Interventions are important because they can help alcoholics overcome their denial about the problems caused by their drinking. In an intervention, family members, friends, coworkers, and other key people in the drinker’s life band together to talk to the individual about how his or her drinking is affecting them.

Whether this is done in a doctor’s office, a hospital, or at the person’s home, it can be an extremely painful experience for everyone involved. The alcoholic may break down in tears when loved ones explain how the drinker’s behavior has hurt them, and they may also be crying because of the outpouring of pent-up emotions. Interventions can also be angry affairs; the alcoholic may continue denying the problem, and other people may be overcome by resentment or bitterness in discussing all of the things the drinker has done to ruin their lives.

Former first lady Betty Ford, who has spoken publicly about her drinking, admits she was upset at first when confronted by members of her family and others. Recalls Ford, “All of them hurt me [with their stories about Ford's drinking]. I collapsed into tears. But I still had enough sense to realize they hadn’t come around just to make me cry; they were there because they loved me and wanted to help me.” The intervention made Ford realize how severe her drinking had become and she sought treatment and was able to quit.

The most important step drinkers take toward recovery is to finally admit to themselves, as Ford did, that they have to quit. Although alcoholics will need a great deal of help to do this, fortunately today they have a wide variety of care options from which to choose.

Intervention

Because so many alcoholics refuse to admit they have a problem, an intervention is often useful in making them realize the tragic consequences of their drinking. In Alcohol Problems and Alcoholism: A Comprehensive Survey, James E. Royce discusses this form of encounter.

Very often the most effective way to motivate a person to go into treatment is by a group confrontation. This must be carefully planned, under the guidance of a trained alcoholism worker. It is useful to have each family member write out and read a list of times and events [involving the person's drinking], which makes the encounter less emotional and more factual. Since they know about it anyhow, small children can have a powerful role to play, as when daddy’s girl says, “Why do you drink that stuff when it makes you talk so funny or hurt mommy?” Significant others besides family members may be able to make a useful contribution. The alcoholic will try to play the confronters off against one another. Each must agree to maintain a united front; no one party can feel sorry for the alcoholic and spoil the unanimity. The alcoholic will cry, accuse them of picking on him or her, of being unfair, of exaggerating, etc But they must promise not to settle for anything less than agreement to enter treatment. It must be explained.