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There comes a point when a person you love’s drug related behavior can no longer be tolerated. You realize that the person’s health, job and relationships are at risk and that they need help now, but they just don’t see it. This may be the right time for planning an intervention. An intervention is when a group of people who care about an individual with a drug or alcohol problem gather together to let the person know three things. They let them know that they care about them, they let them know how the addict’s drug use is affecting them and they let them know that it is time to get professional help at a drug addiction treatment center. An intervention may be done with the help of a professional interventionist or it may be done with just the family and friends present. The family and friends should take the time to understand how to properly handle the intervention before they begin. A disorganized intervention can quickly turn into a battle zone instead of the cohesive effort that is needed if all parties are not in tune with the plan and the expected outcome.

The first step is letting the person know how much he or she is loved. If an intervention is done from the perspective of anger and accusation, it will be of no value at all. The natural human instinct to being “attacked” is to defend oneself and that is what will happen if the intervention is full of anger and the addict feels attacked. Your chances of getting them into a drug rehab center are decreased to zero when anger is your motivation. Coming in from the perspective of love and genuine concern for the addict’s well being and happiness helps them to feel safer about admitting to the problem and more open to the idea of getting help from a drug rehabilitation facility.

The next step is letting the person know how their drug use is affecting those around him or her. This cannot be done effectively without first fully completing step one, which is showing the addict that they are loved. Once the atmosphere is one of love, the addict will feel less “attacked” and be more compassionate about how their behavior is affecting others. A person who feels that everyone is angry with them or hates them will not care how their behavior affects others. Once the right atmosphere has been created everyone can explain how much the drug use hurts them and how much they want it to end.

The final step is convincing the addict that they need to get help from a drug rehab center NOW. The plans should already be made and the bags should be packed so that all you will need at this point is the addict to agree. They need to understand that nobody is going to cover for them anymore and that this is really their only choice. This must be conveyed in the spirit of concern for the addict and love for them. Once you have accomplished this, the addict is very likely to accept the outcome and willingly enter a drug rehab program.

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