It can be extremely difficult to watch someone you love battle a drug or alcohol addiction, especially if the person is beginning to experience serious consequences from this issue. While you may sometimes feel helpless about what to do, one thing to consider is holding an intervention. You've perhaps seen shows about interventions on TV and know that they can be effective. If several members of your family are in agreement that an intervention is warranted, it's time to begin planning it. This isn't something that you should proceed with on your own. Instead, you'll want to hire a professional interventionist. Here are some reasons why.

Maintain Order

Interventions often get highly emotional. This is a chance for your family to express their thoughts about someone's drug or alcohol addiction, which is a painful thing to talk about. Some people can get upset as they talk, and the person who is struggling with the addition may occasionally feel attacked. You don't want this meeting to get out of hand and make the situation worse. Having a professional interventionist will help to maintain order. They've likely overseen dozens of interventions over the years and will serve as an experienced and authoritative voice.

Offer Support To Both Sides

Even though it's an overall positive experience, an intervention can be challenging for both sides. You may find that it's difficult to share some honest thoughts about your loved one's addiction, and they may have trouble listening to everyone's comments. An interventionist can be valuable for providing support to both sides. For example, if you start to waver when you're talking, the interventionist will gently encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts to get them off your chest. If the other person feels attacked, the interventionist will remind them that this isn't an attack, but rather an opportunity for their family to show their love and desire to help.

Help With The Next Steps 

During many interventions, the goal is to get the person with the addiction to agree to enter a treatment facility. Having a professional interventionist at your gathering will help with this next step. They'll have contacts in the local treatment world, which means that they can recommend a specific facility and also offer some help with getting your loved one there. For example, the interventionist can call the facility, explain that your loved one will be visiting, and arrange transportation. Without an interventionist present, you may struggle with these steps.

Look online to find an addiction intervention service in your area.