What would you do if a family member or friend exhibits signs of alcohol abuse or dependence but is unwilling to seek help? Well, you cannot force the individual to seek counselling or treatment. However, you can encourage him or her to do so by conducting an intervention.

If you are not familiar with the alcohol intervention, it is a process whereby a group of people close to the alcoholic confront him or her about the addictive behaviour. The purpose of the intervention is to show the alcoholic the reality of the situation and the harm being caused by alcohol. Above all, it is designed to be helpful rather than hurtful.

The alcohol intervention process involves four steps: seeking advice, preparation and planning, execution, and follow-up. Let’s look at each one individually.

Step 1 – Seeking Advice

While alcohol intervention is not necessarily complicated in principle, there are some definite dos and don’ts. It’s always a good idea to get the advice of a professional counsellor before going any further. A counsellor can explain how an intervention should work, what you can expect, and how to go about approaching the alcoholic.

If you were not comfortable conducting an intervention on your own, most professional counsellors would be happy to get involved. They will provide as little or as much help as you need. From planning and preparation to leading the intervention, professionals can be very helpful.

Step 2 – Preparation and Planning

As helpful as an alcohol intervention can be, it can be equally harmful if proper planning and preparation is not undertaken. You should never go through with an intervention unless you have completed this step. Consider the following:

• Preparation – Preparing for intervention involves choosing team members and deciding what is going to be said. Some experts suggest team members write letters to the alcoholic rather than trying to speak unprepared. Writing a letter makes it easier to put your thoughts down in a way that is coherent and thorough. Each team member can then just read his or her letter at the appropriate time.

• Planning – The idea of planning goes beyond preparation by devising a strategy and an order of business. You never want to leave a lull in the conversation that allows the alcoholic the opportunity to shut down. The entire event should be planned out so that it moves smoothly from one point to the next.

One final note here comes by way of choosing team members. It is important to select members based on how much positive influence they have over the alcoholic. Even the closest of individuals can be detrimental to the process if their influence tends to be negative.

Step 3 – Execution

The third step is where the real difficulty comes into play – the actual execution of the intervention. It is best when an intervention is held in a neutral environment because it reduces the likelihood of the alcoholic feeling as though he or she is trapped in the enemy camp. A neutral environment could be anything from a counsellor’s office to a public park.

Intervention experts suggest you limit execution to between 60 and 90 minutes. Anything shorter than an hour may not allow enough time for thorough discussion, but an intervention lasting longer than 90 minutes might be an open door to allowing emotions to get out of control. An intervention that goes too long may also cause the alcoholic to withdraw.

Step 4 – Follow Up

In some cases, the alcoholic is ready to make a decision within minutes of completing the intervention. If so, you should be ready to act on that decision right away. However, what if a decision is not made immediately? That’s where follow-up comes into play.

Someone on the team should plan to follow-up with the alcoholic within a couple of hours of the intervention. After having some time to think about it, the individual may conclude that the team was right; he/she needs help. If not, follow-up might include suggesting to the alcoholic just one session with a counsellor. The suggestion can be framed under the premise that the counsellor can help the individual sort out his/her thoughts.

As a side note, members of the intervention team might also benefit from some follow-up counselling. An intervention is often a stressful event that can take an emotional toll on team members. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, especially in light of the fact that the team members are often family members.

The counsellor you originally sought advice from will likely be willing to offer follow-up counselling. Be sure to ask about it during your initial consultation.

Seeking Treatment

The ultimate goal of an alcohol intervention is to bring the alcoholic to a place where he or she is ready to seek treatment. Assuming that’s the case, what are the options?

As an independent referral service, we usually recommend a residential treatment programme as the first and best choice. Residential treatment programmes offer the greatest chance of success because they are the most thorough in their approach. A typical residential programme takes between 6 and 12 weeks and includes:

• detox

• one-on-one counselling

• group counselling and support

• life skills building

• family counselling

• aftercare (usually an additional 3 to 9 months).

The only downside to residential treatment is that the alcoholic may not have the financial resources to pay for it. Nevertheless, there are other options. Financing might be possible through a grant from an alcohol charity, collected donations from family and friends, or even traditional commercial financing.

If a residential treatment programme is completely out of the question, we can assist you in finding free services available through the NHS, support groups, and alcohol recovery charities. Free services tend to be offered in an outpatient setting in the alcoholic’s local area.

There are plenty of treatment options available regardless of your circumstances. The most important thing to understand right now is that we cannot help you until you get in touch with us. All of our services are confidential and free, so there is no need for you to delay.

Good Resources for Addiction Recovery in Cambridge

There are plenty of good addiction recovery resources available in the Cambridge area. This means that once the individual becomes ready to end their addiction there will be support to help them do this. By making use of the available resources, the individual will be greatly increasing their chances of being successful, so it is important that they consider these options. Our team will be able to offer advice for anyone who is looking for addiction recovery in Cambridge. Call us now on 0800 140 4824 to see how we can help.

How to Get the Most Out of Addiction Treatment

There is no addiction treatment option that will work for a person who is resistant to recovery. In order to get the most out of these resources the individual will need to make them work. Here are a few suggestions for how they can go about this:

• · The most important thing when it comes to addiction recovery is that the individual is fully committed to this path. This means that they must get rid of any ambivalence. So long as the person holds onto even the slightest glimmer of a hope that they will be able to drink or use drugs again in the future it will weaken their recovery. This ambivalence will mean that the individual will not be fully committed, and as soon as things get tough, they will struggle to stay on course.
• · One of the main reasons for why people are able to remain trapped in addiction is that they believe in things that are not true – for example, they might be convinced that sober living is boring. If the person is trying to recover and they continue to hold onto these beliefs, it will make things very difficult for them. They need to be willing to let go of all of the ideas that are holding back.
• · The best approach to recovery is one of open mindedness. This means that the individual is willing to consider all the different options and they do not just dismiss things out of impulse. It can often be that the things that the individual initially feels the most resistant towards that ends up helping them the most.
• · You will need to make recovery your number one priority in life. This does not mean that you have to spend every moment of your waking life obsessed with staying sober, but it does mean that you will never allow anything to get in the way of your sobriety. Remember that if you go back to addiction you are likely to lose everything anyway.
• · It is best to take your recovery seriously but not take yourself too seriously. This means making time to laugh and have fun. There is no point in getting sober to feel miserable. In fact, those who refuse to have fun in sobriety are usually just looking for a justification to relapse.
• · You need to be willing to take charge of your own recovery. There are some skilled professionals and old timers in recovery that can help you, but at the end of the day, it is always going to be up to you. This is your life and you have to make the most of it.
• · In order to get the most out of any type of addiction treatment you will need to be honest with yourself and those trying to help you. It was denial that kept you trapped in addiction, and the key to sobriety is a dedication to honesty.

Now that you know how to get the most out of your recovery options, you will be ready to proceed. Call us right now, or just text the word “help” to 66777 to find a suitable programme in Cambridge. Many of our team members have had their own dealings with addiction, so they will have a good idea of what you are up against.