Family interventions can involve intense emotions for both the family and the addict. Because of all the emotional volatility involved, it helps to make sure the intervention is as organized and well-planned as possible. There’s no way to guarantee that it goes well, but you can increase the chances by doing all your homework, working with an interventionist, and preparing for all possibilities. Here are seven very simple things you can do to improve your chances of success.

1. Don’t rush into it. When it comes to addiction, time is always of the essence. If your addicted loved one is in immediate danger, then you might want to consider getting professional help as soon as possible. But if you think you have time for planning, take as much as you need to get everything right.
2. Assign roles. In family interventions, it helps to have one person act as the liaison. He or she will do most of the talking and move the event forward. Some families choose to ask an interventionist to fill this role. Meanwhile, there should be a core group of four or five people working together to plan the event, and everyone else who is going to be there should be informed of all the major plans as they develop.
3. Build your knowledge. In the lead-up to the intervention, read as much as you can on the nature of addiction. If you suspect your addicted loved one has other mental disorders combined with addiction, research those as well. Read multiple sources so that you can get a balanced view.
4. Research facilities. At family interventions, it helps to come prepared with detailed information about all the possible treatment programs. The planning group should come up with one or two preferred options, but it also helps to have some backup options in case the addict has something different in mind.
5. Discuss possible objections. During the planning, discuss with everyone involved what types of objections the addict may have to treatment. Remember that defensiveness is a natural response in his or her position, so plan smart ways to respond.
6. Rehearse the intervention. Bring together everyone who will be at the event and go through everything you are going to say. Do not leave anything to chance. If there are any points that need discussion, don’t save them until the last minute. Discuss them in the group and come to a definitive decision about what to say. Family interventions work best when everyone at the event is on the same page.
7. Agree to follow up. It’s no secret that not all family interventions work, so have a contingency plan. Of course, it is best to urge your addicted loved one to make a decision about treatment right away. But if they refuse, everyone in the group should be committed to following up. Some addicts need a little time to come around. Continue to provide support, and don’t ease up on the gentle, loving pressure to enter treatment.

Just as there are many types of addicts, there are many types of addiction recovery programs. While most addiction treatment specialists agree on the basic causes, symptoms, and general treatment methods for addiction, there are numerous specific approaches sanctioned by the recovery community. As for how long a treatment program should take, that depends on several factors, and it varies from person to person. Here are a few of the things that determine how long your treatment will take.

What type of addiction?

Different drugs have different effects on the body and mind, and this affects how long addiction recovery takes. Alcohol and opiate addiction recovery can be particularly time consuming since these substances have strong psychological holds and lead to severe physical withdrawal for anyone who tries to quit. Other addictions may require less time-consuming treatments, but all require substantial commitments of time in order to quit.

How much do you take?

An alcoholic who habitually drinks from morning until late at night is obviously going to have more difficulty quitting than someone who drinks in the evening every couple of days. The same applies to other substances. As a rule of thumb, the more of the substance you need to get drunk or high, the longer the addiction recovery process is going to take.

How long has the addiction lasted?

Addictions that have lasted years or even decades are particularly difficult to overcome. Even when the dosage is relatively low, a long-term habit creates a deeply engrained dependence. For example, someone who has been drinking habitually for 20 or 30 years is going to need not only strength but also substantial medical and emotional assistance in order to get through the difficult early stages of recovery.

In contrast, if your addiction has only been going on for a few months, recovery may still be difficult, but at least you have a clear memory of what life was like before the addiction started. People who have been addicted for decades often don’t know how to go about their daily lives without the addictive substance.

What other services do you need?

Addiction commonly co-occurs with other disorders. Many addicts have depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, or schizophrenia, among other things. In fact, many addicts begin abusing drugs or alcohol as a method of self-medication, so removing the substance without treating the underlying cause is obviously not a sustainable solution. If you have deep, underlying issues that contribute to your substance abuse, then full addiction recovery is going to take a bit longer.

One fantastic resource for those seeking information about gay/lesbian substance abuse treatment programs is NALGAP. This organization’s name stands for the “National Association of Lesbian and Gay Bisexual and Transgender Addiction Professionals.” NALGAP was founded back in 1979 to help treat issues with alcoholism, substance abuse that occur in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer community. Originally, NALGAP stood for “National Association of Lesbian and Gay Addiction Professionals,” but in recent year the organization changed its name to be more all-inclusive of the entire LGBT community.

While NALGAP is a valuable place for counselors and other treatment professionals to learn more about specifically running gay/lesbian substance abuse treatment programs, it is also a good resource for the gay community as well.

Throughout the year, NALGAP participates in various conferences that deal with substance addiction and treatment. Other NALGAP activities include newsletters, education, training, and referrals. For example, the organization also has a training program to assist those looking to help clients with drug and alcohol abuse. The curriculum is about 22 hours and the content is based on the US Department of Health and Human Services Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Modules include “the coming out process,” as well as “working with lesbians, gay men and bisexuals.” Visitors can also find a variety of articles on the NALGAP website.

