Witnessing a loved one's battle with addiction can be deeply distressing, often leaving us overwhelmed and uncertain about how to offer effective support. At NuView Treatment Center, we recognize the emotional toll this takes on families. We are committed to not just aiding our clients but also providing comprehensive support to their families.
Understanding the vital role of a supportive family dynamic in recovery, our program is tailored to involve, educate, and empower families. This approach fosters a nurturing environment for both the individual and their loved ones, enabling collective healing and growth. By understanding your role in their recovery and learning effective ways to assist, you become a pillar of strength, motivation, and hope, crucial for your loved one's journey to overcoming addiction.
What Is An Intervention?
An intervention is a carefully planned process where family, friends, and sometimes colleagues or professionals come together to confront someone about their self-destructive behaviors, such as substance abuse or addiction, and persuade them to seek treatment. The primary goal of an intervention is to provide the individual with a structured opportunity to accept help and make changes before their situation worsens.
What Are The Usual Stages In The Procedure Of An Intervention?
Planning: A group, often guided by a counselor or intervention specialist, gathers information and decides how to approach the individual.
Team Formation: A team of people who care about the individual is formed. They are usually those affected by the person's behavior.
Gathering Information: The team learns about the condition and treatment options to better understand the situation.
Deciding on Specific Consequences: If the person refuses help, each team member decides what action they will take (such as no longer providing financial support).
Writing Impact Statements: Members prepare personal statements to read during the intervention, describing how the individual’s behavior has affected them and why they want the person to seek help.
Holding the Intervention Meeting: The individual is brought to the meeting without prior knowledge of what it is about. The team then expresses their concerns and feelings.
Offering Help: The team presents a prearranged treatment plan and encourages immediate acceptance.
Following Up: After the intervention, whether the individual accepts treatment or not, the team continues to provide support and enforce the consequences if needed.
How To Help A Loved One With Addiction
- Talk to them about how you can help
- Be available and follow through on what you say
- Learn about the addiction recovery process
- Give honest feedback without passing judgment
- Take Care of yourself, too!
- Reduce Family Friction and Create a Stress-Free environment
- Stay Hopeful but Realistic
How to Offer Support to a Loved One Struggling with Addiction
- Share the Responsibility. A good recovery plan includes multiple supports, so you shouldn’t be the only one helping the person. They may have a therapist and/or prescriber, a support group, and access to peer support services, which involves working with others also in recovery. Help the person stay connected with all of these vital members of their support team. It can often be beneficial to communicate with these other supporters, but only if you are explicitly permitted to do so by the person you are assisting.
- Don’t give up. Above all, family members play an invaluable role in helping their loved one keep hope alive. Change is possible. Every person with co-occurring disorders is capable of living a worthwhile, stimulating, and rewarding life. Family members can offer support by firmly believing in their loved one’s inherent capacity to get better and create the future life he or she wants. Such hope can be powerful medicine. It can fuel the person’s efforts and determination to take control of life and enjoy its rewards.
The Road to Recovery from Addiction is Full of Twists and Turns
The journey of recovery can be long, challenging, fraught with many setbacks, and often discouraging for both you and your loved one in recovery. It’s critical to not give up. With these tips, you can keep moving forward, together. The road to recovery is a long-distance marathon, not a 100-meter sprint. Anytime you are feeling challenged, unmotivated, or hopeless, remember, you have the support you need from NuView Integrative Treatment Center.
