Do it yourself interventions are not usually recommended because it may only make things much worse for the Afflicted Loved One’s long-term recovery.  Then there are the horror stories of family members tricking the Afflicted Love One into going to rehab, including lying to the Afflicted Loved One about where you are taking him or her, or virtually kidnapping them to treatment.  The Afflicted Loved One is often traumatized by the event and much valued time is wasted.  Further, the Afflicted Loved One feels justified in lying to the family given that he or she has been lied to by the family.

Nevertheless, some Afflicted Loved Ones are ready to get help and being honestly and compassionately confronted by family members may just be enough for them to accept help and get treatment.  If you want to try to do an intervention yourself, I recommend you prepare yourself and I recommend the following books:

     When Enough is Enough, Finnigan, Candy. Avery, 2008. Compassionate advice on confronting a loved one from one of the renowned addiction specialists on the hit A&E series Intervention.

     Love First, Jay, Jeff and Jay, Debra. Hazelden, 2000. A new approach to intervention for alcoholism and drug addiction.

     Intervention, Johnson, Vernon E., D.D. Hazelden, 1986, A step-by-step guide for families and friends of chemically dependent persons.

     How to Change Someone You Love, Lamm, Brad. St. Martin’s Press, 2009, Four steps to help you help them.

     Invitational Intervention, Landau, Judith and Garrett, James, Booksurge, 2006. A step by step guide for clinicians helping families engage resistant substance abusers in treatment.

• The professional interventionist is trained to ignite the process of change, real change, for everyone – not just the Afflicted Loved One – but for all family members and friends.

• The professional interventionist understands the addicted mind and language of the afflicted Intervention Subject – forms a bond and connection with the I-S and, though seemingly taking the perspective of the family and friends, is really advocating for the rights and needs of the afflicted Intervention Subject.

• The professional interventionist gives everyone hope.  The Afflicted Loved One cannot see what good, great, and wonderful things wait for him or her in sobriety and recovery. The Afflicted Loved One cannot imagine this kind of happiness and peace – they simply cannot see it or feel it.

• The professional interventionist fights for the healthy part of the Afflicted Loved One to emerge; the professional is the ally of the Afflicted Loved One’s healthy self.

• The professional interventionist is able to describe and suggest treatment options available for the Afflicted Loved One and for the family and friends of the Afflicted Loved One.

• Many times, family and friends are too emotionally connected through sympathy and guilt or resentment and rage to effectively complete an intervention – their emotions are essential, but need to be challenged.

• Often the Afflicted Loved One is so clever at deflection, denial or delusion that the family and friends cannot effectively break through the defenses of the Afflicted Loved One without the help of a neutral professional.

• Often, other mental health issues like anxiety and depression, or personality disorders, such as “anti-social, histrionic, borderline, or narcissistic personality features can cloud or obscure the issues of addiction or substance abuse.

• Fear and worry fuel the Afflicted Loved One defenses for seeking help or change and frequently family members and friends do not have experience in recovery themselves or experience with the treatment options offered.  As a result, the Afflicted Loved One family and friends lack credibility when describing the treatment or what will happen.

• Guilt and shame or the dreaded “how could you?” statements often keep the Afflicted Loved One from feeling safe to come clean about his or her circumstances out of fear of being judged, criticized, or condemned by the family or friends.

• Sometimes the Afflicted Loved One has untreated emotional trauma caused by one of the family members or friends and does not want to give in to that person and other times the I-S has a physical issue, such as a hormone imbalance, thyroid issue, or a head injury that may be the physical cause of the addicted behavior.  The professional interventionist will ask about these issues and understand what they mean.

• The professional interventionist is usually a trained and experienced professional, who is often certified, licensed by examination, insured against malpractice, and experienced in the problems or issues to be addressed in the intervention.  He or she should have a vast experience, rapport, and demeanor which promotes hope, health, and healing of the I-S and the family and friends.

There are several types of interventions developed over a period of trial and error, a period of evidence based testing, and use by professionals.  Generally, the following are the major types of interventions:

• Johnson (Surprise) Intervention Model

This type of intervention has been made famous by the A&E television series Intervention and is based on the belief that the Afflicted Loved One is so lost in the grip of his/her addiction that he or she is unable to understand how devastating his/her behavior has been.  Often the Johnson model is used based on the belief that the Afflicted Loved One would run away.  This belief is usually unfounded. The steps involved are as follows:

1st Family/group: finds an interventionist.

2nd Family/group: work with the interventionist to determine the best treatment option.
3rd Family/group: lovingly meet with the Afflicted Loved One and encourage him/her to accept the help or live with severe consequences.

            There are varying schools of thought on the effectiveness of the Johnson model and whether the “ambush” method is most effective.  Many people lose trust of family members because of the “surprise” aspect of the intervention and many others remain very angry at the parties responsible.   The very disruptive nature of the Johnson Model caused various professionals to question it and to try the invitational approach.

• The ARISE® (Invitational) Intervention Model

The ARISE® Model invites the Afflicted Loved One to a family meeting which follows specific steps and represent an evidence-based approach that is highly effective. The following are the steps of the ARISE Intervention:

1st Step: A concerned family member contacts an ARISE Interventionist for advice on setting up the intervention.

2nd Step: The Afflicted Loved One is asked to come to a meeting of friends and family and is told that the meeting will take place to discuss his/her addiction problem whether or not he/she attends.

3rd Step: If the Afflicted Loved One does not enter treatment after the first meeting, the group plans another meeting.

4th Step: If the Afflicted Loved One does not enter treatment after a few meetings, then he/she will be subject to severe consequences.

The advantages of ARISE® interventions are many, including the fact that the family participates fully in the healing of the Afflicted Loved One which creates healing for everyone.  Further, the family continues to work on its own issues with the interventionist. 

• The Systemic (family system) Intervention Model

The Systemic Intervention Model process is highly effective with wide-range of addictions, including food, gambling, sex, and other compulsive/addictive behaviors. A Family Systemic Model Intervention is completely different. The following points listed below show how a family systemic model is outlined as well as how it differs from a normal intervention.

1st Point: The Afflicted Loved One is aware of all meetings. In fact, when a meeting is set up with a trained interventionist the addict goes to the very first one.

2nd Point: During the meetings, all family members and the Afflicted Loved One openly discuss the way the addict’s behavior has impacted each one’s lives. It is not a one way conversation – it can go back in forth in a controlled manner.

3rd Point: Instead of having one big meeting for the intervention, there could be several meetings a week and the process can last months at a time.

4th Point: Both the addict and family members commit to entering some type of counseling. Most likely, the Afflicted Loved One will attend an inpatient rehab to get over the addiction. Afterward, the Afflicted Loved One will join the family therapy sessions that occur while he/she is in rehab. The family commits to therapy sessions while the addict is in rehab as well as afterward as one family unit.