Intervention (counseling)
Encyclopedia
An intervention is an orchestrated attempt by one, or often many, people (usually family and friends) to get someone to seek professional help with an addiction or some kind of traumatic event or crisis
, or other serious problem. The term intervention is most often used when the traumatic event involves addiction
to drugs or other items. Intervention can also refer to the act of using a technique within a therapy session.
Interventions have been used to address serious personal problems, including, but not limited to, alcoholism
, compulsive gambling
, drug abuse
, compulsive eating
and other eating disorders, self-mutilation, tobacco smoking
, "workaholism"
, and various types of poor personal health care. Interventions have also been conducted due to personal habits not as frequently considered seriously harmful, such as video game addiction
, excessive computer
use, and excessive television
viewing.
The use of interventions originated in 1960s with Dr. Vernon Johnson
. The Johnson Model was subsequently taught years later at the Johnson Institute. There are some pockets of thought within the substance abuse treatment and intervention industry that the un-informed alcohol or drug dependent person is negatively affected by so-called "ambush" inherent in the Johnson Model direct intervention. However, beyond anecdotal evidence, there are no scientific studies which confirm that theory.
Two of the major models of intervention that are utilized today are known the Systemic Family Model and the A.R.I.S.E. model of intervention. While the A.R.I.S.E utilizes a predominantly invitational approach, in practice many of the same aspects of the Johnson Model are used. Systemic Family Model interventions may use an invitational approach but often utilize the direct approach. Both models rely heavily on having the family as a whole enter a phase of recovery. This helps take the focus off the addicted individual and notes the need for the entire family unit to change in an effort for everyone who is involved to get healthy.
Family and friends read their letters to the addict, who then must decide whether to check into the prescribed rehabilitation center or deal with the promised losses.
This study however, is outdated and is inherently flawed. An outpatient treatment center is the incorrect level of care for a vast majority of intervention patients. The very nature of outpatient treatment assumes a high level of willingness from the patient to engage in treatment. While an intervention does raise the willingness of the patient for the short term, that willingness often wanes within a short period of time. If the patient is not referred to a residential center away from the triggers and temptations of his home environment, he is at an extremely high risk for relapse. An intervention patient should be under the care of counselors and therapists who understand his or her specific psycho-social profile, unique to intervention patients, and should receive that care in a residential setting.
More research needs to be done in the area of long term effectiveness of pre-treatment interventions specific to drug and alcohol abusers.
of law.
, All Night Long.
The family of the protagonist (Luke) want him to abandon his "destructive" writer-lifestyle and return to the family business. Irene, his new partner, only learns of the intervention at breakfast, after it has already begun.
Crisis
A crisis is any event that is, or expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community or whole society...
, or other serious problem. The term intervention is most often used when the traumatic event involves addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
to drugs or other items. Intervention can also refer to the act of using a technique within a therapy session.
Interventions have been used to address serious personal problems, including, but not limited to, alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, compulsive gambling
Compulsive gambling
Problem gambling is an urge to continuously gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others, rather than by the gambler's behavior. Severe problem gambling may be diagnosed as clinical...
, drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, compulsive eating
Eating disorder
Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common specific...
and other eating disorders, self-mutilation, tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
, "workaholism"
Workaholic
A workaholic is a person who is addicted to work.The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it...
, and various types of poor personal health care. Interventions have also been conducted due to personal habits not as frequently considered seriously harmful, such as video game addiction
Game addiction
Video game addiction, or more broadly used video game overuse, is excessive or compulsive use of computer and video games that interferes with daily life. Instances have been reported in which users play compulsively, isolating themselves from family and friends or from other forms of social...
, excessive computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
use, and excessive television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
viewing.
Direct and indirect interventions
Interventions are either direct, typically involving a confrontational meeting with the alcohol or other drug dependent person (the most typical type of intervention) or indirect, involving work with a co-dependent family to encourage them to be more effective in helping the addicted individual.The use of interventions originated in 1960s with Dr. Vernon Johnson
Vernon Johnson
Vernon E. Johnson was an Episcopal priest and recovered alcoholic who devoted his life to alcohol intervention. Johnson's main achievements lie in the field of treatment of chemical dependency, especially alcoholism. Johnson did not believe that an alcoholic needed to "hit rock bottom" before...
. The Johnson Model was subsequently taught years later at the Johnson Institute. There are some pockets of thought within the substance abuse treatment and intervention industry that the un-informed alcohol or drug dependent person is negatively affected by so-called "ambush" inherent in the Johnson Model direct intervention. However, beyond anecdotal evidence, there are no scientific studies which confirm that theory.
