Executive Intervention
Executive intervention is very common for professionals ranging from doctors, airline pilots and lawyers to CEO's and other high ranking professionals in business and finance. Although all addicts and alcoholics are created equal, it is far more difficult and it requires far greater skill and professionalism to obtain willingness from a person with almost no leverage than from a person with leverage. For example an alcoholic attorney practicing law in Manhattan making $650,000 a year is going to be far more difficult to convince that they have a problem than a 22 year old heroin addict with no job living in mom and dads house with an upcoming court date. Executive intervention success comes down to making the addict or alcoholic accountable as well getting them to see that their addiction is affecting others to a degree that the addict or alcoholic may not necessarily see. Executive intervention also requires proper planning as far as the attendees at the intervention. Because executive intervention has less leverage it is important to have as many people who have been affected by the addiction, can be respected by the alcoholic or addict and can be a strong voice of reason. It is not common with an executive intervention that we can make them feel any consequences of their addiction, other than with emotional leverage. It is unfortunate that many people determine the severity of addiction by how much someone has in their bank account, what car they drive, or what job title they hold. There is a saying that says addicts and alcoholics range from Yale to jail, Park Ave to park benches, people who have a million dollars and people who owe a million dollars and everywhere in between. Although the Manhattan attorney may be paying his bills and holding his or her job, they are really just the same as the heroin addict living at mom and dads. They are both ruining their lives, ruining everyone elses lives around them and are both spiritually empty.
Intervention for Professionals
Most of our intervention for professionals calls come from family, however sometimes they even come from co-workers or friends. One of the hardest situations to overcome is when the intervention for professionals is for someone who is very intimidating, employs most of the people calling or is in control of all the finances. It is very common for people to be afraid to confront the addict or alcoholic in this position for fear of losing their own jobs or the financial support they are receiving. Family First Intervention counselors come from backgrounds and positions similar to our clients, making establishing a connection with the substance abuser at the executive intervention easier. In addition it can be more tricky to conduct an intervention for professionals without the proper help because of the schedules and demands of the professional needing treatment. When we are preparing families for the intervention for professionals family day or pre-intervention we also stress the importance that although this is an executive intervention, this intervention is just as much for the family as it is for the addict or alcoholic. We may not have the same leverage or enabling at an executive intervention as we do a traditional intervention, however the emotional leverage is always the same. Even when it is an intervention with a large amount of enabling and leverage it is almost always the emotional leverage that gets the addict or alcoholic to accept help anyway. Intervention for professionals has to happen at some point otherwise the addict or alcoholic is going to eventually loose everything anyway.
Intervention for Executives
It is important to retain a professional intervention counselor when doing an intervention for executives. Business professionals feel that their problem is far less severe than it actually is. It is also not uncommon for the person we are doing the intervention for to be more arrogant and have an above the law attitude, although this is not always the case. In any event, you want to be prepared and have all basis covered when performing intervention for executives. In the pre-intervention we will make sure that we uncover and handle all of the objections that can potentially arise with professional interventions. We also want to do the best we can to ensure the substance abuser that his or her affairs can and will be taken care of in their absence. Not having the objections and affairs handled prior to the intervention itself is just one of the many things that can go wrong if an executive intervention is attempted without the presence of a professional interventionist.
