How to Get an Alcoholic into Treatment: Intervention

What is an Intervention for an Alcoholic?

An intervention is a meeting that is typically conducted by more than one person, (though you can do this alone) that come together and encourage the user to seek professional help. Staging an alcohol intervention is a big task, and it can be an emotional process too when it is for somebody you love and care about.

Nonetheless, it can be necessary, so you must address the subject sensitively because oftentimes people suffering from alcohol addiction do not want to admit to the problem. There may be a sense of denial, which will make it more difficult to speak to them on a personal level about the alcohol addiction.

We recommend that you try at least three times to speak to them about their behaviour, the state of their mental health and if they want some help from you.

• Here are three stages that can assist you:
• Engage in an open discussion to find out their troubles/concerns
• Speak about their behaviour, and your concerns about how it’s affecting them
• Openly discuss solutions and pathways to solving the problem

If this has been unsuccessful, and your concerns are spiralling, you can stage an intervention. An interventionist is a professional counsellor who can arrange a meeting with the affected addict and friends/family.

A high level of respect is to be maintained throughout and this meeting will consist of a firm but friendly conversation relating to their behaviour, their addiction and the impact that it is having on all areas of life. An alcohol intervention is the best way to show that the issue is out of control, and needs to be mitigated immediately.

Preparing for an Intervention as Help for an Alcoholic

If you’re considering an intervention, it is essential to know that a well-oiled plan is often the most positive route. Alcohol addiction is extremely difficult to overcome without professional treatment, so finding an alcohol rehab to treat this is important.

#1 Find a Team You Trust

People such as close family members, friends, and coworkers should be included on the intervention team if you think they will be beneficial to the individual. Finding a group of people who are close to the addict and who can sit down and actively speak to the individual who they trust and also care about.

#2 Gather as much Information as Possible

Find out as much as possible about the individual’s addiction habits, their symptoms and the way in which addiction is affecting them and you can help. This can be discussed and addressed at the intervention, with a list of all the possible solutions.
One of the key things to remember if you’re family is that family referrals are available to give you advice and support, which is a very useful way of speaking to a team that understands the ins and outs of planning an intervention and dealing with addicts on a regular basis.

#3 Choose the Best Location

Finding a good location is important. Think about where the individual would feel safe and secure. You can ask for ideas and assistance from the intervention team, but keep in mind that the ideal place is one which is relaxing and has a healthy and private environment.

#4 Rehearsing the Intervention

Rehearsing is important because it allows you to ensure that no information is left out, you might want to take notes and ensure that you have an agreed approach with the other members of the intervention. Everything that you want to address can be done in a specific order, this will allow you to think about possible reactions, and ways in which to deal with this, whilst remaining respectful and caring to the individual.

Finally, Stage the Intervention

Common concerns may be that the individual will refuse treatment or feel ambushed, you may fear that your relationship may weaken or that you may drift further apart. Whilst this doesn’t always happen, it is important to be aware of this.
Simply giving them the choice and leaving the help and support on the table is a good approach, you should avoid being forceful since this might make them rebel. It is a very fickle situation so it needs to be approached with caution and care.

Is Intervention the Only Way How to Get an Alcoholic Help?

In short no, there are other routes to getting sober.

While an intervention is good when there is a group of people that collectively want to help the person suffering from addiction, however this might not always be possible. That being said, the aforementioned family referral route, friend or professional referrals to rehab are also very helpful.

Through these referral routes, you’ll be able to get help with an alcoholic family member or peer and speak to the right people when it comes to knowing where to start addressing the issue.

These can be extremely useful, since your closest friends and family are going to be aware of the addiction. By having a close friend or family member refer to the addict directly, it becomes more personal and will show them that their addiction is not only affecting them, but people closest to them as well.

How to Make an Alcoholic Get Help from Rehab Treatment

The best way to get an alcoholic into rehab is by telling them the benefits of doing so. You should make it clear that it isn’t a clinical environment and they’re not going into a hospital, but in fact there are huge amounts of benefits of residential treatment, and this is how to get an alcoholic into treatment without being forceful.

Residential rehab programmes boast numerous benefits for the individual, that not only contribute to short-term health but also long-term improved mental health. Treatments and therapies found only in rehabilitation, focus on healing mental health issues and illnesses.

Some of the major benefits of alcohol rehab that you could share with your loved one include:

• Improved self-esteem
• Positive coping skills and life skills
• Understanding and healing mental health issues
• Understanding of behaviours and feeling motivated for change
• Mitigating risks for the future/ relapse prevention
• Meeting new people and making a support network
• Self-respect and learning to love the person you are

The best way to keep the sufferer from being in denial about their addiction and an effective way how to make an alcoholic seek help is by showing them the facts. Think about how you’re going to tell them the benefits, and how you’re going to answer any questions they might have to ensure there is no room for negativity.

Why Seeking Professional Help is Important

At Nova Recovery, all people facing addiction are treated with respect, care and most importantly, are safe. Depending on the addiction, detox can be very dangerous at home, which is why it is beneficial for you to explain to whoever is suffering from alcoholism that it is safe for them to recover in rehab treatment.

As a private drug and alcohol rehab, we do our best to successfully create long-term sobriety, in a luxury setting with a full multidisciplinary team.

That isn’t the only reason however that seeking professional treatment is important, other aspects of professional treatment like relapse prevention and therapy are going to not only contribute to sobriety there and then, but also ensure that there are tools provided for the future to manage triggers.

What to Expect After Intervention and How to Provide Support

An intervention is often successful, and this usually leads to rehabilitation; however, if the individual refuses treatments, you should ensure that you have a secondary plan that will preserve your own mental health and well-being.

If the individual becomes angry or it creates more tension between you, try not to react, any anger on your behalf is not how to convince an alcoholic to get help.

Simply ensuring that you have offered the support and told them that you’ll wait for them to make the change in their own time is paramount.

If the situation becomes too volatile or has been fully unsuccessful, we advise that you step away from this and set your own boundaries. Keep encouraging other people in their lives to continue supporting them to make a change, as well as yourself.
Helping an individual with addiction and staging an intervention is a sign of caring. Therefore you should continue with this

journey from a distance if this doesn’t work, offering them help for local AA meetings, group support sessions and online forums for them to look at in their own time. There are many streams of help for people facing addiction, and for help staging an intervention with an alcoholic, call us on 01475 303998.

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John Gillen - Author - Last updated: November 17, 2023

John has travelled extensively around the world, culminating in 19 years’ experience looking at different models. He is the European pioneer of NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide) treatment to Europe in 2010; and recently back from the USA bringing state of the art Virtual Reality Relapse Prevention and stress reduction therapy. His passion extends to other metabolic disturbances and neurodegenerative diseases. The journey continues. In recent times, John has travelled to Russia to study and research into a new therapy photobiomudulation or systemic laser therapy working with NAD+ scientists and the very best of the medical professionals in the UK and the USA, together with Nadcell, Bionad Hospitals own select Doctors, nurses, dieticians and therapists. Johns’ passion continues to endeavour to bring to the UK and Europe new developments with NAD+ Therapy in preventive and restorative medicine and Wellness. In 2017 John Gillen was made a visiting Professor at the John Naisbitt university in Belgrade Serbia.