Friend Interventions

Staging an intervention for a friend who is being destroyed by alcohol and drug addiction can be an emotionally and physically stressful event. How do you approach them in such a way that they will not only hear you but really listen to what you have to say and then choose to accept drug and alcohol rehab as a solution?

Below, you will find a number of tips to help you as you contemplate staging a friend intervention. If you have questions or if you would like to secure a spot for your loved one in drug rehab before you do the intervention, contact Michael's House at .

The Goal of Friend Interventions

The goal of a friend intervention, like any drug and alcohol addiction intervention, is two-fold. The first goal is to get your friend to see how she is hurting herself and those who love her by continuing to allow addiction to run her life. The second goal is to convince her to accept drug and alcohol addiction treatment immediately.

The way to accomplish these two goals at a friend intervention is with anecdotes. If each person relates an incident in which he or she was directly involved or witnessed firsthand that were caused by your friend's addiction. These may have had dangerous outcomes in which others were hurt emotionally or physically by your friend's addiction. When each person in the room adds his or her own personal experience with your friend's addiction, telling of harmful events that occurred as a direct result of that addiction, it will be impossible for your friend to deny that they are, in fact, a drug addict or an alcoholic. The hope is that they will then recognize that the issue has come to a head and that accepting immediate drug and alcohol addiction treatment is the next best step.

Friend Intervention Tips

Though you cannot guarantee that your friend will choose to enter alcohol and drug rehab at the end of your friend intervention, there are some things you can do to help increase your chances of a positive outcome:

Wait until your friend is sober before you begin the intervention.
Make sure that the attendees who will be speaking to your friend are loved by him or her, respected and not currently active in addiction.
Quell the urge to become emotional. Although it may be difficult not to cry, avoid begging or yelling at your friend.
Secure a spot at a drug and alcohol rehab for your friend BEFORE you do the friend intervention. It should be set up so that your friend can go directly from the intervention to drug and alcohol rehab immediately, without waiting.
Pack a bag for your friend so that they can literally walk out the door as soon as they accept drug addiction treatment.