Two of the major models of intervention that are utilized today are known the Systemic Family Model and the A.R.I.S.E. model of intervention. While the A.R.I.S.E utilizes a predominantly invitational approach, in practice many of the same aspects of the Johnson Model are used. Systemic Family Model interventions may use an invitational approach but often utilize the direct approach. Both models rely heavily on having the family as a whole enter a phase of recovery. This helps take the focus off the addicted individual and notes the need for the entire family unit to change in an effort for everyone who is involved to get healthy.
Plans for direct intervention
Plans for an intervention are made by a concerned group of family, friends, and counselor(s), rather than by the drug or alcohol abuser. Whether it is invitation model or direct model, the abuser is not included in the decision making process for planning the intervention. A properly conducted direct intervention is planned through cooperation between the identified abuser's family or friends and an intervention counselor, coordinator, or educator. Ample time must be given to the specific situation, however, basic guidelines can be followed in the intervention planning process. (Note that an intervention can also be conducted in the workplace with colleagues and with no family present.)Prior preparation
Prior to the intervention itself, the family meets with a counselor (or interventionist). Families prepare letters in which they describe their experiences associated with the addict's behavior, to convey to the person the impact his or her addiction has had on others. Also during the intervention rehearsal meeting, a group member is strongly urged to create a list of activities (by the addict) that they will no longer tolerate, finance, or participate in if the addict does not agree to check into a rehabilitation center for treatment. These consequences may be as simple as no longer loaning money to the addict, but can be far more serious, such as losing custody of a child.Family and friends read their letters to the addict, who then must decide whether to check into the prescribed rehabilitation center or deal with the promised losses.
Controversy
There are questions about the long-term effectiveness of interventions for those addicted to drugs or alcohol. A study examining addicts who had undergone a standard intervention (called the Johnson Intervention) found that they had a higher relapse rate than any other method of referral to outpatient Alcohol and Other Drug treatment.This study however, is outdated and is inherently flawed. An outpatient treatment center is the incorrect level of care for a vast majority of intervention patients. The very nature of outpatient treatment assumes a high level of willingness from the patient to engage in treatment. While an intervention does raise the willingness of the patient for the short term, that willingness often wanes within a short period of time. If the patient is not referred to a residential center away from the triggers and temptations of his home environment, he is at an extremely high risk for relapse. An intervention patient should be under the care of counselors and therapists who understand his or her specific psycho-social profile, unique to intervention patients, and should receive that care in a residential setting.
More research needs to be done in the area of long term effectiveness of pre-treatment interventions specific to drug and alcohol abusers.
Civil liberty problems with forcible intervention
Sometimes direct interventions involve physical force (e.g. by family members or friends) to capture or confine the targeted person. Typically a government-licensed psychotherapist is involved. Indeed, the government's involvement prevents the intervention from comprising a crime, such as battery or kidnapping. In such cases the person has (usually) neither been served with any legal action alleging the necessity of intervention, nor had the opportunity to appear in court to defend against the proposed intervention. Civil libertarians argue that in such cases the intervention may be illegal because it deprives the person of liberty without due processDue process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
of law.
In film and television
- The A&EA&E NetworkThe A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
television series, InterventionIntervention (TV series)Intervention is an American television program about the realities facing addicts of many kinds.Each program follows one or two participants, each of whom has an addiction or other mentally and/or physically damaging problem and believes that they are being filmed for a documentary on their problem...
, follows participants who have addictions or other mentally and/or physically damaging problems, in anticipation of an intervention by family and/or friends. Each participant is given a choice: go into rehabilitation immediately, or risk losing contact, income, or other privileges from the loved ones who instigated the intervention. - The Bravo TVBravo TVBravo TV may refer to:* Bravo , U.S. cable TV channel owned by NBCUniversal* Bravo , former British television channel owned by Living TV Group, a subsidiary of British Sky Broadcasting...
reality show, Thintervention, follows American fitness trainer Jackie WarnerJackie WarnerJackie Warner is an American fitness trainer best known for her participation in Work Out, a Bravo TV reality show. She owns Sky Sport and Spa, a gym and spa in Beverly Hills, California.- Professional life :...
as she helps a group of eight clients lose weight. Warner's clients receive psychological, nutritional, and lifestyle counseling in addition to physical fitness training. - The comedy movie But I'm a CheerleaderBut I'm a CheerleaderBut I'm a Cheerleader is a 1999 satirical romantic comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit and written by Brian Wayne Peterson. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, an apparently happy heterosexual high school cheerleader...
is about a high-school girl that been sent to a residential inpatient reparative therapy camp to cure her lesbianism. - In the movie The Dilemma the characters hold a intervention for the main character.
