Addiction doesn’t often resolve itself.
Actually, let’s rephrase that slightly, addiction doesn’t often resolve itself positively.
In 2019, drug overdoses took nearly 71,000 lives according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Roughly 95,000 people die from alcohol-related causes each and every year as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) points out.
So, addictions and substance use disorders very much can and do resolve themselves…negatively.
Nearly 170,000 die annually from the use of substances in some way, shape or form. The despair that those deaths rain down on the family and friends left to cope with that sort of unfathomable loss is impossible to quantify.
You’re left with emptiness and an unending stream of soul-crushing questions, like; “what if I’d stepped in?”, “what if I’d done more?”, “what else could I have done?”, etc.
There are actions you can take now to prevent that outcome and save a life, considering an intervention is one of them.
What Is an Intervention?
You may already have a vague idea of what an intervention is based on the word itself and perhaps even the TV show of the same name, but let’s put a real definition to it.
The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health does a good job of succinctly explaining it, noting that interventions are “a professionally delivered program, service, or policy designed to prevent substance misuse or treat an individual’s substance use disorder”.
A critical note about interventions though is that you should not try to organize one on your own. It’s a very delicate process with lots of moving parts and an extremely emotional and charged event. Getting it wrong could have dire consequences in the opposite direction. Your loved one may feel attacked, betrayed, resentful and so on which may actually lead to them closing themselves off further and falling deeper into their addiction.
What Does an Intervention Specialist Do?
An interventionist, or intervention specialist, is someone who’s trained and well-versed in designing and organizing interventions. It sounds simple but there’s more to it than meets the eye.
An intervention isn’t just a confrontation about addiction built on hope. It’s a guided process and the odds of it being successful go up exponentially when it’s done correctly.
An intervention specialist first and foremost helps you, your family and friends formulate a plan of action and how to mitigate adverse reactions.
They’ll assist you in the research phase regarding which treatment centers and what types of rehab would suit your loved one best as well as work with you to make arrangements for admission and transportation.
An intervention specialist will then lead you through choosing who exactly will participate in the intervention to create the maximum effect. Once that’s been decided, they can help you pick meaningful consequences in the event the person going through the intervention refuses treatment (and it’s imperative to stick to your guns here no matter how difficult it may be).
Lastly, they’ll help steer what you’ll say in the intervention.
As you can see, there’s quite a lot going on and this was just the briefest of overviews.
Why You Should Let Footprints of Serenity Help Your Loved One Today
You might be wondering “how can I find an intervention specialist near me?”
Easy. You can reach out to us at Footprints of Serenity.
We have decades of combined experience in the world of interventions and have a proven track record of tactfully turning a mirror on someone’s addiction and getting them to make the right choice in seeking treatment.
If you’re not in the Southern California area, no worries, get in touch with us anyhow and we can offer advice or perhaps even connect you to an interventionist in your area. The goal is to help your loved one get better, doesn’t matter where you or they are.