You see your loved one struggling with an addiction and you
want to help them. How do you start? What do you do? One of the best ways to
guide your loved one to get the help they need is to stage an intervention. A
Christian intervention can reassure your family member that you care about them
and want them to move forward in a healthier life without drugs or alcohol.
Importance of an Intervention
You are concerned about your loved one’s lifestyle and how
it affects their work, their relationships, and their finances. Addiction to
drugs or alcohol can also have extremely serious consequences. In fact, over
70,000 people in the US died from a drug-involved overdose
in 2019. Their overdoses resulted from abusing both illegal drugs and
prescription opioids. In addition, approximately 88,000 individuals die each
year from alcohol-related causes. Holding a Christian intervention could help
save someone’s life.
Faith as a Positive Factor
Approaching your loved one from a Christian perspective and
involving them in a faith-based intervention can help improve their success
rate in recovery. Recent research has
found that people who engage in spiritual activities improved their chance of
completing an addition treatment program successfully.
The study showed that faith-based beliefs and practices
provide aid and comfort to those in need, as well as tangible and valuable
resources that can help prevent and address their substance use issues. It also
pointed out that over 84% of scientific studies have demonstrated that faith is
a positive factor in the prevention of addiction and in the recovery process.
These researchers concluded that religion and spirituality
are “exceptionally powerful, integral, and indispensable resources in substance
abuse prevention and recovery.” They added that “faith plays a key role in
treating the mind, body, and spirit.”
How to Stage an Intervention
The first step in planning
and staging an intervention is to educate yourself about addiction,
including how someone can become addicted and how you and your family can help
the individual. Understand that addiction is a disease, not a choice. This is a
key point to remember to avoid placing blame on your loved one or on any other
family members or friends during the intervention.
Then develop a plan that includes the details of what
you are going to say as well as what you should not say. An intervention or
addiction treatment expert can help guide you through planning the Christian
intervention. It’s helpful to have a third party involved, such as a counselor
or a pastor, to moderate the discussion as emotions can run high during these
sessions.
During the intervention itself, you should be open and
honest. Point out the aspects of your loved one’s behavior that are
concerning, without attacking the individual. State facts such as “we’ve
observed that you’re missing work more frequently” or “we’re concerned that
your health has deteriorated.” You can also point out how your loved one’s
behavior is affecting other members of the family. Offer details and stick to
the facts, without judgement.
Be prepared with a set of consequences and stay firm
about following through with them. Your loved one needs to get help and if they
refuse, make it clear that you and your family will no longer support their
addictive behaviors. This could mean that you no longer provide a free room for
them to live in while they are using drugs or alcohol. They will have to pay
rent or move out, unless they agree to seek treatment for their addiction.
Be ready to take your loved one to a treatment center.
Do the research before the intervention to find the right one for the
individual and for your family. The decision to go to supervised detox and
treatment needs to be made during the Christian intervention, so your loved one
does not have the opportunity to change their mind. You also don’t want them to
try to detox on their own as that can also be very dangerous.
Be Ready for Recovery
Understand that a successful Christian intervention is not
the end of the journey for you, your loved one, or your other family members.
Recovery is a long-term, ongoing process involving the whole family. Now that
you know how to stage an intervention, be prepared to support your loved one
throughout the treatment and recovery. They will need you and your positive
encouragement as they work toward a healthier life without drugs or alcohol.
California Faith-Based Drug Addiction Treatment
To get help for your loved one in a Christian setting, please
contact
Celebrate Hope to learn more about our faith-based addiction treatment program.
Our team helps men and women break the cycle of addiction and begin anew. We
rely on the teachings of Jesus Christ, along with evidence-based therapies to
get individuals on the path of recovery.
