How to Stage an Intervention for Alcoholism

Recovery works through one alcoholic sharing their experience with another. Family owned and operated since 2014, Infinite Recovery was founded by Michael & Ylianna Dadashi to give those struggling with addiction a second chance and help to rebuild their lives. Clean and sober since 2009, Michael is passionate about helping others discover their authentic self and live a life of true freedom and purpose. We suggest avoiding any judgments, and instead, focus on keeping the person safe.

Work with an addiction professional

• Such e-health tools have been shown to help people overcome alcohol problems.
• Triggers can be internal, like feelings of stress or depression, or external, such as environments linked to past use.
• Another critical clinical implication of the review is the large range of populations in which AA’s benefit has been demonstrated—young and old, racial and ethnic minorities, women and men, religious and nonreligious, people in different settings and indeed different nations.
• It is important to gauge whether the facility provides all the currently available, evidence-based methods or relies on one approach.
• Consequently, the 2020 Cochrane review (Kelly et al., 2020) was conducted that included the most recent rigorous studies in order to provide the most up to date information about the clinical and public health utility, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of AA and TSF.

12-step facilitation therapy is an engagement strategy used in counseling sessions to increase an individual’s active involvement in 12-step-based mutual-support groups. Brief Interventions are short, one-on-one or small-group counseling sessions that are time limited. The counselor provides information about the individual’s drinking pattern and potential risks.

We searched for ongoing and unpublished studies via ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) on 15 November 2018. We handsearched references of topic-related systematic reviews and bibliographies of included studies. Even if an intervention doesn’t work, you and others in your loved one’s life can make changes that may help. Ask other people involved not to feed into the destructive cycle of behavior and take steps to make positive change. In some cases, your loved one with an addiction may not accept the treatment plan. They also may be resentful and accuse you of betrayal or being a hypocrite.

Treatments Led by Health Care Providers

Understanding the available treatment options—from behavioral therapies and medications to mutual-support groups—is the first step. Just like any other medical condition, people with substance use disorders deserve to have a range of treatment options available to them. Scientists are working to develop a larger menu of pharmaceutical treatments that could be tailored to individual needs. AUD is characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. Health care providers diagnose drug addiction AUD when a person has two or more of the symptoms listed below.

Characteristics of included studies

It is rare that someone would go to treatment once and then never drink again. More often, people try to quit or cut back over time, experience recurrences, learn from them, and then continue on their recovery journey. For many, continued follow-up with a treatment provider is critical for overcoming alcohol problems.

Attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings nearby brings individuals closer, reinforcing a commitment to sobriety through shared experiences and collective wisdom. The integration of IOPs with AA principles enhances the overall effectiveness of recovery strategies. Participants benefit from a holistic approach that addresses both psychological and social aspects of addiction.

After the individual receives personalized feedback, the counselor will help set goals. Cognitive–behavioral therapy can take place one-on-one with a therapist or in small groups. This form of therapy is focused on identifying the feelings and situations (called “cues”) that contribute to heavy drinking and managing stress that can lead to a return to drinking. The goal is to change the thought processes that lead to alcohol misuse and to develop the skills necessary to cope with everyday situations that might trigger alcohol misuse. Table 2 shows that most studies reported on the proportion of patients completely abstinent or PDA with fewer studies reporting DDD or PDHD, alcohol consequences or addiction severity and only two reporting the longest period of abstinence. We also identified potentially eligible studies through hand-searching (e.g. searching the reference lists of retrieved studies).

• AA/TSF interventions performed at least as well as established active comparison treatments (e.g. CBT) on all outcomes except for abstinence where it often outperformed other treatments.
• Searches were conducted across all major databases (e.g. Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group Specialized Register, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and ClinicalTrials.gov) from inception to 2 August 2019 and included non-English language studies.
• This is especially true if you think your loved one may react violently or harm themselves.
• In the initial stages of recovery, individuals may experience an array of emotions, from relief and optimism to anxiety and guilt.
• Symptoms like anxiety, trembling, and cravings are common, but each individual’s experience of withdrawal will differ.

Sometimes a direct, heart-to-heart conversation can start the road to recovery. But when it comes to addiction, the person with the issue often struggles to see there’s an issue. You may need to join forces with others and take action through a formal intervention. Yes, all American Addiction Centers (AAC) rehab locations offer 12-Step programming as a therapy modality for addiction treatment. To learn more about AAC’s various treatment centers throughout the country, call . The basic premise of the 12-Step model is that people can help one another achieve and maintain abstinence from the substances to which they are addicted.

Understanding AA’s Role in the Addiction Recovery Process

A clear policy lesson of these findings is that investments in expanding TSF interventions may well pay for themselves in reduced future health care costs. Meta-analyses showed that AA and facilitating use of AA (‘TSF’) produced similar benefits to other treatments on all drinking-related outcomes except for continuous abstinence and remission, where AA/TSF was superior. Studies analyzing costing found that use of AA/TSF also tended to reduce healthcare costs. Given how challenging it is to find differences in clinical outcomes among active psychosocial treatments, the magnitude of the advantage favoring AA/TSF interventions for continuous abstinence was impressive. This reflects an absolute advantage of 9% points in favor of AA/TSF, which translates to a relative advantage for AA/TSF compared with CBT of 60% in the number of participants completely abstinent, and a relative advantage of 64%, when compared with MET.

This tool fosters an ongoing sense of accomplishment, reinforcing the determination to stay the course and continue to strive for further milestones. The path to sobriety is fraught with emotional challenges, often presenting as early obstacles that need to be surmounted. In the initial stages of recovery, individuals may experience an array of emotions, from relief and optimism to anxiety and guilt.

How do you find a treatment program to offer at the intervention?

TSF interventions can be delivered clinically in individual or group format. In addition, most studies showed that AA participation lowered health care costs. The relationships formed within these networks often transcend traditional boundaries, creating lasting bonds that extend beyond meeting rooms. By sharing stories and strategies, members enrich each other’s recovery paths, making the journey less daunting.