- In Hop Fred O'Hara's family holds an intervention for him as he still lives with his parents.
In literature
- Faye Resnick reveals in the book Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted (1994), which she co-wrote with gossip columnistGossip columnistA gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities from show business ,...
for The National EnquirerThe National EnquirerThe National Enquirer is an American supermarket tabloid now published by American Media Inc . Founded in 1926, the tabloid has gone through a variety of changes over the years....
, Mike WalkerMike Walker (columnist)Mike Walker is a gossip columnist for The National Enquirer, and hosted the magazine's 1999-2001 MGM-produced newsmagazine, National Enquirer TV...
), that she learned about Brown's murder three days after Brown and her friends forced Resnick to enter a rehab clinic for drug and alcohol abuse.
In film and television
- In The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
episode, "The Strong, Silent Type" (Season 4, Episode 49), Tony SopranoTony SopranoAnthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
organizes a drug intervention for heroin addict, Christopher MoltisantiChristopher MoltisantiChristopher "Chris" Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was Tony Soprano's protégé and a Capo in the Soprano crime family.-Biography:...
. - In "How I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
" episode, "InterventionIntervention (How I Met Your Mother)"Intervention" is the fourth episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 68th overall. It originally aired on October 13, 2008.-Plot:...
" (Season 4, Episode 4), different interventions happen for various reasons, like magic for Barney StinsonBarney StinsonBarnabas "Barney" Stinson is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris. The character has been extremely well received by critics and has been credited for much of the show's success...
, the English accent for Lily AldrinLily AldrinLillian "Lily" Aldrin is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by American actress Alyson Hannigan. She is the wife of Marshall Eriksen and the best friend of Robin Scherbatsky...
, spray tan for Robin ScherbatskyRobin ScherbatskyRobin Charles Scherbatsky, Jr. is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Canadian actress Cobie Smulders.- Early life :...
, Marshall EriksenMarshall EriksenMarshall Eriksen is a fictional character in the American sitcom How I Met Your Mother, created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and portrayed by Jason Segel.-Character profile:Marshall is an easy-going, naive optimist from St. Cloud, Minnesota...
's Seussian hat and Ted MosbyTed MosbyTheodore Evelyn "Ted" Mosby is the titular fictional character of the U.S. television sitcom How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Josh Radnor...
's fiance. - In The Office (U.S.) episode “Moroccan Christmas” (Season 5, Episode 83), Meredith’sMeredith PalmerMeredith Elizabeth Palmer is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. She is played by Kate Flannery. She is an original character and has no equivalent in the British version of the show, The Office....
coworkers arrange an intervention about her drinking after her hair catches fire due to her drunkenness. Afterward, MichaelMichael Scott (The Office)Michael Gary Scott is a fictional character on NBC's The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell, and based on David Brent from the original British version. Michael, the central character of the series, was the manager of the Scranton branch of paper and printer distribution company Dunder Mifflin Inc...
attempts to force her to enter rehab, only to find that he cannot legally do so.
In popular literature
There is a good-humoured account of a well-meant but perhaps misplaced intervention in Jayne Ann KrentzJayne Ann Krentz
Jayne Ann Krentz, née Jayne Castle is an American writer of romance novels. Krentz is the author of a string of New York Times bestsellers under seven different pseudonyms. Now, she only uses three names. As Jayne Ann Krentz she writes contemporary romantic-suspense. She uses Amanda Quick for her...
, All Night Long.
The family of the protagonist (Luke) want him to abandon his "destructive" writer-lifestyle and return to the family business. Irene, his new partner, only learns of the intervention at breakfast, after it has already begun.
See also
- Drug Interventions Programme
- Duluth Domestic Abuse Intervention ProjectDuluth Domestic Abuse Intervention ProjectThe Duluth Model or Domestic Abuse Intervention Project is a program developed to reduce domestic violence. The Duluth model was developed by Minnesota Program Development, Inc., a nonprofit agency in Duluth, Minnesota. The program was largely founded by social activist Ellen Pence...
- Exit counselingExit counselingExit counseling, also termed strategic intervention therapy, cult intervention or thought reform consultation, is an intervention designed to persuade an individual to leave a group perceived to be a cult...
- List of counseling topics
External links
- Intervention Guide Includes letter writing worksheet and how to handle objections.
- Addiction Intervention Guide for Families (from a conservative Protestant perspective)