How to Involve a Therapist in the Intervention Process

If your loved one struggles with substance abuse, you are not alone. According to the Pew Research Center, “46% of U.S. adults say they have a family member or close friend who is addicted to drugs or has been in the past.”[1]

It can be tough to watch a loved one suffer from drug or alcohol addiction. They might not even accept that they have a problem with substance abuse, causing them to refuse your offers to send them to treatment. When your loved one is in denial about their substance use disorder, the best thing you can do is plan an intervention.

Interventions are planned meetings where the family members and loved ones of an addict get together and read emotional impact statements to convince them to go to treatment. Effective interventions are run by a professional intervention team. If your loved one regularly sees a therapist, you may want to involve them in the process.

Involving a therapist who already has a relationship with your loved one can be highly beneficial. They know how your loved one’s brain works, making them highly skilled at controlling the conversations, managing reactions, and helping them cope with strong emotions. Mental health professionals are good at guiding conversations to get people to realize a specific point, which in this case, would be that your loved one needs to accept help.

In this article, you will learn:

• What is a substance abuse intervention?
• Can you involve a therapist in the intervention team?
• How does a mental health professional assist in a successful intervention?

What is an Addiction Intervention?

There are a few types of interventions, including mental health interventions and addiction interventions. Interventions offer support to people struggling with intense substance abuse or mental health problems. They set achievable goals for the person struggling and their family and friends.

If your loved one suffers from substance abuse but refuses addiction treatment, they might need an intervention. To explain, interventions are family meetings that are run by addiction and mental health professionals. The intervention team will work with you, your family, and friends to write emotional impact statements that express to your addicted loved one how their substance abuse has harmed the family.

Once your statements are written, the team will schedule a time for everyone to get together. You’ll have your addicted loved one meet with the family in a supportive and comfortable setting. Then, you’ll read your statements one at a time.

There will be time for your addicted loved one to respond to each of the statements. A conversation will start that is intended to convince them to attend treatment. During the planning process, the team will get a bed ready at a substance abuse treatment program for your loved one to enter as soon as the intervention is over.

The goal of a successful intervention is to get your loved one into a treatment program. If the person refuses treatment, there will be consequences and boundaries set by each family member. For example, you might cut them off financially until they accept help.

Can You Involve a Therapist in an Intervention Team?

Even if you have an addiction intervention instead of a mental health intervention, it is best to include a therapist. If your loved one regularly sees a therapist that they trust, having them there during the intervention can make them feel more comfortable.

To have a successful intervention, you need mental health and addiction professionals present. Conversations can easily turn into arguments, which could derail the entire process. By including a therapist, you can rest assured that they will guide the conversation to ensure emotions don’t get in the way of making positive changes.

Therapists can also help you create highly effective impact statements. Because they know the addicted loved one well, they’ll know what they need to hear to accept help. They might instruct you to include specific words of encouragement or help you decide what boundaries to set.

The whole intervention will be planned and conducted by a variety of team members, including a therapist, an addiction specialist, and an addiction interventionist. Well-planned interventions

often meet their goal of helping a person accept addiction treatment.

How Can a Therapist Help the Intervention Process?

Therapists can assist you throughout the intervention in a variety of ways. They’ll provide:

Expertise and Professional Help

Therapists, especially ones who specialize in addiction or family support, have the knowledge and skills necessary to help you organize and conduct an intervention. It’s even better if the therapist regularly works with the person struggling with addiction. By having their therapist present, they might feel more comfortable opening up and being honest during the intervention.

Guidance and Support

Therapists are experienced in creating a supportive and safe environment to discuss sensitive topics. Because of this, they are uniquely qualified to help you plan the intervention, write your impact statement, and prepare you for potential reactions from the person struggling with addiction.

Moderation and Mental Health Intervention

Interventions discuss sensitive topics, like how the addiction has impacted the personal struggling with addiction and their family. Because of this, you’ll need a mental health professional present to moderate the conversation and prevent emotions from becoming explosive. Additionally, if your loved one has a mental health disorder or a serious mental illness, the therapist can help them cope with symptoms during the intervention.

Neutrality for an Effective Intervention

When you discuss substance abuse with the person struggling with addiction, emotions might run high. Experiences that bring up negative emotions might be brought up, causing people to have negative emotional reactions. Having a professional who has neutrality in these situations can be incredibly helpful, as they can offer an impartial perspective.

Post-Intervention Support for Family Members

Whether your loved one enters a treatment program or not, you and the other family members will need post-intervention support. Including a therapist will ensure that your family has ongoing counseling to help everyone cope with the outcome of the intervention. If your loved one does seek treatment, having a therapist on their side will help them throughout the recovery process.

Get Connected to a Professional Interventionist and Help Your Loved One Overcome Addiction

Interventions are carefully planned processes that provide your loved one with treatment options. The goal of an intervention is to get your loved one to accept treatment. You must have a mental health counselor there to help everyone remain calm, identify substance abuse patterns, create a treatment plan for your loved one, and lessen any destructive behaviors that arise during the process.

If your family has expressed concern for your loved one’s substance use disorder and they continue to refuse treatment, it might be time for an intervention. At New Jersey Addiction Interventions, we can help you complete the careful planning necessary to get your loved one to accept help for their substance abuse problems.

We offer professional intervention services that include support from mental health, addiction, and healthcare professionals. We can help your loved one end their addictive behaviors and accept professional help. Contact us today to receive help for your loved one’s addiction and get connected with a professional interventionist.

References:

1. Pew Research Center: Nearly half of Americans have a family member or close friend who’s been addicted to drugs