Talking to family members about drug abuse can be difficult, report counselors at the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Getting help for drug abuse in the family often requires additional outside assistance from professionals trained in interventions and ready referrals for treatment programs. At other times, help comes in the form of ultimatums that will push the substance abuser to find help to keep the family intact.
Step 1
Talk to the person whom you suspect or know is using drugs. Often, when a person is confronted with the facts or finds out that he is not concealing his drug abuse any longer, he will seek treatment.
Step 2
Tell the person how much you are concerned and how his drug abuse is affecting you and the family. Be specific and provide examples. Offer support if she agrees to get treatment. Set boundaries of what you will not accept and create consequences, such as separation or incarceration if she does not begin to find ways to get help to stop using drugs.
Step 3
Bring in a professional trained in interventions for drug addicts. The professional will instruct you on who to invite to the intervention, what kinds of things you each should say and how to go about setting up a referral for treatment, which must be ready at the time of the meeting.
Step 4
Find a treatment center with an opening that is willing to take in your family member either after you talk to him or following an intervention. Treatment centers can range from short-term detox facilities that provide follow-up through outpatient sessions or long-term residential programs that last for 30 days or longer and tend to be more effective.
Step 5
Prepare to rebut all the excuses and rationalizations the addict will invariably present during any kind of confrontation, report counselors at the National Institute on Chemical Dependency.
Tips and Warnings
- Get additional help for family members in programs such as Nar-Anon that are geared to working with family members of drug addicts. Find empathy from others in similar situations, tips on how to deal with the disease of addiction and information that could help you get a handle on your own emotional issues.
- Prepare your family for possible relapses following the treatment of the drug addict. Relapse is a characteristic of the disease of addiction and often part of the recovery process. Build a plan into your list of consequences that deals with relapses, such as demanding an immediate return to treatment if the person relapses.
Things You'll Need
- Profession intervention
- Treatment
- Support group for family
