Families

Intervention is a structured, team-based tool for helping an addicted or alcoholic person make the decision to seek help.

Scott McMillin, Recovery Systems Institute Principal, discusses the barriers that keep an addict or alcoholic from seeking help. Learning new ways to communicate can allow a caring family member, friend, or professional to motivate them to get the help they need.

Whether you are planning an intervention, or just trying to nudge someone a little closer to the point of getting help, or even trying to rebuild a good relationship with a newly-sober friend or family member, communicating effectively will help.

If something contradicts his/her experience, they’ll believe the experience. However, if we’re able to provide information in such a way that it better explains that experience, we gain credibility that extends to other positions we may take.

Instead of ‘how do we get someone else to change?’ we ask: ‘why hasn’t he or she changed already?”

We’re brought up to view a pattern of problems with alcohol or drugs as the result of a variety of other factors— psychological issues, or lack of willpower, or moral weakness, or some terrible past experience. That makes it difficult for most of us to switch over to the view of addiction as a chronic illness.

You should expect the alcoholic/ addict to test the agreement. It’s only natural. They need to see if you really mean it, or were just blowing smoke. If you stick to your guns, they’ll abandon the challenge.

Repeated problems related to drinking or drug use force even the person in denial to acknowledge something is wrong–eventually.

It’s a much-repeated observation of psychology, that people feel an urge to act in ways that are consistent with their previous actions.

Beginning your statement with ‘yes, but’ means you’re already arguing. And rest assured, the alcoholic person is well prepared for argument.