We Help Families Realize that the Change that Occurs from an Intervention is Much Easier to Manage than the Current Situation They Face.

What We Do

The pre-intervention, otherwise known as family day, takes place before the face-to-face with the intended patient. During this meeting, there is an in-depth discussion with extensive psychoeducation taking place between the professional interventionist and the family. It is inevitable that during this process, the family will be overwhelmed and running high on emotions. No matter how hard the professional interventionist tries, the family will want to talk about what will happen the following day at the intervention.

There are things family members are going to miss and forget during this process. It can be similar to watching a movie or reading a book; sometimes you have to read or see it again several times to capture more of the details.

This same scenario occurs during the consultation and the logistics process, also prior to the pre-intervention. Much of what is discussed tends to be forgotten, likely due to anxiety, nervousness, and fear of the unknown journey the family is about to undertake. After the intervention, a Family First Interventionist will escort your loved one to the treatment center. We work with treatment center partners that understand the importance of involving family. Your family will be encouraged to rely on the treatment center’s clinical team and family resources. You will be instructed to attend Al-Anon, CoDA, Families Anonymous, and ACOA meetings. Finding your own individual therapist is highly encouraged, and for those with a spouse in treatment, we will always support marital counseling with an LMFT.

If your loved one declines help, or accepts help and attempts to leave or successfully leaves the treatment center, that is an entirely different outcome, and we will continue to support your family with the goal of your loved one entering or returning to treatment in the foreseeable future. After the intervention, families are in a different position emotionally and mentally. As they grow and the anxiety decreases, they in turn become more teachable and understanding of the need for family education, guidance, and recovery. Volatile emotions are going to be expressed after an intervention, and families are going to need assistance. Some will have to be talked off the ledge as their loved one calls them and stirs up emotions and controversy. There will be times when the substance user refuses help, and the family is going to need assistance.

We provide guidance on how to address your loved one’s emotions and the overwhelming pressure arising from his or her continuing manipulations. The substance user often presses for things to go back to the way it was prior to the intervention. For those who accept help at the intervention, families may need our assistance when their loved ones inevitably call them, making accusations and wanting to leave treatment.

Without support, a family may accede to the substance user’s demands and allow for a return home. Whichever scenario unfolds after the intervention, families can’t be left on their own. They need support. Making sure the support comes from the right place is as important as the support itself.

“The most formidable challenge we professionals face is families not accepting our suggested solutions. Rather, they only hear us challenging theirs. Interventions are as much about families letting go of old ideas as they are about being open to new ones. Before a family can do something about the problem, they must stop allowing the problem to persist. These same thoughts and principles apply to your loved one in need of help.”

— Mike Loverde, MHS, CIP

When Helping Families, It Often Requires a Village

The intervention is not just a process; it is also a bridge to the family’s recovery support network. As much as it takes a team to put together an effective intervention process, it takes a team to help substance users and families recover, too. As part of our family recovery program, we refer to treatment centers with a family curriculum. Treatment centers that only focus on the struggles of the patient do not help you and your family, nor do they help your loved one. In addition to a treatment center that includes a family program, we encourage you to build your own recovery network. We provide different and effective resources for you and your family members to take advantage of.

Think about your loved one in a treatment center where more than one therapist is involved. Although your loved one may interact primarily with one therapist, an integrated treatment team discusses the substance user’s case and provides suggestions and input. This helps to ensure the substance user is benefiting as much as possible from the treatment. He or she is also encouraged and introduced to resources outside of treatment, including doctors, psychiatrists, marriage counselors, additional therapists, and self-help groups.