Interventions can be the difference between life and death for a drug addict or an alcoholic.

Not every person in need of rehab is going to initially jump at the chance to get clean and handle the issues that drove them to addiction. While some addicts or alcoholics have been so badly beaten and battered by their lifestyle that they grasp at the first opportunity to deal with their problems, others need some type of external help in order to seek help.

Interventions are extremely helpful tools for families who are dealing with a loved one who is completely against getting help and resistant to going to treatment. Some families believe if an addict or alcoholic isn’t willing to get help and go to drug rehab on their own, they aren’t going to force them to go and certainly won’t waste their money.

Here’s an interesting fact: If some addicts or alcoholics believe they can continue to drink alcohol or use drugs without any type of consequences for their behavior, they will continue to do so because the problems caused by their addiction are still less than the power of the addiction over them.

There are two types of interventions: One where the family sits down with the addict and has a professional interventionist conduct a family intervention, where the addict is confronted and offered drug rehab. If they choose not to attend drug rehab, the family gives the addict consequences for their choice.

The other type of intervention is done by an interventionist and conducted on a one-on-one basis, where the interventionist works with the addict alone to get their agreement to go to treatment.

In either case, once the interventionist gets the addict to choose help, they will escort them to the treatment center the family has picked out and get them successfully checked in.

Often, interventionists can be more successful in handling the addict than the family since, in many cases, the interventionist is an ex-addict himself. By having gone through addiction, the interventionist can level with the addict, speak from their reality and truly understand and have empathy for what they are going through. The interventionist is also a neutral party and not heavily emotionally involved in the situation like the family is. Interventions can help an addict make a logical choice for himself or herself when he or she might not be able to alone.

If an addict is struggling with addiction but refuses help, interventions can be a powerful tool used to save their life.

For more information on interventions, go to www.narconon-suncoast.org/blog/the-power-of-an-intervention.html. If you are in need of a referral to a treatment center, please call (877) 841-5509.

LUKE NICHOLS

Clearwater, Fla.

The writer is community relations director for Narconon, a nonprofit drug treatment and education center.