How to Stage an Alcohol Intervention

Addiction has the power to alter someone’s quality of life dramatically. Seeing a loved one trapped in the throes of addiction can be incredibly painful. Naturally, addiction is associated with a plethora of complicated emotions – for the individual struggling but also for those around them. But how do you manage this concern for your loved one whilst also offering them appropriate support? How do you keep your cool when the addiction conversation is so caught up in your feelings? Most people find the line between urging an individual to access support and risking causing offence or defensiveness very hard to walk. This is where brief interventions come in – a form of support designed to help individuals recognise the signs of addiction whilst minimising the psychological fallout of such a potentially intense conversation.

What is an alcohol intervention?

An alcohol intervention is a screening-style appointment with a clinical professional. This type of support is also sometimes known as a brief intervention. The aim of a brief intervention, according to the World Health Organisation, is to ‘identify current or potential problems with substance use and motivate people at risk to change their behaviour.’ This makes interventions particularly useful for people who may be struggling to recognise that their relationship with alcohol has gotten out of hand. It is a way to have a difficult conversation and confront the addiction concern head-on whilst also minimising the risk of being combative, judgemental or insensitive to your loved one.

Alcohol interventions are conducted by healthcare professionals.

Such an intervention will likely incorporate several stages, such as:

1. Requesting permission to discuss alcohol
2. Screening for excessive alcohol use
3. Informing on specific health risks
4. Offering advice on healthy levels of drinking
5. Establishing a set of personalised goals to help reduce alcohol intake
6. Discuss referral options if and when needed

The intervention is led by a professional. Sometimes, however, the role of the family member or loved one is to help mediate this conversation or even to request its arrangement. Brief interventions are most likely to occur in primary care settings such as hospitals. They are often undertaken when clinicians are concerned that excessive drinking could be present and/or be contributing to the patient’s current condition.

Why are alcohol interventions needed?

With an average of 3.3 million alcohol-related deaths per year, the need to intervene in situations with a high addiction potential is particularly severe.  Alcohol-related harm is widespread and life-threatening. By implementing an alcohol intervention, some of the risks of long-term excessive drinking can be managed.

This can include reducing the risk of:

• drug-related death or overdose
• organ failure (specifically liver, kidney and pancreas)
• cardiovascular events (strokes and heart attacks)
• increased diabetes risk
• increased cancer risk
• sexual dysfunction
• infertility issues
• comorbid depression
• comorbid anxiety
• comorbid psychosis
• suicidal ideation

Interventions are concrete ways to disrupt the cycle of addiction, therefore becoming one of many ‘prevention efforts to reduce the pain and suffering […] resulting from excessive alcohol use.’

How do I know when an alcohol intervention is necessary?

Most of the time, brief interventions are conducted when a clinical professional has identified a cause for concern related to a patient’s drinking habits. There are times, however, when an individual does not have access to a healthcare professional. In these situations, you may be concerned about your loved one and may feel that an intervention would benefit them. This can then be raised by contacting a healthcare provider or addiction specialist for advice at an appropriate time.

But how do you know when a loved one needs this kind of support?

The difficulty with alcohol addiction is that every person carries it differently. This means that it can manifest in lots of different, very idiosyncratic ways. However, there are key signs we can notice that help us establish when drinking has become a problem. These could be:

• drinking daily
• drinking increasing amounts
• appearing to feel guilty, ‘bad’ or defensive about drinking
• experiencing cravings and withdrawals
• change in weight and eating habits
• change in sleeping habits
• very changeable mood
• appearing unmotivated, distant or numb
• appearing agitated or aggressive
• appearing generally poorer in health
• experiencing difficulty in meeting requirements of a daily routine

There may also be instances where you feel that your loved one’s drinking is putting either you or themselves at risk. For example, if:

• you do not feel safe around them when they have been drinking
• you do not believe that they can keep themselves safe
• you do not believe that you can anticipate how they may act
• you feel that they are at risk of causing harm to themselves or others

If a loved one is experiencing any of these symptoms in connection with increased drinking, then there may be a genuine need for a formal intervention.

Tips on staging an alcohol intervention

If you are planning on staging an intervention, it is understandable to be somewhat apprehensive. For most people, the intervention stage comes after the alcohol conversation has already been had – maybe even more than once. If the conversations have not gone well in the past, it can then be anxiety-inducing to consider approaching it again. But there are ways to manage an alcohol intervention effectively, such as:

• seeking advice from industry professionals
• do some research on addiction (and addiction treatment) beforehand
• being objective – sticking to facts
• practising active listening
• be clear and raise your concerns, but avoid judgemental language or statements
• maintain your demeanour – try to control any intense feelings in the moment
• try not to make any assumptions about your loved one’s situation
• try and focus on problem resolution
• reiterate that your concern for your loved one comes from a good place

What happens after an intervention for alcohol?

As the name suggests, a brief intervention is not a form of ongoing support. Rather, a brief intervention can be seen as the beginning (or even a catalyst) of addiction recovery. Alcohol interventions are often quite short, lasting between 5 and 15 minutes. Whilst a brief intervention can be repeated (being held as ‘check-ins’ for up to 5 times), it is not designed to be a sustained intervention. Rather, a brief intervention is seen as ‘the groundwork for change.’ So what happens after this?

There are several things that can happen following alcohol intervention. Sometimes, more interventions are needed. In other instances, formal rehab treatment may begin. There may be some cases when an intervention does not garner the results you anticipate. When this happens, it is important not to take this too personally and to understand that an intervention requires acceptance from the individual. If this is not currently present, then this is not your fault.

Get help

At Primrose Lodge, we know that addiction is a very heavy weight to bear alone. This is why we strive to offer the best specialist, confidential support in the sector.  We provide individuals struggling with dependency the opportunity to engage with innovative treatment. From addiction counselling to monitored detox, all our interventions are facilitated by clinical professionals. Take the first steps towards lightening the load of addiction by contacting our team for an initial consultation.