Christian Intervention | How to Stage an Intervention

You see your loved one struggling with an addiction and you want to help them. How do you start? What do you do? One of the best ways to guide your loved one to get the help they need is to stage an intervention. A Christian intervention can reassure your family member that you care about them and want them to move forward in a healthier life without drugs or alcohol.

Importance of an Intervention

You are concerned about your loved one’s lifestyle and how it affects their work, their relationships, and their finances. Addiction to drugs or alcohol can also have extremely serious consequences. In fact, over 70,000 people in the US died from a drug-involved overdose in 2019. Their overdoses resulted from abusing both illegal drugs and prescription opioids. In addition, approximately 88,000 individuals die each year from alcohol-related causes. Holding a Christian intervention could help save someone’s life.

Faith as a Positive Factor

Approaching your loved one from a Christian perspective and involving them in a faith-based intervention can help improve their success rate in recovery. Recent research has found that people who engage in spiritual activities improved their chance of completing an addition treatment program successfully.

The study showed that faith-based beliefs and practices provide aid and comfort to those in need, as well as tangible and valuable resources that can help prevent and address their substance use issues. It also pointed out that over 84% of scientific studies have demonstrated that faith is a positive factor in the prevention of addiction and in the recovery process.

These researchers concluded that religion and spirituality are “exceptionally powerful, integral, and indispensable resources in substance abuse prevention and recovery.” They added that “faith plays a key role in treating the mind, body, and spirit.”

How to Stage an Intervention

The first step in planning and staging an intervention is to educate yourself about addiction, including how someone can become addicted and how you and your family can help the individual. Understand that addiction is a disease, not a choice. This is a key point to remember to avoid placing blame on your loved one or on any other family members or friends during the intervention.

Then develop a plan that includes the details of what you are going to say as well as what you should not say. An intervention or addiction treatment expert can help guide you through planning the Christian intervention. It’s helpful to have a third party involved, such as a counselor or a pastor, to moderate the discussion as emotions can run high during these sessions.

During the intervention itself, you should be open and honest. Point out the aspects of your loved one’s behavior that are concerning, without attacking the individual. State facts such as “we’ve observed that you’re missing work more frequently” or “we’re concerned that your health has deteriorated.” You can also point out how your loved one’s behavior is affecting other members of the family. Offer details and stick to the facts, without judgement.

Be prepared with a set of consequences and stay firm about following through with them. Your loved one needs to get help and if they refuse, make it clear that you and your family will no longer support their addictive behaviors. This could mean that you no longer provide a free room for them to live in while they are using drugs or alcohol. They will have to pay rent or move out, unless they agree to seek treatment for their addiction.

Be ready to take your loved one to a treatment center. Do the research before the intervention to find the right one for the individual and for your family. The decision to go to supervised detox and treatment needs to be made during the Christian intervention, so your loved one does not have the opportunity to change their mind. You also don’t want them to try to detox on their own as that can also be very dangerous.

Be Ready for Recovery

Understand that a successful Christian intervention is not the end of the journey for you, your loved one, or your other family members. Recovery is a long-term, ongoing process involving the whole family. Now that you know how to stage an intervention, be prepared to support your loved one throughout the treatment and recovery. They will need you and your positive encouragement as they work toward a healthier life without drugs or alcohol.

California Faith-Based Drug Addiction Treatment

To get help for your loved one in a Christian setting, please contact Celebrate Hope to learn more about our faith-based addiction treatment program. Our team helps men and women break the cycle of addiction and begin anew. We rely on the teachings of Jesus Christ, along with evidence-based therapies to get individuals on the path of recovery.