Staging a drug addiction intervention can be a scary process, especially if you have been living with a loved one’s addiction for years. Emotionally exhausted and out of ideas, most people only choose a drug addiction intervention as a last resort. A final line of defense, a drug rehab intervention is a final plea to a loved one living with drug and alcohol addiction: get help through drug treatment now.

Here are a few steps for planning and staging a drug addiction intervention for the drug addict or alcoholic in your life.

Drug Addiction Intervention Step 1: Decide Who to Include

Once you’ve made the decision to move forward and stage a drug addiction intervention, the first step is to decide who to include in the event. Make sure to choose people who are close to and well respected by your loved one. Don’t include anyone struggling with addiction issues of their own, as this will only muddy the waters. This shouldn’t descend into a blame game so it is best if those who are included in the intervention are people who do not have a history of extended arguments or problems with the addict beyond the usual issues that arise as a result of drug and/ or alcohol addiction.

Tip: Be prepared to amend your list of invitees if someone declines the invitation or if scheduling precludes one or more cannot come.

Drug Addiction Intervention Step 2: Choose a Time and Place

Next, you should collaborate with those you are going to include in the drug addiction intervention and decide upon a time and place that will work for everyone. Keep in mind that you should choose a place that is natural for the addict who is the focus of the intervention. That is to say, if you are staging an intervention for someone you work with, it makes sense that you would ask them to stay late after work one day and have the intervention at work. If it is a family member who is the focus of the intervention, then you will likely choose to do the intervention at home, choosing a time that makes sense in their schedule when they are usually at home.

Tip: Remember that you will have to wait for your loved one to sober up or “come down” if they are drunk or high when you want to talk to them. They will need to be clear headed in order to understand what you are saying and be able to make the right decision.

Drug Addiction Intervention Step 3: Meet Ahead of Time

When you have chosen who will be included in the drug addiction intervention, have everyone except for the addict come to a preliminary meeting. Here, you can go over the basics of what an intervention is, what the goals are, what is expected of those who come to the intervention, who should speak and in what order as well as how long each person has to say what they have to say. If anyone has any questions or concerns, this is the time to work out the details.

Tip: Try to meet a couple of days ahead of time so that everyone has time to prepare for the intervention.

Stay tuned for the next three steps to staging a drug addiction intervention.