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Holding a Couples Intervention

Interventions are complicated, and they become even more so if both people in a relationship have substance use disorders. Friends and family members can still stage interventions in these instances with the help of a trained professional. Today, we’ll talk about what you need to know to conduct a couples intervention.

What is an Intervention?

An intervention is when friends, family members, and other loved ones confront someone about their alcohol or drug use. The goal is to get them to admit they have a problem and agree to treatment. The conversation isn’t meant to convey anger about the harm they caused, but rather to show that they are loved and have a support system in place to walk with them on the road to recovery.

When trying to help a couple, you must understand that they may be codependent. Using together strengthens this codependency. You need a professional to help with your intervention who can help identify whether codependency is part of the problem.

How To Plan a Couples Intervention

Couples therapy is an effective way to deal with family issues, and couples interventions can also have a positive effect if executed properly. An intervention should be carefully planned and include a mental health professional.

The following steps can help make a couples intervention successful.

Be Prepared

You should go into the intervention ready with solutions. This can be difficult when dealing with couples, because you need answers that will help both of them. Be sure you are prepared with a suggestion for treatment, how to pay for treatment, and other objections that might arise.

Manage Everyone’s Expectations

In this case, you should expect pushback and denial from two people. Everyone you invite to the intervention should brace for this, so they don’t react by yelling or walking out. Everyone there should also acknowledge that they can’t do things that will enable the couple to start using again.

Decide Who Will Talk

The people you invite to speak at the intervention should be able to do so in a very calm manner. They should project love, not anger, and stay away from any demeaning language. 

Do not include people who have their own substance use issues or who either member of the couple dislikes or is unlikely to listen to.

Involve a Professional

Having a professional to help you is critical to an intervention. Someone specializing in interventions can work with you from the beginning of the planning process. They have the experience to tell you what to expect, how to handle outbursts and anger, and which types of treatments you should offer as ways to help.

Because you are helping a couple, a professional with vast experience in interventions can also help guide you on how to deal with one partner affirming the other’s use. They can also guide you if one person in the couple seems amenable to admitting their addiction and seeking treatment, but the other tries to undermine the intervention. 

Get Help For a Couples Intervention

You and your loved ones do not have to plan and hold a difficult couples intervention on your own. Get help from an intervention specialist at Whitman Recovery Service. We have a proven record of success on our side, and we are ready to help.