Conducting a crisis intervention

Patients who are severely dependent and unwilling or unable to see the severity of their addiction need a crisis intervention. Crisis intervention is a confrontation by a group of concerned family and friends. This confrontation must be loving, gentle, and supportive; and it is best to use a trained interventionist to help you develop the intervention strategy.

If you want to do the intervention yourself, first read the book Love First by Jeff and Debra Jay (Hazelden, 800-328-9000). This is an excellent text that carefully discusses the intervention techniques. Basically, an intervention has to be carefully organized, rehearsed, and choreographed. Each member of the group should be a loving, caring significant other and not an alcohol abuser. Each person writes a letter stating exactly how the patient's alcoholism has negatively affected his or her life (see Figure 1.1). In this letter, group members share their love and concern for the patient and ask that the patient enter treatment. The patient is told it is not he or she who is the problem but the illness. It is a lethal problem and it needs treatment.

Each person reads his or her letter of concern and love for the patient and asks the patient to go into treatment that day.

Figure 1.1 Example of an intervention letter.

Bob, you are my closest friend, and I can't tell you how much your
friendship has meant to me. We have grown up together. Our kids love to
play ball together, and you and I enjoy being the vocal coaches on the
sideline. There is no one in my life who has had a more positive effect on
my life and successful business than you. Thank you for all of the years
you have stood by me. When I made mistakes, you were always there to
comfort me and give me good advice like a brother. Now comes the hard
part of this letter, and I might not handle this very well, so bear with me.
Lately, I have been concerned with your drinking. I see you driving the
car with the children after you have had too much to drink. In fact, after
the Halloween party on Saturday, you were so drunk you could hardly
walk, yet you insisted on driving your wife and your children home. We all
tried to stop you, but you wouldn't listen to anyone. Bob, alcoholism is a
disease, just like the alcoholism that killed your father. It's genetic and
life threatening. I am here to ask you to get the treatment that you need to
get well. It hurts me too much to see you suffer. You and I know you can't