Alcoholism Intervention
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In an alcoholism intervention, alcoholics are confronted by family members and friends about their drinking behavior and how
their abusive and excessive drinking has affected everyone around him or her.
Alcoholism interventions should be carefully planned and developed by professional substance abuse counselors who are
experienced in such procedures. The most essential purpose of an alcoholism intervention is to get the alcoholic to seek professional alcohol
addiction treatment.
Alcoholism Intervention: A Broad Overview
Research shows that one way of dealing with alcoholism is to conduct an intervention. What is an alcoholism
intervention?
Essentially an intervention can be viewed as a step in the alcohol treatment
process in which the alcohol abuser is confronted about his or her drinking behavior and how the excessive and abusive drinking has affected family members, friends, co-workers, and perhaps
neighbors.
Stated differently, an alcoholism intervention is a meeting involving the alcoholic, family members, friends, perhaps an
employer, along with a mental health or an addiction intervention specialist. In this meeting, the family members and friends, under the
leadership and guidance of the healthcare or mental health professional, express their concern over the addict's drinking behavior and strongly
"encourage" the addict to get professional help.
Typically in an intervention, family members and friends tell the alcoholic in their own words how they are concerned about the
drinker and how his or her drinking has created anxiety, frustration, fear, and other problems in their lives. The objective of an
alcoholism intervention is for the alcoholic to listen to what has been said and then to accept the fact that he or she needs professional
alcoholism assistance.
It is important to state that alcoholism interventions are typically resorted to when all other options have been exhausted in an
attempt to help an individual overcome a serious drinking problem.
Alcoholism Interventions Can Fail
Substance abuse research reveals the fact that a number of alcohol abuse and alcoholism treatment centers have stopped doing
alcoholism interventions because they sometimes fail. More to the point, when alcoholism interventions are not successful, a fact that
has to be considered, the family can actually be torn apart even further due to the negative and disruptive feelings about the failed
intervention.
It must be emphasized that this is not an insignificant issue for a family that is already on the edge of destruction due to the
alcoholic behavior of a family member. The chance for failure regarding alcoholism interventions highlights the need to employ an
alcoholism intervention professional who has a proven track record of success.
Why Do Alcoholism Interventions Fail?
What are the main reasons that alcoholism interventions fail? First, the intervention may fail if the alcoholic doesn't
follow the treatment protocol both during and after formal treatment.
Second, since his or her reasoning and logical abilities and emotional
stability may be inhibited because of advanced alcoholism, the alcoholic may simply leave the intervention session, meaning that the well-intentioned family members will have to deal with the failed intervention
in addition to the rest of their problems.
The third reason that alcoholism interventions may prove to be unsuccessful is the fact that the alcoholic may not be ready for
help at this time. Stated differently, some therapists believe that alcoholism interventions may lack a proven long-term track record due
to the fact that many alcoholics are not able to receive help until they get to the point in their lives when they themselves make this
decision.
In short, according to this view, alcoholics can't be helped until they seek help on their own. Ironically, even if the
intervention helps put alcoholics in a more receptive frame of mind and actually helps them decide that they need help, the mere fact that the
intervention took place may result in resentment, mistrust, and ill feelings down the road. And fourth, alcoholism interventions can
fail when a family either chooses to undertake an intervention without the guidance and support of an intervention professional or if the
intervention specialist is incompetent.
| Scientific research has shown that participation in support groups, combined with other treatment efforts, is more
effective in helping alcoholics remain sober than participating in treatment by itself. For those who do not prefer the 12-step
approach, many other support groups are available. |
When Do Alcoholism Interventions Succeed?
Research has shown that the optimum time for an alcoholism intervention is following a major event, such as an arrest for a DUI,
when an alcoholic has been caught stealing something of value, or when the alcoholic is caught lying about something of importance. In
these circumstances, the alcoholic is more likely to be remorseful or to feel guilty. Though this may seem obvious, it needs to be stated
that it is also important that the addict is sober at the time of the intervention.
| To make a successful recovery, the addict needs new tools in order to deal with situations and problems which
arise. Factors such as encountering someone from their days of using, returning to the same environment and places, or even small
things such as smells and objects trigger memories which can create psychological stress. This can hinder the addict's goal of
complete recovery, thus not allowing the addict to permanently regain control of his or her life. |
It is interesting to point out, however, that according to alcoholism research, men are more likely to remain in alcohol
treatment if they are there under suggestions or threats from their employers. This finding seems to indicate that intervention that
includes participation by employers can be effective in some instances. In fact, according to one study, employees who were chronic
alcohol abusers displayed significant improvement in their drinking behavior and in their job performance during the months immediately
following an intervention to confront their problem drinking that was negatively affecting their work.
In short, it can be stated that some alcoholism interventions have been shown to assist in the process of motivating the alcoholic to accept
treatment for his or her alcohol addiction. And if done with careful planning and with the guidance of an intervention expert, the chances
of success are greatly enhanced.
| Alcoholism researchers in one study found that the largest group of alcoholics in the U.S. are young adults.
Twenty percent are highly functional and more than half do not have a family history of alcoholism. |
Alcoholism Intervention: Conclusion
An intervention is a form of confrontation in which a group of concerned individuals, such as family members and friends along
with a mental health or an addiction intervention professional, have a meeting with an alcohol addicted individual. In this
meeting, the family members and friends, under the supervision and guidance of the intervention specialist, express their concern over the
alcoholic's drinking behavior and strongly "encourage" the alcoholic to get professional help.
Although alcoholism interventions should be undertaken as a "last resort" and have been known to boomerang and result in
mistrust, ill feelings, and resentment, if done with careful planning and with the guidance of an intervention expert, the chances of a
successful alcoholism intervention are significantly enhanced.
| According to a report published by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University,
most teens who experiment with alcohol continue using it. Among high school seniors who had tried alcohol, 91.3 percent still
were drinking in the 12th grade. |
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| Positive alcohol expectancies, or the belief that drinking will lead to positive, pleasurable experiences,
play a key role in the drinking behavior of young adults. What a person expects from drinking not only predicts when he or
she will begin drinking but also how much he or she will drink throughout young adulthood. As people age through adolescence
and into young adulthood, they increasingly expect benefits from drinking and become less convinced of the risks. |
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