Sustainable Intervention/Invitation to Change
"Hopefully, days and years of waiting for people to "hit bottom"
are going to be replaced by assertive approaches to identifying,
engaging and motivating people in need of recovery."
- WIlliam White
are going to be replaced by assertive approaches to identifying,
engaging and motivating people in need of recovery."
- WIlliam White
- We believe that to get long term results, an invitation to a Family meeting is a better approach than, SURPRISE!
- Research shows that a less confrontational approach offers more than double the chance that a loved one will enter treatment or some kind of change process.
Never underestimate your power to change yourself; never overestimate your power to change others. - H. Jackson Brown Jr.
- The method is called the Breakthrough Intervention method.
- There are 4 primary steps that outline the process, but the core of this method is FAMILY. When a circle of Family and Friends surround the loved one with the power of love and invited them to change, the results speak for themselves. The Family unit (both of origin and choice) is an adaptable, resilient change agent for the entire Family allowing the loved one to change course.
- Breakthrough Intervention is where the interventionist is NOT the most important person in the room. We believe that the family is inherently resilient and well-equipped to help and hope. We know that leverage exists in many shapes and sizes but bottom lines must be used sparingly. We needn't trap, to treat, a loved one in crisis.
- The Breakthrough Intervention method meets families right where they are; it builds on their primary skills, authority and relationships.
The Four Steps
One: Craft a Circle of Change
Using your natural influence of friends and family and claiming the unmatched power to move a resistant loved one toward change, the Circle is created (also known as the iTeam). The loved one will have a difficult time ignoring the process or digging their heels in when faced with an entire group of family and friends who love him or her.
Who are the voices that matter?
The iTeam is a rich example of the family group practicing teamwork. The iTeam is not about any one person getting their way. The iTeam is not designed for any one person to force, bribe, or manipulate someone to agree to participate. Instead, the work is about building consensus and acting with consistency, and with love.
Creating a Change Plan
One goal is to share a Change Plan with the loved one and have them accept the help being offered. Invariably the family's financial situation and insurance plan will be taken into consideration when looking at what help is appropriate and at what cost.
It is critical when using a change plan that does not include inpatient treatment, that the plan is airtight and considers a variety of the loved one's needs. The Change Plan includes help in the form of a therapist, a program, or support group that will enable the loved one to get back on the right track. A Change Plan is a living document, which will be revised if necessary. It creates accountability, keeps the individual to his or her word, builds in added motivation, and is a concrete way to measure progress. It is a living road map representing the entire groups agreement to get well.
To Rehab or Not to Rehab
Depends on the severity of each case. Not everybody needs inpatient or outpatient rehab. The change plan can include simpler sources of help.
The Change Message
The iTeam's Change Message is the internal mission statement for the iTeam to rally around. A short version would be: You're hurting, we love you, here's the help ... what do you say?
We present the Change Message and Change Plan with the iTeam at the Family Meeting after inviting the ILO to their own intervention.
The Change Message does not say you're a crummy person, you're a jerk or ay of that type of recrimination as it only lowers everyone's emotional temperature and thwarts change. The Change Message expresses love, but demands immediate change. Crafting the Change Message is a key part of the personal renovation that is about to take place. And like all renovations, it requires the use of delicate tools; bringing in the bulldozers may wreck the whole contraption.
The tools you will use to craft the Change Message are:
- This is what I see (Eyewitness Account)
- This is what I fear (Flash Forward)
- This is what I hope (Resolution)
Eyewitness Account
We do not use formal letters. We speak eye to eye and heart to heart. The eyewitness account helps each person to calmly paint a picture. In other words, you will verbally offer a visual scene of how you want someone to change. When you learn to speak in pictures, you will get the results you are hoping for.
The Change Message helps identify what the loved one's primary reservations are likely to be, and what the iTeam's bottom line's will be.
The Flash Forward
This is the second part of the Family Meeting's guided conversation. Ask: What do you worry will happen if your loved one does not get help? Be specific. That he will die? Lose her job? Get physically sicker? That he will a DUI? That he will hit someone while drink driving?
You are painting and honest yet grim picture of the future, while also letting them know that they may not be just hurting themselves but also the people he or she cares about and that care about them.
This tool is a spiritual time machine that shows everyone where the problem behavior is headed if left unchecked.
The Resolution
When we deal with a loved one who is troubled, we want to see that person move from instability to stability. That is the resolution.
We work to pave the way to a harmonious resolution.
"Will you accept the help we're offering and start a recovery program today"
The Setting
The Family Meeting should be held in Familiar surroundings, usually someones's home, where everyone will feel comfortable. Have food present, and non-alcoholic drinks. As important, is where each person sits.
Everyone should be within arms length of the loved one ready to connect with love an hugs.
Two: Deliver the Invitation
Once the invitation has been made the process has begun.
Let us help you complete the process.
We invite you to breakthrough and find recovery for your Family. We'll bring all the hope!
Fee: 4,300
Incudes:
- Prep work, the iTeam meetings, and necessary followup sessions to facilitate entry into treatment and a transportation escort to the facility;
- Advising, screening and selection recommendations for inpatient, and/or outpatient treatment, interface between the iTeam and the treatment provider; coordination of aftercare; integration planning if the person is returning home or to the community; advice on using self-help meetings, and setting up a self-help support network; addressing questions related to ongoing treatment and other functioning related issues; and emergency meetings if resumption of use occurs;
- Includes 2 change coaching sessions per month for a year or 24 total. The fee includes unlimited emails and texts and coordination of any and all issues related to the case that come up during the year. Additional appointments can be scheduled at a mutually agreed upon time; any additional meetings or conversations will be charged at a rate of 125 per hour or 75 per half hour. These appointments will be invoiced. If meetings are subject to additional travel, transportation or lodging, invoices will be presented for immediate payment.
- One year of intensive Family Recovery education and training, The B.A.L.M., includes:
- Information - We educate you with 12 Family Recovery Principles presented through weekly live calls, a workbook, and an online archive of over 120 hours of lessons, expert interviews, discussions, recovering speakers and recovering families. All of this information is organized in an easy-to-digest fashion.
- Transformation – You receive tools to put that information into practice on a journey into 7 steps that empower families to effectively communicate with their loved one using the BALM (Be A Loving Mirror) method.
- Support –Group coaching calls where families can get their questions answered, receive support, and hear how others are coping with the challenges of a loved one’s struggles with substance use disorder and other addictions.
We do not bill insurance.
Payment plans can be arranged.
Ask about our WCYA plans.
Sustainable Recovery, Inc.
Timothy Harrington
Email: tim@sustainablerecovery.net
Telephone: 323-804-5555
