You may need to join forces with others and take action through a formal intervention. Many people with alcohol problems and their family members find that participating in support groups is an essential part of coping with the disease, preventing or dealing with relapses, and staying sober. Treatment for alcohol use disorder can vary, depending on your needs. Treatment may involve a brief intervention, individual or group counseling, an outpatient program, or a residential inpatient stay. Working to stop alcohol use to improve quality of life is the main treatment goal.

Both illegal substances like heroin and legal substances like alcohol can impact and destroy a person’s life. Still, our society’s treatment of them makes the necessary type of intervention approach different. Someone who abuses alcohol will not magically become a different person once they’re sober.

Recovery Advocacy

The better planned and executed an intervention is, the more likely it is to succeed. Though no two interventions are alike, the guidelines are often the same. Believe that you are acting in the best interests https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/addiction-vs-dependence-what-is-the-difference/ of the addict and carry through with the consequences you had spelled out during the meeting. All approved medications are non-addictive and can be used alone or in combination with other forms of treatment.

The primary goal, however, is to convince the alcoholic to seek treatment. This is not always successful on the first try, but if nothing else, the intervention plants the idea in the person’s mind. It can also initiate changes in the way the family deals with the person’s alcoholism. Many alcoholics also agree to seek help when they realize how their habits have hurt their loved ones. This is the reason close relatives should be a part of the intervention team because they are the people the alcoholic person cares most about.

Treatment options

“I hear so much of the latter—of people being beat up in the intervention,” she said. “If the person had any other illness, there’s no way we would do that.” McMahon has family members and friends prepare for the intervention by writing letters to the alcoholic or drug addict. This allows family members to express their feelings without threatening or blaming the addicted person.

It has the potential to stir up a sense of betrayal or resentment on the part of the addict. Talk with a healthcare professional to learn how best to respond to these situations. A successful intervention must be planned carefully to work as planned. Your loved one may feel attacked and become isolated or more opposed to treatment. An intervention can motivate someone to seek help for alcohol or drug misuse, compulsive eating, or other addictive behaviors. Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center.

Behavioral Treatments

The intervention itself may set off additional behavior problems that can complicate the relationship between the addicted person and the intervention team members. It is rare that someone would go to treatment once and then never drink again. More often, people must repeatedly try to quit or cut back, experience recurrences, learn from them, and then keep trying. For many, continued follow up with a treatment provider is critical to overcoming problem drinking. When seeking professional help, it is important that you feel respected and understood and that you have a feeling of trust that this person, group, or organization can help you.

Each person will explain why they’re concerned, personally request that they attend treatment, and then reiterate how the disorder has and will impact their life and relationships if they don’t go. Much research has been conducted into the most effective methods to help someone with an alcohol use disorder, and many ineffective how to do an intervention for an alcoholic techniques have also been identified. These are things you generally should not do if you find someone who needs help with an alcohol use disorder. If you’re concerned for a loved one who you believe is experiencing a substance use disorder, there are many things you can do to help them get on the path to recovery.