Through Our S.A.F.E.® (Self Awareness Family Education™) Family Intervention Services in Utah, We Help Families of Loved Ones with Addiction and Mental Health Concerns to Change What is Not Working and Do More of What is.

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Do something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn’t, do something else.” Most families reading this article or any other articles on our website would like to know what else they can do because what they are doing is not working. Most families in Utah or elsewhere in the United States are at a loss as to how to help their loved one with addiction or mental health struggles. The problem often starts slowly, not always, and often it does. Over time, as it worsens, families learn how to cope with the change maladaptively. Rather than do something about it initially, most families wait, hope, or pray that addiction or alcoholism is just a phase or that mental health can and will be treated appropriately by a doctor or psychiatrist. Most families are unaware that while acquiring ineffective coping mechanisms, their loved one is developing manipulative strategies to stay one step ahead of them. As a result of this power shift, families fall into unhealthy and unproductive patterns through dysfunctional family roles. The longer this continues, the harder it is to see and get out of it. So, it would be safe to say that if you are reading this, what you are doing isn’t working, and it is time for something different. 

Although doing something different is simple, it is much easier said than done. Families are so ingrained in the dysfunctional world that the fear of doing something different is worse than the fear of the status quo. Families see us as the people trying to take away their solution rather than replace it with something that works. The enabler does not want to give up their role as a caretaker, or the one who is needed, and the hero does not want to give up their role as the perfectionist overachiever. Other family roles self-soothe themselves; to them, it is working, and to the outsiders looking in, it is not. The only one genuinely benefiting is the one with addiction and mental health through comfort and deflection. If families allow us the opportunity, we can help you see what is not working and why, and help you through the difficult transition of doing something different and continuing to do it. 

What Can Professional Interventions Do For Us That We Can’t Do Ourselves?

The quick answer as to what a professional brings to an emotionally and mentally flooded family is experience and credentials. In addition to credentials and experience, the most significant impact our addiction and mental health interventionists and counseling professionals bring is unbiased detachment. We see the forest from the trees because we are not you, and your loved one is not ours, nor are they affecting us. We know the problem from the balcony while you’re running in circles, trying to correct the issues on the stage with your loved ones as the conductor. Your attachment to your loved one and your unhealthy family role make it impossible to navigate an effective solution. A family trying to formulate a solution is the same concept as the addict, alcoholic, or person with mental health concerns trying to develop their answer; they can’t.

Intervention services in Utah and Nationwide are available to families who ask for help and have hit bottom. We said that correctly when the family asks for help and hits bottom. Families often wait for their loved one to ask for help and hit bottom, while their approach, orchestrated by their loved one, fails and doesn’t work. Families often provide comfort through enabling and codependency as they let their loved ones run through them. What a professional interventionist can do for you that you cannot do for yourself is everything. Even if you could talk your loved one into seeking help, how will you therapize yourself when the trials and tribulations of their recovery fall on you? How will you learn to say no and prevent them from leaving treatment against medical advice? How will you teach yourself how your acquired family role has worked against you and prevented your loved one from getting well? How will you learn to detach and engage in your self-care while realizing how you have neglected the rest of your family, friends, and life as you were consumed by the chaos and drama of one person? When will you realize that your loved one coming home after a short stay in treatment is an ineffective option?

The questions listed above are a small part of many more questions that will arise and need to be answered effectively. Families have somehow been led to believe that all that needs to happen is for the person to stop using alcohol or drugs or become medication-compliant to treat their mental health disorders. One of our many goals is to help you understand that the bigger problem is your loved one’s behaviors and your family roles that have been adopted to cope with the behaviors. These things do not change because they take meds or check into treatment; neither do the families. It takes months and years of continued work in recovery for both family and loved ones to return to normalcy. Families who believe the problem is simply addiction or mental health and not numerous other factors will wait a long time for their loved one to want help, hit bottom, and improve their condition.

Initial Consultation

Our process starts with a phone call to our office. When the family agrees, we move to a family consultation call. We begin the assessment phase after the family has approved the intervention.

Arranging the Treatment Plan and the Logistics for the Intervention

The next step is arranging the treatment plan and the logistics for the intervention. Upon arrival, our interventionist utilizes our S.A.F.E.® Intervention and Family Recovery Coaching manual as a guide.

Face-To-Face Intervention

The following day is the face-to-face intervention with your family, the interventionist, and your loved one. Regardless of the outcome, your family will move into our S.A.F.E.® program for guidance and support. The S.A.F.E.® curriculum consists of weekly family meetings with several support groups offered throughout the week. One-on-one support is available and reserved for families actively engaged in our meetings and support groups. Families are assigned homework assignments to work on goals and process the work they do for themselves outside of the S.A.F.E.® curriculum.

Outside Work for Families

The outside work can include Al-Anon, Families Anonymous, CoDA, A.C.O.A. meetings, marriage and family therapy, and individual counseling. We also encourage families to participate in hobbies and self-care activities. The S.A.F.E.® Addiction and Mental Health Intervention Services and Family Recovery Coaching program is designed to help families take their lives back, regardless of whether their loved one agrees to accept your gift of a second chance at life.