Those with issues revolving around substance abuse can take advantage of this valuable organization to find gay/lesbian substance abuse treatment programs. For example, you can find a list of national, regional, state and community resources right on the NALGAP website. These resources can greatly assist people who are seeking treatment or planning a gay/lesbian intervention.

While there may not be treatment centers specifically for gays and lesbians in every state, national resources include Al-Anon, AA International Advisory Council for Homosexuals, Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, National Youth Advocacy Coalition and PFLAG, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

It is crucial for treatment professionals to learn how to address the needs and requirements of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender patients. After all, these days there are a variety of options for treatment programs available. There is little doubt that gays and lesbians in recovery have unique needs. Typically, members of the LGBT community do better if they are immersed in environments at gay/lesbian substance abuse treatment programs where counselors and other patients understand and accept them. Being in an atmosphere that harbors prejudice or ignorance can greatly derail the recovery process.

When preparing for a drug intervention for a loved one, you might be surprised by the number of elements that you have to pull together to make the event work. In fact, a drug intervention can be so daunting that many people choose to work with professional drug intervention specialists to help guide them through the process. Whether you’re doing it on your own or working with an interventionist, here are the important elements that most professionals recommend having:

• Create a core team of three to five people who will be the primary organizers and speakers at the drug intervention. Choose one or two from this group to be the leaders.
• Make a list of how you and other people at the intervention have tried to help the addict in the past, and discuss why those methods didn’t work.
• Write letters to the addict detailing how the addiction has caused you hurt and explaining why you have chosen to take this step. These letters will help you organize your thoughts ahead of the drug intervention, and you can read them aloud or give them to the addict if you choose.
• Make a list of treatment options for the addict. Be sure to make note of how much they cost, how long they take, and what type of treatment they offer.
• Gather information about local support groups, including meeting times and group philosophies.
• Prepare a suitcase just in case the addict agrees to go into treatment right away.
• Create a plan for the event, which should include the order in which everyone will speak.
• Try to anticipate potential objections that the addict may give to seeking treatment, and come up with supportive and non-confrontational ways to counter these objections.
• Go over the logistics for the drug intervention. How will you make sure the addict doesn’t find out about the event in advance? Where will you park your cars? In what order will you arrive? How will you get the person there? These issues may seem small, but they could be crucial to the event’s success.

Attending an inpatient substance abuse program is the best way to conquer a long-term, severe addiction, but it is not the end of the recovery process. You’ll make great strides during the detox phase and the early stages of recovery that occur within an inpatient substance abuse program, but after a few weeks you’ll be sent out into the world to cope more-or-less on your own. For many, this is the stage of recovery where the risk of relapse is at its highest.

The good news is that your inpatient substance abuse program will give you a strong foundation to work with as you to the next stage of your life. By the time you leave your program, all of the drugs will be out of your system, you’ll have begun the therapy portion of your treatment, and you may even be involved in a support group. But even with these things working in your favor, this stage of recovery requires commitment and strength.

At this stage, one of the most important things is to continue trying to get to the bottom of why you became an addict. You likely began counseling during your inpatient substance abuse program, and you may have begun to figure out that there are deep elements of your personality that gave rise to your addiction. Yet you’re probably going to need a lot more time with your therapist to achieve peace of mind and to find harmony with the world.

Meanwhile, you may also want to seek therapy for any other mental health issues that may relate to your drug addiction. For example, many people who become addicts do so partially to escape problems with depression or anxiety. Unless you deal with these problems, you’re only treating the symptoms of your disease.

Finally, it’s important during this stage not to give up on your support group. Even if you didn’t get much out of your meetings when you were in your inpatient substance abuse program, continuing your meetings now is the biggest favor you can do for yourself. In the coming months, your group will be a crucial source of comfort and strength.

It only makes sense that there would be drug rehab centers that focus on the needs of different types of people.  For example, you can easily find inpatient substance abuse programs that are designed strictly for women. Similarly, you can find programs for those with eating disorders or other illnesses. People are always going to do better in the recovery process if they are in an environment where they feel completely safe and secure. Therefore, it is logical that the GLBT community should have the option to go to their own specific treatment programs.

When gays and lesbians with substance abuse problems are incorporated into traditional rehab programs, they often feel uncomfortable with information pertaining to their sexual orientation. After all, most gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals have had experiences being ostracized or ridiculed due to their sexual preferences.

In fact, often the drug abuse or addiction stems from these issues in the first place. Homophobia can be tremendously powerful and can cause acute depression. Many people will turn to drugs to deal with the emotions brought on the prejudice of others.

If an intervention is involved in the process of encouraging drug addicts to go to rehab, the prospective patient will be more likely to readily agree to treatment if he or she knows that a center that specializes in gay/lesbian substance abuse has been selected. Family and friends of LGBT drug users can make the intervention an easier process by going preemptive and finding a program that specializes in treating gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patients.

