What Is An Intervention Program?

With the popularity of reality TV and various media coverage, intervention programs have become very familiar and available to people in need of help.

Whether you have personal experience with addiction or are seeking help for a loved one, educating yourself in regard to the recovery process is imperative in ensuring the best possible outcomes.

In this blog, we’ll look at the following:

• What is an intervention?
• Types of interventions
• Specifics of an intervention for substance abuse
• Benefits of an intervention

What is an Intervention?

An intervention program is an intervention curriculum that is designed to achieve an end result. What makes up the program are the intervention strategies that are used to achieve the goals of the program, and the interventionist executes the strategies to fulfill the program’s agenda.

Substance use intervention provides the intended patient with a treatment plan in order to help the addict or alcoholic accept help and achieve abstinence and sobriety. In order to achieve a successful outcome, there are various evidence-based intervention methods utilized by clinicians, interventionists, and mental health specialists. One of the many goals is to better the situation of families, friends, and the individual who has become dependent on substances and destructive behaviors.

Types Of Interventions

There are a wide array of intervention programs for various problems that occur in life. The most common and most popular is an intervention for people using drugs or alcohol. For most people, when they hear the word intervention, they immediately think of intervening on someone with a drug or alcohol problem. People with addictions to gambling, drugs, alcohol, or even food dependencies may benefit greatly from an intervention.

There are all kinds of intervention programs. These include early intervention for children, surgical interventions, government interventions, drug prevention programs, etc. What they all have in common is they have a program with strategies and professionals to bring the program together and to seek a successful outcome or improvement of the situation or crisis.

The point we are trying to make is, interventions happen all day and every day to improve a situation or crisis.

Specifics of an Intervention for Substance Abuse

Intervention programs are designed to assist friends and family members of the addict or alcoholic in question with the planning and implementation of the intervention.

An intervention specialist will be assigned to work with the intervention participants, acting as both a moderator and a voice of reason. These specialists are experienced in addressing addiction and destructive behaviors. It is not uncommon, depending on family dynamics, for the interventionist to act as the sole mediator of the intervention.

The intervention specialist will be provided with an overview of the addict or alcoholics’ substance use and family history in order to suggest an effective treatment plan. The intervention specialists will help friends and family participants write out letters to the alcoholic or addict, outlining their love, concern, and hope that they accept help. The letters will then be read allowed before the group and alcoholic or addict during the actual intervention.

Benefits of an Intervention

One of the most effective aspects of an intervention approach is the collaborative effort of the alcoholics or addict’s friends and family members with the professionals. By working together, a group of people committed to a goal will prove much more effective than one-on-one conversations.

Participants are encouraged to be supportive, loving, and optimistic while showing their concern for the alcoholic or addict. The intended patient is often caught off guard in a positive way as they may have suspected the intervention to be an act of coercion, and it is not. As a result, the addict and alcoholic will either accept help or decline help. With either outcome, the interventionist will have specific strategies and suggestions to fulfill the pre-determined intervention program that was discussed with family and friends before the face-to-face interaction with the substance user.

After An Addict Accepts Help

Once an addict has agreed to accept help, the journey towards recovery has only just begun. Individuals will typically be taken to a treatment center where a treatment plan can be determined and their condition assessed.

With time, determination, and the support of friends and family members, many individuals find their intervention experience to be the first step towards happiness, prosperity, and a life once only imagined.

To learn more about finding recovery for yourself or a loved one, please contact Family First Intervention. Healing begins now

Published On: January 26, 2012
Updated On: November 10, 2022