22
July
2008
I was in Santa Monica this weekend visiting a client that I had done an intervention on almost two years ago. For the purposes of confidentiality I will refer to this individual as Santa Monica for the rest of this post. I was visiting him at a treatment facility that he was staying at and he now reported that he has 90 days of sobriety. A few blog posts ago I had written about a conversation I had had with a therapist in Baltimore who wanted to know if I felt intervention really worked. I took the opportunity this weekend to discuss this issue with Santa Monica. I asked Santa Monica if he felt that the intervention process contributed to his current sobriety. Santa Monica said yes, the intervention process had set the recovery ball in motion for him. He let me know that the first recovery attempt had failed because he felt he was just not ready. Santa Monica went on to say that he felt that his first attempt at treatment had planted the seed for the success he was experiencing today.
As I say from time to time recovery is a process and sometimes relapse is a part of that process. I don’t believe it has to be but if it is, it is…
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11
July
2008
I was in Baltimore Maryland a little while back having a conversation with a local Physiotherapist who asked me for my honest opinion about whether Interventions really worked or not. (For the purposes of confidentiality I will refer to this person as Baltimore for the rest of this post.)
Baltimore asked me if I thought substance abuse interventions really worked. Baltimore was under the impression that most of the time the intervention process worked long enough to get the substance abuser into treatment, but not long enough to sustain long term sobriety (I had to agree with Baltimore). Seven out of ten times the intervention process works and the substance abuser makes the decision to go to treatment; this makes the intervention a success. However, a large number of substance abusers return to the destructive behavior shortly after leaving treatment. What follows is the statistic that we need to keep our eye on. I don’t have an exact number for you and I can’t tell you how this unfolds from intervention to intervention. But I can tell you that most of the time the intervention lends to being the icebreaker to recovery.
Once the substance abuse makes the decision to choose recovery and get a taste of sobriety, they generally start to hedge life in that direction. I have stories and examples of interventions that have worked from the first day and these people are still sober as I write this post. I have stories and examples of interventions that did not seem to work the day of the scheduled intervention, only to have the substance abuser make the decision to seek treatment a week later. I also have examples of first time treatment attempts that worked for a short period of time and then lead to an even deeper more incomprehensible bottom for the substance abuser, only to find out a few years later that the individual is now sober and doing great. I guess what I am trying to say is that I have no idea how the process will unfold I can only tell you that seven out of ten times the intervention sets the sobriety ball in motion.
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30
June
2008
I was speaking to a potential client in El Paso, Texas today who was interested in hiring me for my services. (For the purposes of confidentiality, I will refer to this person as El Paso for the remainder of this post.) We discussed the circumstances surrounding the chemically dependent person in El Paso’s life and some of the details about how I might be able to help in this situation. (This is usually the point in the consultation where the potential client asks how much my services will cost them.) When I told El Paso what my fees would be El Paso asked me why it was so expensive (I get this a lot). I find that MOST people who call me really want or need an Interventionist but can’t seem to justify the expense. I proceeded to help El Paso understand that an intervention takes both time and money. As a matter of fact, I used to perform Interventions for much less than I do today, and I found that I just could not afford to do them unless they started paying better. As much as I believe most Interventionists would love to donate their services, I have found that it is just not possible.
It is my experience that the most common underestimation regarding the Intervention process is the time it takes to effectively prepare. Most of the people calling, expect me to just pop over and have a talk with the chemically dependent person. Unfortunately the process is a bit more developed and calculated than this. In order to effectively prepare and rehearse for the Intervention it generally requires a minimum of 3 good long team meetings and rehearsals. The second commonly overlooked fact is that the aftercare related to most interventions. It is pretty uncommon for an intervention to just end the day of the scheduled intervention. More often than not I am working with the family for weeks and sometimes months after the scheduled Intervention.
So in short El Paso, It is difficult to put a price on a well planned and prepared substance abuse intervention. I have previous clients that have come to me with a pile of family dysfunction that desperately needed to be sorted out. After the Intervention, a large portion of what has been going on – for years, sometimes – is finally sorted out or at least looked at and examined. I am not suggestion that an intervention will be the answers to all of your family problems but I am saying that it can serve as a turning point.
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21
June
2008
As some of you know I have been working on a how to DVD for the better part of the last year. The reason I wanted to develop this project was due to the fact that more often than not I receive phone calls and emails from families and loved ones who need or want my services but can’t afford them. I know you must be thinking and I tried that. I attempted to lower my prices and for various reasons it just did not work. What I decided to do was develop this how to do an intervention DVD. My goal is to produce the how to DVD for as reasonable a price as I can. This way people who call me with no idea what to do, will have an option.
I am happy to say after 6 months of scripting and editing it has been shot in High Def, Green-screen by Mike Quick at Quick1media. My goal is to have a finished 30 minute instructional DVD available in the next 10 weeks (titled the 7 steps to the art of intervention). Obviously this intervention DVD is not designed to replace an interventionist in the process. But if you know someone who might need the services of an interventionist and either knows little about the process or can’t afford it, you might want to consider this as an introductory tool.
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11
June
2008
I was in Dallas Texas this week when I received a call regarding an intervention on a substance abuser living in Beverly Hills, California. The family friend who I will call C.C. was in a real hurry to see the intervention take place right away. I get calls like this all the time so I decided to discuss this in my blog post this week.
Frequently I receive calls from family members or loved ones of a drug addict or alcoholic who are sure that we need to do an intervention immediately. As if the chemically dependent person has not been this way for several years. Don’t get me wrong I understand that in some circumstances people just don’t know what is going on with others but this does not mean that the destructive behavior not been going on for a while. I see this especially when the chemically dependent persons life has started to fall apart or spiral out of control. Trust me, this kind of stuff does not start happening the first time someone decides to get high. I also understand the circumstances surrounding licensed professional who might be putting themselves and/or others in harm’s way. I am talking about the average person who has been addicted to a substance for the last several years. Many people want to rush in and do an intervention right away and I just don’t recommend this. One of the keys to well planned Intervention is the element of structure as well as surprise.
In most cases it is important to find the right interventionist to help you and your team navigate the circumstances surrounding your issue. Then develop a well planned approach to finding a resolution and solution. Please don’t make the mistake of rushing in and blowing it. Remember that the interventionist is not the one who is going to be executing the intervention. It will be you and your team who have the greatest impact on the victim so make sure you practice and get it right.
Obviously you are the ultimate judge as to the health and welfare of the substance abuser and if he or she is in danger you might need to take action sooner. But if you really want to execute and effective intervention I invite you to use your judgment and your reason regarding how fast you need to move.
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