Bruce Cotter, author of the book When They Won't Quit, became disenchanted with the technique after leading many interventions. "I walked into a lot of volatile situations," he says, recalling an incident in which a father lunged at his heroin-addicted son. "I began to see a contradiction: You have half a dozen people telling you, 'I love you with all my heart, but you're a no-good SOB' It can be humiliating and degrading for the person, who is, after all, sick."
Cotter favors a modified approach: Family and friends still get together, write their letters, determine consequences and choose a treatment facility. But only a therapist meets with the substance user. Under these circumstances, people are more candid and can choose whether to go into treatment without feeling coerced, Cotter says. He finds that those who enter rehab after a one-on-one intervention arrive less angry and more receptive to change than those who enter after a group confrontation.
Just The Beginning
Even if an intervention succeeds in getting the abuser into treatment, it is only the first step in what is destined to be a hard road to recovery. The majority of alcoholics and addicts who eventually recover suffer at least one relapse along the way, which is why it's important to have a supportive after-care plan in place.
