Seeing someone you love live with an untreated addiction can be devastating. Feelings like sadness, anger, guilt, and hopelessness are common as you watch your loved one grapple with the overwhelming consequences of their substance use. It can feel almost impossible to stand by as they face serious mental and physical harm and legal or financial trouble.
Many people who love an addicted person want them to seek treatment and get the help they need to regain their health, safety, and opportunities. The stigma of addiction and the intense emotions surrounding the condition may keep some people from starting a conversation about starting treatment for addiction. Others may simply not know how to begin to talk about it.
But without seeking treatment, the consequences of addiction often become more severe. It’s critical to try to get your loved one to begin treatment. Planning an intervention can be an effective way of having this difficult conversation.
Learning more about what happens and what mistakes to avoid during an intervention can help you take the right steps and make the best choices for yourself and your loved one.
What Happens if I Make Mistakes During an Intervention?
An addiction intervention is a planned event where friends and family gather to express concerns about their loved one’s substance use and offer support. The result of an effective intervention is for the addicted person to enter treatment immediately.
Interventions are often highly emotional events because the stakes are so high. Careful planning and preparation can help you avoid mistakes during an intervention. While planning an intervention, it’s essential to consider who will be present, when and where you can hold the intervention, and what treatment options you can offer. Without careful planning, an intervention is less likely to be effective–and may even push your loved one away.
There are several common mistakes to avoid during an intervention. Knowing what to do–and what not to do–can help you plan the most supportive, effective intervention possible.
3 Mistakes to Avoid During an Intervention
Once you know what doesn’t work, you can avoid common mistakes during an intervention. Here are three common mistakes people make when staging an intervention
1. Being Unprepared
Good interventions happen when people have planned and prepared for them. Planning and holding an intervention can be a highly emotional process. Each person involved in the intervention–family, friends, and the addicted person–has their own beliefs, thoughts, and feelings about substance use. Sometimes, people’s emotions can bubble over and take the intervention off course.
For an intervention to be effective, it must be calm and focused on getting your loved one to begin an addiction treatment program. When planning an intervention, it’s important to consider the following:
- Who will be involved–typically, only close friends and family should be present
- Where it will be held–a location that allows everyone to feel comfortable and have privacy is best
- When you’ll stage it–try to choose a time when the addicted person is least likely to be intoxicated
If you’re able, practice the intervention from start to finish beforehand. Decide who will speak and in what order, and have people write down what they want to share before the intervention.
A professional interventionist can help you plan and hold an effective intervention. An interventionist will guide you through the process from beginning to end and connect you with the resources you need for the best possible outcome.
2. Blaming and Shaming
Many people feel frustrated or angry about their addicted loved one’s behaviors or choices. These emotions can show up as rage, blaming, or shaming during an intervention.
But an intervention isn’t the right time for people to bring up old behaviors, hurts, or grudges. Anger is likely to lead to denial and defensiveness. Instead, an intervention should be a calm, loving event that lets the addicted person know they have support.
A professional interventionist can help friends and family members process their own emotions about their loved one’s addiction before and after the intervention, allowing the intervention to stay focused on the addicted person.
3. Ending Support After the Intervention
Think of an intervention as the first step in helping your loved one overcome substance abuse. Your loved one may either accept or reject your offer of help. Whatever their decision, they will need your continued support.
If your loved one accepts help, you might offer practical and emotional support, including:
- Reminding them why they chose to get help
- Helping with child or pet care while they are in treatment
- Offering rides to and from appointments
- Helping them make medical and mental health appointments
- Attending family therapy, if asked
- Managing insurance plans and payments
- Offering non-judgmental support
- Reminding them many people love and support them
- Telling them they can recover and that treatment works
- Reminding them often that you love them
The support of friends and family can be the difference between ongoing struggle and lifelong success.
Supporting someone with an addiction can be emotionally draining, so you must get the support you need to keep going. This may include finding a therapist, addiction counselor, or support group. A trained interventionist can help you find these and other resources.
Learn More About Avoiding Mistakes During an Intervention By Partnering With Arise Treatment Center
At Arise Treatment Center, we look at addiction treatment as a team effort. We support people with addiction and their families so everyone can move forward into a healthier, more fulfilling future.
Reach out to our team today to learn about how to stage an intervention or for information about starting one of our Southern California addiction treatment programs.