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Because individuals suffering from alcoholism and
other addictions are prone to serious denial about
the harmful effects of their behavior on
themselves and others, efforts to reason with them
and to convince them to stop causing such harm are
frequently met with denial, defensiveness,
justification or minimization, and even attacks
upon the messenger of what to the alcoholic or
addict is bad news: that his addictive behavior is
irrational and harmful and therefore must be
curtailed.
Talking to such alcoholics and addicts in a
rational and objective fashion is therefore often
useless or even counterproductive. In other cases
the alcoholic-addict may agree with observation
that his behavior is harmful to himself and
others, may agree with the need for change, and in
some cases even make an attempt to relinquish or
moderate his addiction. But this is often followed
by relapse and a repetition of the same cycle,
sometimes up to dozens of times and extending over
a period of years. Such people manifest remorse,
guilt, and a passionate determination to "do
better next time," or they say that "it will
never, ever happen again." But the behavior recurs
in spite of their apparent insight and desire to
behave differently.
Those around such addicts become frustrated,
angry, depressed and often hopeless. They are
usually well aware that something is seriously
wrong and that the alcoholic or addict desperately
needs help. But they are baffled and helpless as
to what to do when, as is all too often the case,
the alcoholic-addict insists that he is just fine,
that everything is under control, or that if in
fact there is a very small problem, he himself is
well aware of it and fully prepared to take care
of it on his own resources. He does not, he
assures anxious friends and family members, need
any help. If they continue to press the point he
becomes defensive and often angry and may begin to
point out their own shortcomings, to drag up old
conflicts, or simply walk out in a huff – usually
to engage in still more addictive behavior in
consequence of his resentment and self-pity for
being so grossly misunderstood and badly treated
as to be told that he has a serious problem for
which he needs professional help!
The turmoil caused by alcoholism and other
addictions can be considerable - and it tends to
get worse rather than better over time. Addiction
causes people who are not naturally that way to
become progressively more self-centered,
inconsiderate, dishonest, defensive and
suspicious. They may experience unpredictable mood
swings, outbursts of emotional and sometimes
physical violence, and make major decisions
without adequate consultation or forethought. They
come more and more to act like the proverbial loose
cannon and can cause a great deal of
destruction not only in their own lives but in the
lives of others. Such people are correctly said to
be out of control -–and those who care
about them often do not know what to do but stand
helplessly by and watch as they create more and
more problems for themselves and everyone else,
praying that the outcome will not be a fatal one
and that sooner or later the afflicted individual
will hit bottom or otherwise come to his senses
and either stop his destructive behavior on his
own or seek professional assistance for doing so.
The technique of intervention gives
those who care about the alcoholic-addict a tool
and a forum by which they can express their
concern in a structured, focused format that often
leads to the first step in the direction of
recovery. A well-organized and properly conducted
intervention has been the gateway through which
many an alcoholic-addict has passed from a
deteriorating existence of addictive misery to a
lifetime of healthy and rewarding sobriety.
An intervention consists of a group of friends,
family, co-workers or other important people in
the alcoholic-addict's life who present in a
non-accusatory way their observations and concerns
about the individual's behavior as a result of his
alcohol or drug use. This is done in a controlled,
objective, and systematic fashion in order to
overcome the denial and minimization of the addict
and to present a unified front of support and care
as the plea and recommendation is made by all
present for the addict to get some help to stop
his self- and frequently other- destructive
behavior with substances.
The classic book on intervention is Intervention:
A
Step-by-Step Guide for Families and Friends of
Chemically Dependent Persons, by
Vernon E. Johnson, D.D.(Hazelden, 1989). Barely
100 pages and written in clear and simple terms,
this little book gives an excellent description of
the disease of chemical dependency as well as a
practical account of the theory and practice of
intervention. Written by the leading pioneer and
exponent of intervention and the founder of the
Johnson Institute, this is the best introduction
to the topic available.
"Intervention is a process by which the
harmful, progressive, and destructive effects
of chemical dependency are interrupted and the
chemically dependent person is helped to stop
using mood-altering chemicals and to develop
new, healthier ways of coping with his or her
needs and problems. It implies that the person
need not be an emotional or physical wreck(or
"hit bottom") before such help can be given."
From Intervention,
by Vernon E. Johnson.
Treatment for the alcoholic or other chemically
dependent is sometimes unnecessarily and
dangerously delayed because of the false belief
that the addicted individual must first "hit
bottom" and thus "want to get better" before he is
ready for help. The purpose of the intervention
method is to break through the alcoholic's
powerful denial and avoidance defenses -defenses
that have been patiently and carefully built up
and strengthened over a number of years in most
cases- and to connect him at least temporarily
with the reality of his condition so that he will
accept the help that everyone but himself is well
aware that he needs. The collective feedback of
people who know him well, who have observed and
can describe the effects of alcohol or other drugs
upon his personality and behavior, and the effects
that these effects have had upon them, is a
powerful, if usually only temporary,
antidote to the strange lack or loss of contact
with reality that is called denial.
A properly done intervention is confronting but
it is also deeply caring and supportive. Each
participant first affirms the worth of the
alcoholic and their positive feelings for him,
which in fact is the only reason they have agreed
to participate in the intervention. If they didn't
care about him they would just leave him alone and
let him destroy himself. But because they do care
they supply him with their factual observations of
how he has behaved -and frequently misbehaved- due
to alcohol or drugs. One by one and in
non-judgmental, factual terms they describe to him
actual negative experiences that they have
had with him because of his drinking or drug use.
There is never any shortage of these when one is
dealing with the kind of alcoholic or addict for
whom intervention is appropriate. The cumulative
effect of these descriptions, coming as they do
from people who know and care about the alcoholic,
is to hold up a mirror before him in which he is
forced to see himself as he really is and has been
rather than as he mistakenly believes he is.
The aim of most interventions is to get the
alcoholic or addict immediately into a treatment
program of some kind. Experience shows that
promises of reform, sincere and often tearful as
they may be at the time, seldom hold up down the
road without ongoing assistance of some kind. A
well-planned intervention has arranged the
specific treatment in advance, taken care of all
practical objections, and even packed the
alcoholic's suitcase so that he can be driven
straight to the hospital or to the airport to fly
to the hospital. Other arrangements besides
inpatient hospitalization may be chosen in
particular cases, e.g. outpatient treatment and/or
AA.
Although Vernon Johnson's book Intervention
is intended as a how-to-do-it-yourself guide for
family and friends to conduct an intervention
without professional assistance, it is almost
always preferable to secure the help of a trained
interventionist who is also an expert in chemical
dependency in setting up and conducting an
intervention. This makes matters much easier for
all concerned and relieves the already stressed
and anxious family of the burden of having to
learn how to do something that is for them very
difficult and frightening: confront the person
they care about with the destructive effects of
his addiction in a way that both gets his
attention and convinces him to get immediate help
for his problem. Interventionists who have done
this procedure hundreds or even thousands of times
have learned the fine points and tricks of the
process and know the best and most effective way
to organize, conduct and conclude the
intervention.
The following books deal with chemical dependency
and intervention:
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