Choosing An Intervention Strategy:
Family Drug Crisis Prevention

Explore Your Options :: Do Nothing and Nothing Changes!
Patrick J. Hart Psy.D.  Independent Intervention Specialist

Specializing with Non-Confrontational Intervention:

The method you choose to face up to your loved one must be carefully tailored for your specific needs: Our approach must minimize defensiveness, eliminate shame, and preserve interpersonal dignity.

“If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting."

 

It is likely clear to you by now: Do nothing – and nothing changes . . .
If you or your loved one is suffering from addiction-related problems – especially if this situation is clearly getting progressively worse — you may wish to schedule a formal phone consultation assessment to explore exactly what you can do to promote life-saving change.

The method you choose to face up to your loved one’s substance abuse problems must be carefully tailored to fit the demands of your family’s situation. Defense, shame, and safety precautions must be carefully reviewed and organized if the process is to be successful.

Flexible Methods Tailored to Your Specific Needs

No matter which method you choose, I will provide you with clear guidance and recommendations as to how to resolve your problem with another person’s chemical dependency. Of course, all participants will follow their own sensibilities and act at their own discretion. I offer you my informed clinical guidance, but nothing is mandated to you. Ultimately, all of your actions must be carefully evaluated and chosen by you and must be dedicated to uphold your own self-preservation. Our desired outcome is to mobilize action for the preservation of health. I help you take a stand for life-giving change!

Various Approaches are Summarized Below ::
Careful Clinical Evaluation is Required for Each Case

Treatment and Rehabilitation Program Recommendations

Case Specific Planning and Recommendations

Please Remember: 
Secrecy and Surprises are Usually Unnecessary to Activate Constructive Life-Saving Change!

The “Invitational" Method:
No Secrecy Involved! Meaningful People Delivering a Message from Reality . . .

Secrets and surprises can backfire and ruin the chances for a successful outcome. Frequently, it is absolutely unnecessary for families to enact changes that shock or surprise their loved one by traditional hard-line methods. I assure you that I will very carefully screen your case, prescribe a method, and make appropriate treatment recommendations that are tailor-made to your situation in order to assure the most helpful change strategy. Your attempt to initiate change should never, ever, involve coercion or clumsy ultimatums that have the potential to create more shame and humiliation than already exists! Many such confrontations have had devastating results because methods have been poorly chosen without astute clinical guidance.

Formal, Professionally-Guided “Surprise” Method:
Strategic Case Specific Strageties Tailored to Fit Your Specific Needs

For numerous reasons, the formal “surprise” method is not always recommended. This approach must be considered with extreme clinical discretion and is only recommended when other approaches must be ruled out.

The surprise (Johnson Institute) method involves an intricately planned and strategic event, whereby the drug-compromised individual is surprised with an unexpected visit by concerned loved ones while under the direct guidance and face-to-face supervision of the specialist. This strategy targets immediate admission to an appropriate and well-matched treatment center. This formal strategy always initiates immediate constructive change and engages harm reduction or safety precautions that make perfect sense!

Informal, Family-Driven “Soft” Method by Significant Others:
Functional Change Strategies: Learn to Speak Your Truth in a Receivable Way!

This approach involves well-informed interpersonal contact by family members without the direct supervision and physical presence of the intervention specialist. Informal strategies may simply involve brief supportive counseling (“clinical coaching”) that gives you advice and suggests actions you can take (what you can effectively say and do) to enhance another’s motivation to get well. Many family teams benefit from scheduling a single informational assessment consultation with me to hear personalized, professional recommendations and to learn about options for treatment, safety precautions, and actions that will promote constructive change!

Addiction represents a primary, progressive, pervasive, and predictably lethal illness. Take the courage to change what you can . . . .

When it is time, just give me a call.

                    206-547-HELP (4357)

Intervention Counseling Seattle National Services

Decisive Phone Coaching
Recommendars are Just a Phone Call Away!

 

Scientific Findings From Family Prevention Intervention Research