Intervention – An underutilized and Misunderstood Resource for Addiction Professionals

By Andrew Wainwright
For 40 years, the formal practice of drug and alcohol intervention by trained professionals has been considered an undefined component at the front end of the continuum of care in the addictions field. As a full-time coordinator for a national team of interventionists, I’m aware that interventionists are viewed by many in the addictions field as, “people out there who do that sort of work if you can find them.”
Unfortunately, calling interventionists is considered only when all other options have been exhausted. While many addiction counselors and clinicians understand the value of a well-planned and executed intervention, others view intervention as a risk rather than an opportunity. It’s time to put the practice of intervention in its rightful place, as a defined asset on the front end of the continuum of care. If we in the addictions field work to change the paradigm of misunderstanding around what an intervention is, who it can help, and why it should be accessible to anyone facing crisis involving chemical dependency ““ and not simply wait for the situation to get worse ““ then we can help more friends, families, and organizations win the war against addiction.
Admittedly, the reputation of intervention as a clinical practice has suffered from poor execution and lack of training by some in our field. The idea of the interventionist as bounty hunter is still widely accepted by many families, who believe that an interventionist will come to their home and remove the addicted individual by force. One infamous story I’ve heard is of an interventionist who carried a business card that read, “Have net will travel.” Sadly, it is this tarnished image that removes intervention from consideration as a viable tool to help a family member, friend, or colleague access the help they need — whether it be an emergency room or a 30-day stay in a treatment center.
The news media, as is often the case with stories from the addiction front, has also chosen to highlight the sensational, rather than practical, side of intervention. The popular television show, “The Sopranos,” featured an intervention for an addicted character where the meeting ended in a flurry of curses and a fist fight. A few months ago, CBS-TV’s “Dr. Phil” Show made a valiant attempt to spotlight the practice of intervention when it actually broadcast one featuring a young man struggling with drugs. Unfortunately, Dr. Phil’s intervention came across as chaotic, contributing to a misrepresentation of the role that interventions can play in the addictions field.
As someone who has been involved with more than 500 interventions, I’ve learned these realities about interventions executed by professionals:
An intervention should move the family, friends, or the affected organization out of the crisis created by the addicted individual.
An intervention should always make help available through some form of treatment.
All client information including, but not limited to, detox, medical and personal data, should be conveyed to the treatment center to help facilitate the assessment and treatment of the addicted individual.
Treating the disease of addiction is only possible if two steps are taken. First, we in the addiction field must help family members and society at large recognize the early signs of addiction. Second, we must help them make use of this information and access the appropriate level of care. If a concerned individual is on the telephone with an addiction- related crisis, then it’s our job to move that person into action and give them every available tool to fight the disease of addiction. All of us in the addictions field need to bury the dated paradigm that:
“¢ Every addicted person has to find their own bottom
“¢ You can’t help addicted people who don’t want help
“¢ Intervening, even talking about intervening, will somehow make the situation worse.
There can be no more excuses. We in the addiction field know that these three things are true:
Everybody benefits from early education about the disease of addiction.
Maintaining the conspiracy of silence only prolongs the time this disease has to metastasize.
When it is too late for prevention, early intervention is the next best step for those struggling with addiction.
We as counselors and professionals, do our jobs best when we hold each individual, family or organization accountable to get educated, gather the courage to speak up, make help available to those that are struggling with addiction, and designate safe and manageable boundaries. But if the process of intervention is truly to become the front line in our offering of a continuum of addiction care, we will have to embrace these responsibilities:
To limit the chaos caused by the disease of addiction.
To help people access treatment services sooner, rather than later.
To make intervention a consistent, available option for those in need.
If we can live up to these challenges, then we can dramatically improve the quality of life for all the individuals, families and organizations that are silently suffering from addictions today — not knowing that help is available.