit drugs and the life style associated with illicit drug activity, we are careful in every situation.

However, in other situations, the loved one may be difficult to locate. He or she might be in denial,  or back and forth on the streets. In this type of drug intervention sometimes private investigators are employed to locate the addict and find the safest and most opportune place to confront them with the family.

An information gathering process will take place before every drug intervention.  Some questions we will ask when preparing for a drug intervention include:

  • Known drug use history
  • Criminal history
  • Mental health history
  • Known medical conditions
  • Employment or work history
  • Relationship status
  • Prior treatment history

A professional drug intervention team will get very detailed in getting a complete background both for the safety of the family and for the safety of the intervention team. Also, this provides a comprehensive profile of the addict and allows us to build a drug intervention plan.

Carrying Out the Plan

Once the drug intervention plan has been created, and we have a complete profile we will schedule the interventionist to meet with the intervention team and conduct a pre-intervention. In short, this is merely a rehearsal where the professional interventionist will conduct interviews to see what role each plays. Therefore, they will have an idea of what each person will say to assist with critical topics. It’s better to know the situations that must be discussed within the actual session in the presence of the addict. Additionally, the interventionist will help plan the actual event and ensure that there is no awkward moment or tension so that everything can go smoothly.

The addict might feel a sense of betrayal when confronted by their loved ones. This is completely normal. Above all, the key is to follow the instructions of your professional interventionist and handle each situation calmly without flaring up. Tension or aggression is a sign for the addict to use you as an excuse for their habit in the first place.

A major factor in a drug intervention is making sure the family has treatment options established such as an inpatient drug rehab, substance abuse treatment center, or a residential drug treatment facility. Under no circumstance should hours or days pass from the time they agree to get help.

It is strongly recommended to have a drug and alcohol treatment facility setup and transportation arrangements made before the drug intervention taking place.

Drug Interventionist Near Me

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If you have any more questions about setting up a drug or alcohol intervention, give us a call. At Prevail Intervention, we help thousands of people get into treatment. Contact our 24/7 addiction helpline if you or your loved one is desperate to get sober from drugs. It’s possible to get the help you need. There are ways to successfully treat addiction. You are not alone.

Drug Intervention Resources