When to Have an Intervention with an Alcoholic Family Member

Alcoholism doesn’t just hurt the person struggling with addiction. A person’s whole family can be affected. However, their loved ones often feel powerless when it comes to helping their alcoholic loved one. 

However, when is it time to hold an intervention? What are the signs, and when will a family know that a serious intervention is needed? A person suffering from alcoholism may not be ready to begin recovering. If this is the case, then no amount of outside opinions will help to change their behavior permanently. An intervention often involves the alcoholic being faced with the damage their addiction has caused both to themselves and to others, and it can be difficult to face these realities. However, this does not mean that the members of the family should not try to hold an intervention when they think that the time is right. Their loved one may be ready to apologize and begin to recover, but they may just need that push that an intervention provides.

A person may need to have an intervention when their addiction begins to interfere with their daily life as well as the life of their family. There may be a number of warning signals that indicate that a person needs an intervention. Some of these include:

• Difficulty maintaining a job
• Using shared family funds in order to purchase and continue consuming alcohol
• Aggressive behavior towards family members, including physical and emotional abuse
• Multiple arrests or convictions for drunk-driving or drunken behavior
• Inability to participate in family life
• Collapse of family relationships
• Inability to maintain sobriety on a day-to-day basis, despite promising to do so

If one or more of these instances are becoming a regular occurrence, then it may be time for the family of an alcoholic to arrange an intervention. As for finding an appropriate time, each family will be different. Some may only arrange an intervention when their loved one causes significant or irreversible damage to the well-being of the family. Others may opt for an intervention before things get out of control. At least two members of the family must come to the conclusion that the alcoholic’s behavior is out of control, or will cause the family permanent hardship in the future. Once the family members have decided that it is time, they must be able to meet privately with a professional therapist or counselor. They can discuss what to do during the intervention and what to say to their alcoholic loved one by forming a script that lists the problems and reasons for the intervention. The professional can guide them through a practice run as well. If the family wants it, the counselor can be present during the intervention itself.

Interventions are emotionally-charged occasions, but while they may cause stress and heartache in the moment, they present an invaluable opportunity for healing and reconciliation. If an alcoholic family member accepts the intervention and the need for change, then they can begin to address their issues with addiction while the family members begin to process the pain and trauma they sustained while their loved one was drinking. Interventions are not just for the alcoholic loved one – they are for the other family members too. It is a way that healing can begin for them as well. When they feel that it is time, they must act quickly to preserve their family unity and help their loved one with their addiction to alcohol.

This is an editorial contribution from Mark Rattner, a blogger and content writer for Burning Tree, a renowned treatment center in Texas.