Love First: A New Approach to Intervention for Alcoholism and Drug Addiction

Jeff Jay and Debra Jay

ISBN 1-56838-521-8

From the introduction:

“Intervention is the most effective technique that families can use to help a loved one suffering from chemical dependency. It is also the most ignored. Through our work in intervention, we have found that love is a powerful force when confronting addiction. In the past, expressions of love were delegated to a few brief sentences during an intervention. We’ve learned that when we expand the role of love, it is love, rather then toughness, that first breaks through denial.”

Section One Insights into Alcoholism and Other Drug Addictions

The topics in section one include understanding how the addict has been able to keep loved ones off balance and eleven misconceptions about chemical dependency.

Section Two Understanding Family Responses

Combining love with denial gives us innocent enabling, but this section begins teaching about detachment and the power of the group.

Section Three Preparing for an Intervention

“The process of preparing the groundwork for the intervention are in this section. Putting a team together for the intervention includes having no fewer than 3 people on your team and no more than 8 people. Be sure to include people that are positive influencers and include no one who is chemically dependent also. Each team member will write a one page summary of how the chemical dependency affected him/her and the relationship.”

You will be having a rehearsal so that all the group members can help each other to stay focused and in love and compassion rather than judgment.

“During your initial meetings with your team, choose a detail person who is organized and willing to act as a liaison between team members. The detail person’s two most important jobs are to keep communications flowing and to compile information.

“Intervention isn’t complicated, but it requires knowledge and careful preparation. First learn what you need to know. Then plan and prepare.”

Section Three Preparing for an Intervention

This section gives complete, detailed information about preparing for an intervention.

Section Four The Intervention

The authors gives details about what an intervention looks like.

Section Five

This section focuses on what happens after the intervention from the viewpoint that the addict agrees to seek help. It also talks about the possibility of relapse.

Section Six Tools

The tools section includes building a team, the planner, the checklist, enabling behaviors, evaluating treatment centers, objections and answers, bottom lines, self-quizzes about addiction, and the Jellinek Curve.

The appendixes include the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and other resources.