Is an Invitational Intervention Right for Your Loved One?

18 Apr Is an Invitational Intervention Right for Your Loved One?

If someone close to you is struggling with the challenges of addiction, you can save their life by convincing them to get help with a professionally planned drug or alcohol intervention. However, you may not realize there is more than one approach to staging an intervention, and if you’re considering helping your loved one, it will help you know the difference so you can choose the one that is the best fit for you and your family.

The Invitational Intervention Treats the Family System

You are probably familiar with the traditional media depiction of an intervention, in which the family members use deception or an “ambush-style” approach to surprise the addicted person and force them into treatment. In contrast to this method, the invitational intervention is a non-confrontational and non-judgmental technique that involves the addict, as well as their family members, from the get-go.

Rather than taking an adversarial approach, the invitational model includes an educational method to help each member of the family get the help they need to heal from the destructive effects of addiction. This intervention approach, which is also called the systemic family intervention, seeks a win/win outcome without blaming the substance abuser and causing them to feel isolated or attacked.

Understanding that addiction is a multifaceted and complex disease that affects the entire family as a system is the foundation for the invitational intervention. According to the invitational model, changing the family dynamic will lead the addicted person to seek change as well.

How Does the Invitational Model Work?

First, the family members of the addicted loved one select a professional interventionist to help them plan and lead the meeting. The interventionist will coach the family on how to manage and orchestrate the process, including how to overcome the addict’s objections to participating.

Though it is not mandatory for the addicted person to attend their intervention workshop, and the meeting will still take place regardless of the addict’s presence, the goal is to get the addict and all other family members on the same page, if possible.

During the intervention, the subjects of treatment options and codependency are common topics. The group often discusses underlying neurobiological and genetic links to the illness of addiction to provide family members with a framework for understanding why their loved one developed the illness.

As the intervention meeting progresses, the professional interventionist will go over the role each family member has in the addiction and explain how all parties involved can commit to a recovery plan. The expectation is that the addict will agree to work on their recovery, along with the support of their family.

Explore Your Intervention Options

If your family member is struggling with addiction and hasn’t made the right decision to seek help, you may be at the end of your rope, searching for where to turn next. Don’t continue to watch as your addicted loved one spirals deeper into an addiction they may not be able to fully recover from without professional help. Contact our nationally accredited, professional team of interventionists to discuss your next steps and learn about how we can create a plan that leads to the outcome you want for someone you care about.