Intervention Types

Different Types of Interventions

If you have a close friend or family member who has a drug or alcohol addiction, you may find yourself searching for ways to help that individual. In most cases, people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol do not readily admit to anyone (including themselves) that they have any type of problem. If this is the case with your loved one, then an intervention may be your best course of action to try to help.The first thing you should know is that interventions always need to be conducted by trained, licensed professionals. Before choosing an intervention specialist, you need to make sure that the person is fully qualified to conduct interventions. Once you have made your selection, the intervention specialist will be able to determine which type of intervention is most appropriate for your loved one.

Some of the most popular types of intervention are:

Workplace intervention is, of course, when a coworker that you are close to has a drug or alcohol problem. In some cases, you may not necessarily be good friends with a coworker, but you may be around that person for a lot of time every day. Being in close contact with someone on a regular basis will frequently alert you to any drug or alcohol problems that may exist within that individual. If you notice such problems, it is your responsibility to try to obtain help for that individual without trying to get that person in any kind of trouble.

Emergency or Crisis intervention should take place in situations where a loved one has become a danger to his or her own person. In these cases, an intervention needs to be implemented right away.

A family intervention occurs when one member of the family develops an addiction to drugs or alcohol, and the other family members decide to intervene to obtain help for that individual.

Teen/student intervention is much like family intervention except that it takes the special needs of young people in mind in the designing of the process. It is imperative that if you are seeking an intervention specialist to deal with a teenager that you choose someone who has been specifically trained to deal with people of this age group. Treating teenagers is a much more delicate matter than treating adults, so they must be handled differently.

Johnson’s approach utilizes a forceful approach to confronting addicted persons. Whereas most intervention processes utilize a more tactful, delicate methodology, Johnson’s approach believes that using force is the only way to get through to people with addictions.

Whatever method you and your intervention specialist choose, you must realize that interventions are very emotional and intensive, and require dedication to the task at hand.