Therapeutic intervention is an organized attempt to help an individual confront a serious problem, usually by encouraging them to seek professional help. Usually carefully orchestrated by family and friends this often involves a meeting where the individual is confronted with the consequences of their negative actions and asked to get treatment.
What is intervention and who can it help?
Intervention can be helpful in motivating someone to seek help for a traumatic event or crisis and for a variety of conditions, including depression, addictions of any kind, alcoholism, substance abuse, and eating disorders.
In general it is defined as an influencing force or act which takes place in order to modify an ongoing situation. In terms of behavioral health, an intervention could be any external process which helps to modify the effects of an individual’s behavior, cognition, or emotions. For individuals experiencing stress there are a range of interventions which can bring effective relief including deep breathing, vigorous exercise, therapy with a counsellor or psychologist or taking medications. These various forms of intervention may be required individually or in combination all at the same time.
Intervention also refers to a specific process designed to break denial on the behalf of individuals with addictive disorders. Interventions in this sense of the word involve careful confrontations where friends and family members confront the person with the aim of bring the addicted person to understand that they are suffering from a disorder and that they need treatment. This is a crucial step in gaining the buy-in of individuals suffering from addiction to the concept and understanding that they need professional assistance to break the chain of addiction.
