Alcoholism intervention or alcohol abuse intervention is the
process whereby persons who care about the health and well-being
of an addicted person come together to share their concerns
about the addicted person's behavior. A small percentage of
people are able to recover from addiction on their own without
the help of an alcoholism intervention. However, most addicted
people need assistance.
Addiction can be defined as a compulsive need for and use of a
substance that is psychologically or physically habit-forming
and negatively affects the addict's health and life. If the
addicted person has become dependent on the substance,
physiological symptoms will likely be experienced upon
withdrawal.
When dealing with addicts, one must remember that the addicted
person's brain has been altered by the substance's use,
regardless of the substance or behavior involved. Many people
have spoken to their loved one about his or her addiction but
without success. An alcoholism intervention involving a
knowledgable outside professional can be helpful when attempting
to have your loved one recognize their addiction and obtain help
in stopping it. Here are typical alcoholism intervention steps
that may be used to help move your family out of crisis mode and
address the addiction of the person you care about:
1. Contact the Alcoholism Intervention Facility - during this
phase, you will have researched the possible alcohol abuse
intervention facilities. Once you've selected the treatment
center, you'll contact them to discuss your situation. The
treatment facility staff will assess your specific needs and
will determine if intervention is appropriate.
2. Investigate Treatment Options - based on the specifics of
your alcoholism intervention needs, the alcohol abuse
intervention treatment options will be outlined for you. This
can consist of inpatient or outpatient options, medical issues,
insurance coverage, admission details and who from the treatment
facility staff will be overseeing the alcoholism intervention
process.
3. Outline Action Plan - your interventionist specialist will
guide you through the steps of setting up the structured,
professionally supervised alcoholism intervention.
4. Pre-Intervention Meeting - this meeting may take place at
your home or workplace, depending on the situation, and will
likely involve the other caring persons who will be part of the
alcoholism intervention. During this pre-intervention meeting,
the interventionist may discuss the disease of addiction and how
it impacts the lives of family, friends, co-workers and others.
How the alcohol abuse intervention will be conducted will be
covered and the roles of loved ones during the intervention will
be discussed. What the treatment will consist of as well as what
the post-intervention process will involve will likely be
outlined and questions will be answered.
5. Intervention Meeting - the alcoholism intervention may take
one or two hours and will be a structured process consisting of
family members, close friends, co-workers and so on who are
coming together for the purpose of sharing their concerns about
the addicted person's behavior and getting them to accept help
for their addiction.
6. Treatment - if the addicted person accepts help for their
addiction, he or she may go immediately for admission to the
treatment facility if inpatient services are the plan. If
outpatient services will be used, the addicted person will be
taken immediately to the treatment facility so that the
individual can be assessed and treatment begun.
7. Post Intervention Consulting and Services - following
treatment, the post intervention becomes the focus. Continued
support for the addicted person greatly increases the chances
that the person will remain clean and sober. There may be weekly
sessions to learn how to identify and manage stress in ones life
and to incorporate relapse prevention techniques. This post
intervention time is vital as the addicted person will be making
the transition from treatment to becoming a person that's more
independent, healthier and productive with a life of sobriety.
Alcoholism intervention may be the best way to make help
available to those who are struggling with addiction. With
alcohol abuse intervention, treatment and support, many persons
are able to remain sober and rebuild their lives. If you are
concerned about the addiction of a loved one, doing nothing may
be the worst thing to do. Alcoholism disease has profound
consequences on the health of the addicted person and adversely
affects their lives as well of the lives of those around them. A
question you may want to ask yourself is - how much worse does
the addiction have to become before you are willing to take
action? Consider using a structured alcoholism intervention with
the experience and assistance of qualified professionals to help
the loved one face and conquer their addiction. It is never too
late to begin recovery from alcohol addiction. Help is
available, and the sooner one begins the recovery process, the
better.
Copyright 2006 InfoSearch Publishing
About the author:
Search a database of facilities for a licensed alcohol abuse
treatment center near you at
http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com/alcohol-abuse-treatment-cen
ter.html - Olinda Rola is President of InfoSearch Publishing and
webmaster of
http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com - a website
of natural health articles and information for healthier living.