Many gay/lesbian rehab programs include counseling involving LGBT issues, as well as body image and sexual health. Of course, many of these issues can affect the heterosexual community as well. You will often see patients receiving assistance and counseling with issues like grief and loss, trauma and anger management in any type of rehab program.

When individuals are going through gay/lesbian substance abuse inpatient rehab programs, they need to focus on getting better. Therefore, they should be in an environment where they are completely comfortable. In a program that is dedicated to gays and lesbians, they can feel 100% confident that their sexual preferences will be respected and considered with sensitivity.

Most drug abuse start out small, usually with casual social use on the weekends. For many people, the problem never goes further than this, and drug treatment never becomes necessary. For others, use becomes more frequent, and they may need larger and larger doses of the drug to achieve the same effect. After a while, drugs become the only way to feel good, it becomes increasingly difficult to go without them, and attempts to quit are met with severe withdrawal. Once you reach this point, drug treatment is a necessity.

If you’re not sure whether you or someone you love is in need of drug treatment, here are some of the most important signs to look for:

1. You feel that you need to have the drug every day or even multiple times per day, and you panic when you don’t have the drug.
2. You have tried and failed to quit the drug multiple times in the past, and it’s clear that going cold turkey or trying to quit on your own is not going to work.
3. You spend money on drugs even when that money should be going toward other things.
4. You have resorted to immoral, unethical, or deceptive tactics in order to get the drug. If you feel shame about anything that you’ve done to support your habit, there’s a good chance you need drug treatment.
5. You use the drug in response to stress or to deal with your emotions.
6. Your drug use has been associated with other risky activities such as driving under the influence.
7. Your habit continuously escalates. You spend more and more of your time and energy obtaining the drug and using it, and other aspects of your life have faded into the background. If your life is increasingly controlled by the drug, then you probably need drug treatment.

An alcohol intervention has the best chance of going well when it is deliberately scripted and contains no surprises. That’s why many intervention specialists recommend that all participants in an alcohol intervention write intervention letters that express support for the alcoholic while detailing the reasons why change is needed.

There are a few reasons why intervention letters are effective. First, they help you organize your thoughts so that you know what you do and don’t want to say to the alcoholic. Second, they give you something to read from during the intervention, which helps prevent your speech from becoming overemotional. And third, intervention letters give you the ability to say things that you normally don’t say out loud to the person.

How you write your letter depends on your relationship with the addict and the exact nature of the situation, but when you are at a loss for what to say, you can always follow this rough formula:

1. Start by telling the alcoholic how much you love him or her. If you don’t usually express this sentiment to this person, now is your chance to say it.
2. Express the significance of this relationship in your life, and maybe tell a story that illustrates how good things were before the alcoholism took over.
3. Express that you have noticed the extent to which alcoholism has taken over the addict’s life. Try to avoid taking an accusatory tone in this section. Remember that alcoholism is a disease and that the addict is suffering from it more than anyone else. Even if you have anger or bitterness toward the person, set those feelings aside.
4. Toward the end of the letter, make note of the ways in which your loved one’s addiction has negatively affected you. If it has hurt you in some way, or if it has had negative repercussions on your own life, outline these effects as clearly possible and in a way that is not too harsh.
5. Finally, express that they have your full support, that you will be there for support during the recovery process, and tell them that you’re here to help.

Statistics show that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals are more likely to try drugs. Further, they have higher rates of substance abuse. Due to the fact that drug abuse is so common amongst the gay community, LGBT drug treatment programs are essential.

According to the Pride Institute, some drugs are more commonly used in the LGBT community than in the heterosexual world. For example, gay men have been shown to be more likely to use drugs including marijuana, stimulants, sedatives, cocaine and “party drugs.” Also crystal meth use has risen steadily amongst gay men in past years.

One reason that has been pinpointed for the use of party drugs like ecstasy, and GHB amongst gay men is their prevalence at circuit parties. Due to the fact that gay individuals can feel isolated from society, they often seek to belong to a group. This emotion, in part, motivates them to do drugs at these parties.

Statistics from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment show that 20-25% of gay men and lesbians are heavy users of alcohol. This rate can be compared to 3%-10% of heterosexuals.

LGBT drug treatment programs focus on addressing the drugs that LGBT people are more likely to use. For example, often the issues include “poly-substance” abuse, which means abusing more than one drug in a short period of time. Drug users take part in this activity to heighten the impact of drugs.

LGBT drug treatment programs assist users to detoxify.  Once the detox process is over, counselors work with drug users in an individual setting, as well as in groups as well.  The process often continues with outpatient care, or sober living centers.

Those who enter LGBT drug treatment programs must learn to stop self-medicating and accept that they have a substance abuse problem.  This is an important first step in creating a long-term path of recovery.