Answered questions(6)
Professional Intervention: Can It Work After the Family Has Failed?
My sister is an alcoholic. Last year we had a family intervention and we all got together a really tried to make her get into some treatment. We even had a place all arranged for her to go to. But it did not work and now she is drinking more than ever before. We do not know what to do. Some of the family want to try again but this time they want to hire a professional interventionist to help us. Others think this is ridiculous and that if it did not work once she is not going to be fooled by it a second time. I do not know what to think. Is it a ridiculous idea to try a second intervention on an alcoholic within a year?
Read answer →Addicts Are Often the Last to See the “Problem”
My friend has been smoking pot for many years, her family and marriage are falling apart and now she thinks everyone is against her and she feels alone. She recently started sharing her pot with her teenage son. How do I schedule an intervention properly? Several people in her family deny that she has a problem, I think they are in denial about it altogether. How do I help? The husband has cried out for help.
Read answer →Alcohol Abuse Makes Growing Up Difficult for Dependent Teens
I am 14 and I live with my mom who is a single parent to me. We don’t really have much close family except for 2 aunts and 2 uncles who don’t live here in Georgia. My mom has started drinking a lot and I am very worried about her. I have talked to her about how much she drinks but she says that she is fine. Sometimes she is angry with me when I ask if I ask when she is drunk and sometimes when I ask her when she is hangover she says she wants to talk to someone about her drinking but she never does. I want her to stop drinking so much because I am worried about her and because she is not the same person when she drinks. She is hard to live with when she drinks which is all the time now. How can I get her to stop drinking? I do not know if she needs to go to rehab or not but I am worried about that also because I do not want to leave my school and I am not sure if I would be allowed to stay over with my friend for very long. Who should I talk to about this to make her get some help but not someone who is going to take her away from me or anything like that.
Read answer →Family Intervention for Alcoholism during the Holidays
My whole immediate family and several of my uncles and their families will come to stay at my parents’ place over Christmas. My brother has had a drinking problem for years but things seem to have taken a real turn for the worse this year and he is getting in very heavy with the drinking. I would like to see him get some treatment for his problem but he insists that he doesn’t have a problem and he can get very angry if I bring it up. I think that he is in denial and I think that we need to do an intervention if we are going to have any hope of convincing him to go. I have been reading about interventions and I realize that it is important that we get as many people that are close to him as possible to talk about his drinking and how it has affected them to try to break down his wall of denial. Because of this, l I think that that Christmas, when several family members will be coming in from out of town, makes a lot of sense as the time to go ahead and do this. A part of me though thinks that it is too cruel. My brother has always loved Christmas and the whole holiday and family thing. Am I risking having the intervention not work by combining it with Christmas – with too many other emotions and stuff going on? Should I wait until after Christmas to do it, even though it may mean that some people in the family will not attend? I think if I do wait, some of the people in the family who are not as on board with the idea of sending him to treatment will at least get to observe him and his drinking over that few days and come to understand why we need to do something sooner than later.
Read answer →Alcoholism and Family Holiday Gatherings: Not a Good Mix for Most
I'm hoping/praying that our family alcoholic won't ruin Christmas for our family by getting drunk and creating tension and stress. She is in total denial and we do plan a family intervention soon after Christmas, but my concern is how to survive Christmas with the family. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thanks
Read answer →Use of Intervention in Substance Abuse
After watching a lot of the show intervention on A and E I can see that bringing in an interventionist has a lot of value, but when I looked into it for our family situation I was surprised to learn how expensive they are, especially since there are traveling expenses that would need to be bundled in to get to us. (no one local performs this service). We are trying to get my brother to agree to get some help for his drinking. He has always resisted any attempts but he has a new baby son now and my parents say they are now willing to stop his financial support unless he goes along with getting some help. This is something they were not willing to do before. These 2 things together make me believe that we have a pretty good shot of having him agree to get the help that he so obviously needs. We have a certain amount of money available that should be enough to get him into a 1 month program that has a 2 month residential follow up program. This program was recommended to us by our doctor. If we spend several thousands on an interventionist we will have more difficulty paying for the treatment. But then again, if we cannot convince him to go at all, then savings the interventionist money doesn’t make a lot of sense. Is it worth it to pay for the professional help or are we best trying it out on our own?
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