By Drew Horowitz, MA, LADC, LPCC, CIP
The decision to stage an intervention isn’t an easy one. It may well, however, be what helps save someone’s life … and restores your sanity.
In a perfect world, the user would recognize their own addiction and voluntarily seek help, but those individuals are few and far between. The disease of addiction distorts thinking, making users unable to see their behavior clearly and convincing them that “I’m OK.” My team at Drew Horowitz & Associates and I find the clinical intervention process to be extremely effective.
Loved ones can themselves be confused, given the significant cultural and societal misconceptions around addiction and how one goes about getting well.
For instance, did you know that the vast majority of people entering treatment centers aren’t doing so of their own accord? Nearly nine out of ten of them are encouraged, nudged and sometimes forced to enter treatment for their unaddressed and continuous substance abuse, often by doctors, therapists and law enforcement, all of whom play a significant role.
For this reason, we don’t want to assume your loved one will wake up tomorrow and magically appear willing and ready to self-initiate treatment. We instead want to assume the alternative: that their illness is strong, dishonest and harmful, and ultimately guiding them away from seeking help. We want to address it from a place of caution and be proactive in helping them seek treatment, just as we would with other persistent medical conditions; diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
Another area of confusion—a greatly misunderstood concept—is that people need to be highly motivated and “ready” to enter treatment or it’s simply ineffective. As a seasoned interventionist and clinician with more than a decade of working with addiction, I cannot emphasize enough how false this theory is. Understand this: Treatment and recovery are two different things. To live a life of sobriety and enjoy the blessings that come with it, one must be motivated and willing to do the work, take the required steps and engage in a program of recovery. But to enter treatment for an illness and begin receiving care? One doesn’t need a high level of motivation or readiness for that. Why? Well, treatment is eye opening and an effective experience. Most people enter treatment exhausted, typically experiencing some form of withdrawal from their substance of choice and the foggy brain/mind that comes with it. They’re most certainly sleep-deprived and lacking in proper nutrition. Within days of being isolated in a program with proper rest, nutrition, possibly medication and a clinical specialist at their side, people begin to “see the light of recovery.” Feeling good, they awaken from their delusional state of mind and become more open to sobriety as a realistic option.
Families and friends can be extremely influential in getting them there. Having the support of a trained and seasoned interventionist—who knows how the process can go or might stall and pivot constructively—increases the intervention’s likelihood of success. My team and I are prepared to assist, any day or night.
Experience care through hope and healing. Contact Drew Horowitz & Associates, today.
—
Drew Horowitz & Associates
971 Sibley Memorial Hwy #250
Lilydale, MN 55118
800-731-0854
www.drewhorowitzassociates.com