Tips for Staging an Intervention

Watching your loved one suffer from substance abuse is nothing short of heartbreaking. To see them wither away right before your very eyes because they cannot untangle themselves from the death grip of their addiction is not something you would want to ever witness.

And yet, the situation is here, and you can’t help but feel helpless. You can, however, at least try one last effort to bring them back to wellness, and that is by staging an intervention. Note that it’s going to be a far cry from what is usually depicted on TV. You need to be very strategic about how you’re going to pull this off, otherwise, it might backfire on you. 

Here are some helpful tips for you to prepare for a successful intervention:

Coordinate with a Rehab Facility 

If your loved one is suffering from alcoholism, then it’s ideal that you first seek out alcohol abuse centers that can take them in as soon as they agree to commit to rehab. This is important because you want to be ready to whisk them off into the program before they have the chance to change their minds–which is very likely to happen the more they think about it. 

The plan is to stage the intervention, get their commitment, and then immediately implement the strategy. Intervention Day should technically be their Day 1 in rehab. In some cases, however, it simply cannot be helped that they cannot enter rehab that day for some reason or another. In this case, at least you have a facility already waiting for the patient to arrive. 

Pick Your Crew

You have to be very selective about who you bring into the intervention. The saying that “too many cooks spoil the broth” applies here as well. The subject of the intervention might feel intimidated, overwhelmed, or even ganged up on, thereby affecting their reception of the process. 

If you could, it’s also important for you to bring a professional interventionist so they can help manage and control the situation. Because this is undoubtedly going to be a highly emotionally charged affair, it’s good to have someone present who’s going to take the objective stance. 

Be very clear to the participants in the intervention that they have to be direct in their messaging, and to keep their eyes on the prize, which is that they will convince the subject to commit to rehab. 

Prepare for the Worst, Hope for the Best

Without a doubt, you are coming into the intervention with the best of intentions. The subject may find it difficult to acknowledge or embrace right at that moment, but also, you know better than them at this point in time. 

So hold on tight, be firm in your stance, and give the ultimatum as best as you could. It’s crucial that they realize the gravity of the situation, and the magnitude of everything they will lose–family, friends, career–if they don’t turn their situation around. 

Once you give the ultimatum, however, you better make sure that you will be able to follow through with it. Otherwise, they’re going to think that it’s something they can repeatedly exploit. Set the example to commitment. Commit to your intervention ultimatum and hopefully, this will spur them to commit to rehab as well to get better.