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Family Intervention

Seeing a family member struggle with addiction is a difficult and emotional time for everybody concerned, and staging an intervention can help them realise the impact of their behaviour. Showing them how their addiction is affecting their own life and upsetting people close to them can convince them that they do have a problem and that they need to attend alcohol rehab. If you are interested in staging an family intervention, finding out about the different techniques you can use helps to ensure that it’s successful.

It is important to get as many of the person’s loved ones, friends and family to attend the intervention as possible. You have to show that people care about them, and are there to support them through the difficult time. Everybody should be completely honest with them, but still be supportive. Even if somebody doesn’t want to say anything at the intervention, their presence still shows support. You have to show how much their addiction is affecting the people they care about, as well as how much it’s affecting them personally. The main aim is to get them to admit they have a problem and agree to a treatment such as alcohol rehab. They have to make this decision themselves, but you can give them reasons to make it.

Having a professional counsellor present at the intervention can help guide the process and make it as smooth as possible. You can ask the people who are going to be present at the intervention what they want to say, and run it by the counsellor first to ensure it won’t cause any problems. The counsellor will also be able to suggest approaches if you are having difficulty, and generally ensure that the intervention is a positive process and not a destructive one.

Most modern intervention techniques stem from the Johnson model of intervention. The theory behind it is that removal of denial is the primary aim for interventions, and it therefore focuses entirely on breaking down the barriers of denial. To accomplish this, people are advised to make dramatic and emotionally charged statements, which often results in some confrontation. Denial is hard to break down because it is so firmly built up in many addicts, so these extreme measures can sometimes be the only option.

Motivational interviewing is another option for an intervention strategy that opposes the Johnson model. The theory behind motivational interviewing is that the firm denial on the part of the addict is caused by the confrontational approach to the intervention itself, and that the approach is therefore a barrier to tackling the issue. Motivational interviewing focuses more on the individual, and whether they actually want to change. The aim is to encourage people to take the right path and admit that alcohol rehab or some other form of treatment is a good idea, rather than to tackle the negative side to the addiction with harsh and potentially hurtful words.

If you are having trouble with a loved one’s alcohol addiction, an intervention may help them admit they have a problem and set them off down the road to recovery. Choose a specific style of intervention based on how you think your loved one would respond. If you are struggling with choosing an intervention strategy, or are unsure which alcohol rehab facility is right for your loved one, we can help you. Our advice is completely free, so get in touch and see what assistance we can offer you.

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