Although family members may be aware that a loved one is engaged in destructive behavior, they are often met with resistance when they offer to help. When their loved one refuses to admit that a problem exists, the only solution may be a family interventions have been recognized as one of the most powerful tools for confronting and treating destructive behaviors. The intervention involves a group of family members and friends who are coached by a professional interventionist. This group meets with the individual in order discuss the problem behavior. The individual is presented with a treatment plan. The goal of the family intervention is to get the individual to agree to treatment, which usually will begin immediately. The preferred form of treatment is residential rehabilitation, where medical detoxification and addiction therapy can take place in a controlled environment.
The tone of a family intervention should be as positive and loving as possible. A trained interventionist will help ensure that this is the case. During the intervention, each family member or friend should be given the opportunity to address the individual who is the focus of the intervention. They will usually give specific examples of how they have been hurt by the individual’s behavior. The purpose is not to create conflict or pass judgment, but to get the individual to admit that his or her behavior is a problem that must be addressed.