Planning and staging a professional intervention is often the first step towards getting a loved one the treatment they need. Friends and family members are often involved as well as various addiction recovery specialists which includes a professional interventionist.

Getting Familiar With the Process of an Intervention

The phases of an intervention can be broken down into planning, execution and follow up. Planning is the longest set of steps but the most important as it sets up the execution for success. Each phase will need to be tackled differently based on the focused individual.

Planning Phase

When creating a group to begin planning an intervention, it’s important to choose a local interventionist and rehab facility that can help facilitate admission after the intervention. During this period you’ll find that the interventionist’s team will ask a number of questions.

Be sure to provide honest and complete answers as every piece of information you and your loved ones provide will help make the intervention a success. The professionals brought on are there to keep the focus on helping the individual and away from heavy emotional responses from anyone.

Everyone involved with the intervention that has a relationship with the individual will need to be ready to set an ultimatum. The goal of the intervention is to get the person to agree to treatment. If this agreement is not met then there needs to be a consequence from each loved one and can range from limiting interactions to a total end of the relationship.

The Execution

On the day of the intervention it’s important to stick to the script and follow your notes. Each participant will need their own set of notes to share stories of how the individual’s substance abuse impacted them. Going off script can lead to poor reactions from the individual and a completely failed intervention.

Make sure the individual is not aware of the intervention leading up to the big day. After arriving at the intervention site, participants will take turns sharing how the drug or alcohol abuse has hurt them. The most impactful relationships are saved for last to end with heavy momentum.

The loved one is then met with the option to agree to treatment or accept the consequences presented to them. Make sure there are no empty threats and that everyone is ready to commit to what they’ve said.

Following Up Afterwards

Addiction and substance abuse treatment takes multiple weeks to complete followed by a lifetime of vigilance. Working together with friends, family members and spouses during treatment is one of the easiest ways to promote a successful treatment program.

Mental health professionals tend to be frequent helpers during life after treatment. Support groups for both treatment and relapse prevention openly accept new members as well, giving the individual as many options as possible for help in the face of adversity.

For more information on staging an intervention or addiction treatment, reach out to our recovery specialists at Baystate Recovery Services today. It’s never too early or too late to give a loved one the chance they need to achieve sobriety.

Michael Wilson