The Intervention Process - The Call.
Continued from first in series.
For those who’ve never talked with an interventionist before, Burr Cook of Family Intervention Now answers some very straightforward questions about intervention, families and addiction. With 17 years experience as a nurse and 9 years experience doing interventions, Burr is a Certified Alcoholism and Other Drug Recovery Specialist (CAS) and BRN/1 Board Registered Interventionist recognized by the Association of Intervention Specialist Credentialing Board. He knows first-hand what intervention and addiction are all about.
Following is the second in the series, "The Intervention Process - What it's really like".
Q: When someone calls you for the first time, typically what do they ask first?
Burr: Usually they want to know if “intervention really works if somebody doesn’t want to stop?”. They want to know the process, how much it costs, what are the success rates. Those are typically the kind of things you hear first. Lately the big question is “Is it like the TV show?”
Q: And how do you respond?
Burr: No, it’s not like the TV show. The TV show is edited and scripted for entertainment purposes. They don’t show any of the back ground work, like the coaching and education. They only highlight the dramatic points of an intervention. Typically they show a Johnson model intervention which is highly emotional. Most interventionists do a lot of prep work so it’s not highly emotional. We want to take as much emotion out as possible and we do that through coaching and education. The show is about drama. Most interventionists prepare to reduce drama.
Q: What is the preparation?
Burr: It starts with an initial assessment of the family situation, safety concerns and who would be willing to participate? When the decision is made to do an intervention a more in-depth assessment of the situation of the addict, the family and the dynamic between them is done. Organizing focus, and education. It’s important to provide education about the disease of addiction, family dynamics, and family dysfunction- What works –what doesn’t. Generally the family just sees “bad behavior” in someone who is addicted. The family doesn’t understand why they don’t just stop. They don’t understand that the brain of an addict functions differently than the non-addicted, It is not a character, moral or willpower issue, it is a brain disease.
Q: Can you explain more about the mental condition of an addict and the family?
Burr: Absolutely. Addiction is a compulsive disorder that continues despite negative consequences. The addict has lost control over consumptions and behavior. Those closest to the addict are also affected by the resulting behavior and circumstances surrounding addiction. Overtime things get progressively worse. Everyone is affected mentally, emotionally and physically to some degree. The addict’s job is to sustain his addiction, with lying, cheating, stealing, and manipulation-whatever works. The family’s job can be to try to stop, or change the behavior, control the damage, hide the problem, or save themselves, but the problem is too big. Everybody is stuck- doing things that are ineffective or even making things worse. Fear, anger, hopelessness, anxiety, grief, rage, isolation-the list goes on and on. Some families are healthier than others; some members within a family are healthier than others, but when something like addiction is going on in a family for a significant period of time it can be mentally and emotionally devastating. We often see families that have been suffering from addiction, codependency, and mental illness for generations. These families tend to be extremely dysfunctional.
Click here to read the next part in this series on "The Rehab Intervention Process -- Educating the Family."
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