11 Dec How to Write an Intervention Letter – Our 5 Tips
Interventions for family members who are addicted to drugs or alcohol can be quite the emotional experience. Because of this, Andy Bhatti Interventions & Addictions Services recommends writing an intervention letter for your loved one.
Writing it down on a piece of paper allows you to say everything you want to say while staying on track and not getting lost in the sea of emotions.
It’s important to note that there are many different ways to write an intervention letter. Andy Bhatti suggests that the letter isn’t a confrontational letter because that may hinder the addict from getting help. A letter that cuts the addict too much slack and is full of excuses will encourage the addict to not receive any help at all.
Instead, your letter should shed a positive light on the addict but also touch on why you think the addict needs to get help.
You can follow these 5 tips when writing your letter. If you follow “this how to write an intervention letter” blog post, we can’t promise that your loved one will accept help, but they will be able to hear your worries and concerns relating to their addiction in a safe and settled setting.
Affirm the addict
Start off the letter by sharing the positive things you love about the person. During the intervention, it’s most likely that the addict will be defensive, so hearing positive traits about themselves will allow them to realize the intervention isn’t a confrontational bashing meeting.
Make sure to include how much the addict is loved and list the positive traits they hold.
Speak about the addiction
The intervention letter is written to acknowledge the addiction. Point the spotlight directly on the problem.
The person who is dealing with an addiction may deny what they’re going through. If or when they deny this, calmly continue with your letter stating the facts and evidence about their addiction.
Andy Bhatti or another one of his professional interventionists can be in the room with you when the intervention happens. This would allow the intervention to continue on track while staying safe and comfortable for everyone involved. A professional intervention is a good way to handle an addict when trying to encourage them to get help.
Andy has been providing effective addiction counseling and intervention services in Calgary, Vancouver, Newfoundland and several other locations across Canada for more than five years now.
Identify the harm
Once you’ve spoken about their addiction in your intervention letter, it’s time to acknowledge how this addiction is harmful.
Talk about the harms whether that be to themselves, you, the family, their loved ones, material objects or hurt feelings. Lay it out on the table by being as personal as possible. If these acknowledgments are based on your own personal experiences, there’s less of a chance that the addict can deny it.
Acknowledge the consequences
At Andy Bhatti Interventions & Addiction Services, we have written many articles on the effects enabling can have on an addict and a loved one.
This will be a hard part of writing the intervention letter, but you must list the consequences. To encourage an addict to start living a clean and sober lifestyle, the family has to end any enabling for the addict.
Write about how your relationship will change if he or she continues to abuse drugs or alcohol. Instead of listing each consequence, write about how their behaviours have made you assume new behaviours of your own.
Creating a list of ultimatums will only push the addict further away. Be tactful.
Encouraging words
It’s now the end of your intervention letter, which should end on an encouraging note. Remind them of the things you said earlier on, like that you love them and how much you care about them.
Instead of writing a full letter explaining why the addict is ruining their life, let the letter be full of love and hope. An optimistic approach can make a big difference in the life of someone who is struggling with addiction.
Contact Andy Bhatti
If you’re looking for more information on how to write an intervention letter, contact Andy Bhatti today. A past addict himself, he knows the right ways to encourage an addict to start living the clean and sober life they deserve.
Andy Bhatti is available for interventions across Canada and spends a lot of time helping people in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton and in cities in Saskatchewan.
Call Andy today: 1-888-491-8589 or email support@andybhatti.com.