11 Jun What is a Vancouver Drug & Alcohol Intervention
A drug or alcohol intervention is a structured conversation between your loved ones, the addict or alcoholic and a Vancouver interventionist.
Drug and alcohol interventions can help the addict’s loved ones talk about their feelings in a caring and loving way.
When talking to the addict or alcoholic about the problem doesn’t work anymore a drug or alcohol intervention is the next most effective approach. Family interventions let the addict or alcoholic know how their actions affect the whole family. Addiction doesn’t just affect the addict—it also affects the whole family. Many families with loved ones suffering from addiction or alcoholism tend to get every little sleep at night because they stay awake wondering if the addict is okay and safe. The goal of the substance abuse intervention is to help the person struggling with addiction to accept the help that’s being offered at the Vancouver intervention. The next step is to get the loved one into a licensed Vancouver drug and alcohol treatment centre.
WHEN IS IT TIME TO PROCEED WITH A VANCOUVER INTERVENTION?
Many families living in Vancouver find it hard to talk to someone struggling with addiction or alcoholism. Although friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, family members and colleagues mean well, they might not know what to say. The person suffering from addiction or alcoholism might deny that they have a substance abuse problem, making the conversation difficult and scary. Many families living in the Vancouver area are also scared to approach their loved ones behaviour, because they have been enabling their addiction for many years. So many families feel guilty about their loved one’s addiction issues.
HERE ARE A FEW SIGNS YOUR LOVED ONE MAY BE ADDICTED TO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL:
- Borrowing money and never paying it back
- Credit cards are maxed out
- Negative change in attitude and erratic behaviour
- Drug abuse marks on their face or arms (scratches, scabs, burns, new scars, bruises)
- Staying up all night and pacing the house back and forth
- Aggressive behavior
- Deterioration of physical appearance
- Major weight loss
- Lack of energy or motivation
- Problems at work or school
- Health issues
- Talking about strange things
- Talking about conspiracies and people following them
- Sick and can’t get out of bed
- Stealing objects or money to support their addiction
- Always leaving family events early and showing up late
- Never comes home on time
- Can’t hold down a job
- New friends coming around that you have never heard of or met before
- Always asking for gas money
Vancouver Intervention specialists Andy Bhatti can help direct conversation to address the addiction issues or alcohol abuse.
HOW TO STAGE A VANCOUVER INTERVENTION
#1—Contact a Vancouver Drug and Alcohol Intervention specialist. The first step of staging an intervention is to contact Andy Bhatti Interventions Vancouver office.
Our Vancouver intervention professionals will communicate between groups and those trying to help the suffering addict. Our Vancouver interventionists will then ask for a whole family history on the loved one.
THERE IS A SERIES OF VALID QUESTIONS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MAY WANT TO CONSIDER. THESE ARE ALSO QUESTIONS YOUR TRUSTED VANCOUVER INTERVENTIONIST MAY ASK:
- What drugs does the loved one do on a daily basis that you know of?
- How long have they been doing drugs?
- What drug is the loved one actually addicted to?
- Has your loved one ever been to a Vancouver Drug and Alcohol treatment center before?
- Why is the family choosing to proceed with an intervention?
- Does the client have any known trauma?
- Does your loved one have kids?
- Is there any reason why the addict may choose to not accept help?
- Is the family willing to put up healthy boundaries and stick to their ultimatums?
Confronting the addict alone can actually make matters worse. He or she may become stubborn and not accept any help in the future. Interventions should never be attempted by family or friends alone. Interventions help the addict or alcoholic break their cycle of denial and save lives. A drug and alcohol intervention specialist is essential to staging a successful intervention.
FAMILY INTERVENTIONS
Once the whole family is on board, it’s time to proceed with the intervention. One of our Vancouver professional addiction interventionists will help the family and friends create a pre-intervention strategy. There’s no one-size-fits-all intervention plan. Our professional drug and alcohol interventionists work closely with all loved ones and family members involved in the intervention to address the individual’s addiction issues and help the addict to accept treatment.
Many pre-interventions might include the addict’s children, grandparents, and other elderly family members. However, children and elderly family members must be prepared for intense moments during the intervention and any confrontation that may happen during the intervention process. Interventions are about showing your loved one how much you really care for them. Interventions aren’t about attacking the suffering addicts or alcoholics or about blaming them for using drugs or alcohol.
Our Vancouver interventions are successful and help save lives.
THE FAMILY PRE-INTERVENTION PROCESS
The next stage of the intervention process includes the intervention specialist educating family members on addiction, trauma and recovery. Educating the family on addiction, enabling and compassion will help provide insight during the intervention. Friends, family members and significant others must all rehearse and prepare for the intervention with the interventionist.
A person struggling with alcohol abuse or drug addiction might not see how their actions or behaviour has affected others. Alcoholism and addiction change brain chemistry causing users to put drug addiction and alcoholism above all else.
Important family members can help trigger a “moment of clarity” by describing the ways the addict or alcoholic has hurt them in the past.
These life events should be pre-written and reviewed by your Vancouver interventionist before the intervention.
PRE-INTERVENTION DAY
Choosing the right place for the Intervention
The intervention should be held at a familiar and non-threatening place. This puts the alcoholic or addicted person at ease during the actual intervention as opposed to being in an unfamiliar environment they have never been in before. It’s important to schedule a meeting time you’re your loved one will be sober. Our Vancouver Interventionists plan interventions to take plan early in the morning as these events can last between 10 mins to 6 hours; however, there is no mandatory time period.
BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING DURING THE INTERVENTION
We cannot control or predict how your loved one will react when confronted during the intervention. Intervention specialist, Andy Bhatti, has experienced a large range of experiences orchestrating interventions. Our intervention presence is essential in keeping the intervention peaceful and productive as possible. Each person’s safety is our top priority. If your loved one’s reaction to being confronted endangers the family, our professional addiction interventionist will begin talking to the individual in a 1-on-1 in a private and safe setting.
Our interventionist will design a plan which includes attending a reputable and trusted treatment centre, a series of recovery goals and other specific attainable outcomes for the addict to meet post-intervention. The addict must be held accountable if he or she does not keep up with the specifically designed treatment plan. The family’s consequences could be removing children from their custody, calling their employer, telling their significant other or even refusing to let them live at home anymore. It’s important for the family to stay strong in enforcing these healthy boundaries, and to keep the addict or alcoholic aware of the consequences of leaving treatment or relapsing.
If you live in Vancouver, BC and are looking for information on our family intervention services or need help with a drug or alcohol intervention Call us today for your free consultation.
1-888-963-9116