Published: 12:01 BST, 27 August 2026 | Updated: 13:46 BST, 27 August 2026
When you're watching a loved one battle with addiction, the sense of despair can be overwhelming.
You might be a parent whose child has a drug problem and who gets arrested, gets a criminal record, and seems intent on destroying their future.
Or you might be a long-suffering partner whose other half is deteriorating through alcohol or cocaine misuse, having seizures, coughing up blood, repeatedly being admitted to hospital.
You might be asking yourself: Why do they keep making such bad choices and unwise decisions? Why can't they see the harm they're doing to themselves? And the hurt they're causing to everyone around them?
These are questions I hear all the time in my role as regional operations manager at UKAT Addiction Centres – a group of rehab clinics across the country.
Many people in this situation – who are desperate to help their husband, wife, son, daughter or friend – will instinctively understand that one way to set them on the road to recovery is to stage an intervention.
An intervention, for those who have not heard the term, is a planned meeting in which family, friends and sometimes an addiction professional confront someone about the harmful effects of their drug or alcohol use.
The goal of an intervention is to encourage someone to accept treatment.
An intervention is a planned meeting in which family, friends, and sometimes an addiction professional confront someone about the harmful effects of their drug or alcohol use
Typically this involves loved ones preparing anecdotes of how the person's substance abuse has affected them, and a plea for them to seek help.
Research shows that interventions work too. A 2009 US study found that those who are confronted by loved ones are significantly more likely to enter into addiction treatment than those who do not.
However, interventions can be fraught with difficulties. I often hear from families who say they are worried that their loved one will feel attacked, get angry – or even violent.
So how can you stage an intervention that is both effective and safe?
Perhaps the most important thing to explain is what an intervention isn't. It absolutely isn't an opportunity for airing grievances or venting anger.
