Do you live with, or are close to someone who has a problem with addiction? If so, you’ll know how difficult it can be to navigate and maintain a relationship.
Sometimes, there’s no other option but to stage an intervention. But this isn’t a simple thing to do. There are certain ways to approach an intervention that will give it the best chance of succeeding.
Nobody wants to see a loved one caught in addiction—keep reading to learn the steps to staging a successful intervention.
1. Choose the Right People
If you’ve seen interventions in movies or on TV, it quite often seems to be a case of getting as many family and friends as possible together.
This really isn’t the best idea. The purpose of an intervention is to bring together those who genuinely love, care for, and want the best for a family member caught in addiction.
Choose people who already know about the struggle. Bringing people in who aren’t aware of the situation can be embarrassing and can have the opposite of the desired effect.
2. Choose the Right Time
You may think the best time to stage an intervention is when you can catch someone in the act. However, someone under the influence is unlikely to be rational or able to understand what is happening.
Stage an intervention at a time when the addicted person is sober. This allows you to speak clearly to them in the knowledge that they’ll be able to take it all in.
3. Be Welcoming and Warm
The last thing you want the addicted person to feel is judged, condemned, or accused.
Being surrounded by people can be an intimidating experience, so it’s important from the outset to use warm body language and tone of voice. You’re there to tell them you care, not to tell them that they’re a bad person.
The time will come to have a conversation about how damaging the habit can be, but that’s not the goal of an intervention.
4. Rehearse
Everyone involved will likely have something they want to say. Don’t let it be a free-for-all.
Decide on someone to lead the intervention, but also make an order of speakers and stick to it. Make it clear to people that once they’ve spoken, they shouldn’t butt in later on.
5. Know the End Goal
The aim of an intervention isn’t to break a habit or to miraculously cure an addiction.
The end goal is for the addicted person to agree to treatment. Before the intervention, have an idea of where they might go for this. To see an example, take a look at Bali rehab.
An intervention is the first step on a long, arduous journey toward sobriety, so be patient and know that you can’t solve everything in one meeting.
Stage an Intervention with Confidence
With these tips, you can stage an intervention in the knowledge that you’re giving it the best chance at success.
Every story and every person is different, but if you lead with love and genuine care, then you give your friend or family member a good chance at starting the path to recovery.
Check out the motivation section of the blog for information and advice on more like this, as well as lots of other topics.