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Drug Intervention has come to mean a specific
series of procedures to motivate a person to enter treatment
or begin recovery. Perhaps you have heard the old cliché
about the alcoholic or addict that he "has to hit bottom".
In the field of alcohol and other drug use there is an Intervention
model that was developed by Vernon Johnson, the founder
of the Johnson Institute. Mr. Johnson has written several
books on intervention and alcoholism/addiction, below is
a quote out of one his books:
"It became clear to us that it was not only pointless
but dangerous to wait until the alcoholic hit bottom. The
crises everybody was trying to help him avoid could actually
be employed to break through his defenses, by an act of
intervention that could stop the downward spiral toward
death. We came to understand that crises could be used to
creatively bring about intervention." (Johnson, 1973)
(6)
The rationale of the Johnson model of intervention is to
break through the denial system of the alcoholic/addict
by confronting the alcoholic/addict with the crises that
he or she has caused. This confrontation is done by significant
persons in the alcoholic's/ addict's life. Through this
confrontation, it is hoped that the intervention process
will "raise the bottom." In other words, Johnson
felt that the "bottom" for the alcoholic/addict
was death. The confrontational intervention would serve
to precipitate a crisis in the life of the alcoholic/addict
that was not life threatening or otherwise seriously damaging
but that would result in treatment. This is the concept
of "raising the bottom."
To raise the bottom, Johnson believed that the alcoholic/addict
needed a clear view of reality as presented by the significant
persons in the alcoholic's/addict's life:
"By "presenting reality," we mean presenting
specific facts about the person's behavior and things that
have happened because of it. "A receivable way"
is one that the person cannot resist because it is objective,
unequivocal, and caring". (Johnson, 1986) (7)
Intervention is a life saving tool and should always be
employed when the situation presents itself. There are certain
guidelines that need to be employed, and an intervention
team consisting of significant individuals in the life of
the alcoholic or addict need to be assembled. It is by belief
that a professional in the field should also be present.
If an intervention is decided on, the very first step is
finding the right treatment center as it would be pointless
to do an intervention and have the addict agree to treatment
in a emotionally charged family intervention, and then sit around
for a couple of days and go drug treatment center searching. 
Believe me when I say that there is a small window of opportunity
to get the addict to a treatment center from the time he
agrees to the time his addiction takes back over. So always
find the treatment center first, and have the arrangements
made for the individual's admission, and seek the advice
from a professional at the treatment center for how to orchestrate
the intervention.
We offer intervention services or referrals to
qualified drug intervention specialists. Click
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