Family

Reluctant Family Members and Intervention

The ideal situation would be for all of the members of a family to be concerned about each other and to be willing to help when one family member is in trouble. Unfortunately, sometimes people are reluctant or completely unwilling to participate in an intervention that is intended to help an addicted individual to become free of his or her dependency.
There are a variety of different reasons why this might be the case, but the most important thing is to try to help the reluctant family member overcome his or her issues and become a willing participant. To begin this process, all of the family members need to have an open, honest discussion with the reluctant individual so that they can try to work through that person’s objections for participating.

Family interventions are conducted by immediate family members who are concerned about the welfare of one of their own who has an addiction to drugs or alcohol. When families consider an intervention, they generally believe that it is the only alternative to obtain help for the addict. The reason behind this way of thinking is generally that the addicted individual refuses to even acknowledge that he or she has a problem. If drug or alcohol addictions go untreated, then the addict becomes at greater risk for serious medical problems, overdose, or even death.

If you find that you and your other family members simply cannot get through to the reluctant member of your family, consider enlisting the aid of your intervention specialist. This trained professional may very likely be able to discuss the problem with each family member individually, which may allow the intervention specialist to get to the root of the problem.

It is important to understand that it is not at all uncommon for at least one member of a family to be a little reluctant to participate in an intervention. It may not be that the reluctant person does not want to help; it could simply be that he or she simply does not think that his or her participation will provide any real benefit to the process.

In other situations, the reluctant family member may not fully understand the intervention process, and may hold a negative opinion about how it works. If you find that this is the case, it is particularly important that you involve your intervention specialist so that he or she can fully explain the process to your reluctant family member.