logo
  • Pre-Teens
  • Teens
  • Young Adults
  • Experts
  • Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Jobs
  • Sign In
  • Pre-Teens
  • Teens
  • Young Adults
  • Experts
  • Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Jobs
  • Sign In
Back to the Blog
Back to the Blog
June 17th, 2016
June 17th, 2016
Young Adult | Recovery | Parent Support | Interventions | Teen Transport

Understanding an Intervention

The context substance use and recovery for dual diagnosis teens to adults.

intervention derives from the Latin word intervenire, meaning “to interrupt or come between.” Although interventions are most commonly used in behavioral health as a way for families and loved ones to address alcohol/drug addictions and substance abuse-related issues, they can also be utilized with mental health, compulsive or acting out behaviors such as eating disorders, gambling, and video gaming.

  • “He needs to want to get well for an intervention to work right?”
  • “We were told to wait until she hits ‘Rock Bottom’.”
  • “Nothing will work until he is ready to quit.”
  • “We can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want, can we?”

These are the most common statements and questions Hired Power hears during an initial call from a family or loved one, inquiring about an intervention. Unfortunately, those statements and questions are also heard in offices of therapists, doctors, and other community-based professionals. These illusions prevent families and professionals from intervening in disease processes that are impacting and killing millions in the US.

And so, obviously, the decision to intervene can often be a difficult but necessary one. An intervention changes the way a family thinks about their own situations and options. Empowering a family to understand and define healthy rules and boundaries can by itself be a great motivation for change. Tony Robbins summarizes the family dynamic by pointing out that “change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change”. Families and loved ones often have more leverage, and agency, than they understand.

An intervention creates an opportunity and definition of achievable goals, rather than passively waiting for a hard destructive, and sometimes deadly bottom. Planning an intervention while a loved one still has connectedness and the potential can shine the light on hope and the possibility of health and recovery.

If you are interested in learning a brief history of Interventions (click here).

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nanette Zumwalt ICADC, ICCJP, CIP, CAI is the founder and CEO of Hired Power Transitional Recovery Services which provide a variety of services such as Intervention, Safe Passage, Personal Recovery Assistants, Sober Monitoring, and Recovery Care Management in the mental health and addiction fields. She has toured and evaluated over 800 treatment centers nationally and internationally.

 

Previous Post
June 15th
The Spectrum of Autism Spectrum Programs
Next Post
June 21st
An Accidentally Therapeutic Experience vs An Intentionally Therapeutic Experience
Related Content
Intervention: A Process, not an Event
Many times a friend or family of an addicted individual waits for the person to “hit rock bottom” so that the person will finally ask for help.  This can often be a long and drawn out process.  It also increases the chance for the addicted person to have legal problems ...
Blog Post
Family Choice Behavioral Healthcare Interventions Industry (FCBHI)
The Family Choice Behavioral Healthcare Interventions Industry (FCBHI), also referred to as “private-pay” treatment providers focus on the treatment/recovery options for teens and young adults who are primarily going to pay for the treatment out of pocket and not through an insurance-...
Dictionary Term
Intervention
An intervention is essentially an “interruption” to promote a reframing of the current situation. An intervention is a structured process that breaks the cycle of dysfunction, typically used to interrupt dynamics associated to the disease of addiction, though responsive toward other r...
Dictionary Term
Interventionist
An interventionist is a professional who helps “intervene” on a maladaptive system. Interventions provide a novel and effective approach when a client is treatment-resistant, however this is not their only function. Typically working with the families, employers or concerned Others, t...
Dictionary Term
Therapeutic Interventions & Schools
  • Pre-Teens
  • Teens
  • Young Adults
  • Economic Impact Study
List your program Sign In
logo © 2023 All Kinds of Therapy
For Teens (<18)
  • Wilderness Therapy
  • Residential Treatment
  • DX Assessment / Psychiatric Hospital
For Young Adults (>18)
  • Wilderness Therapy
  • Residential Treatment
  • DX Assessment Psychiatric Hospital
  • Transitional Living
  • Sober Living House
  • Workshops
  • Boarding Schools
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • BiblioTHERAPY
  • Dictionary
  • Free Resources
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
Subscribe to All Kinds of News