Its Not Okay to be a Cannibal

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Its Not Okay to be a Cannibal!
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Why is it Okay to be Addicted?

• How different is the Cannibal to the addict?
• Destroy families, individuals, and their
  workplaces the same waythey eat them alive from
  the inside out.
• Its Not Okay
• We need to take action with the same urgency and
  commitment we cant fall into the trap of the
  conspiracy of silencethe greatest form of
  enabling.

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The Addiction Problem

• One out of every eight Americans has a problem
  with alcohol and/or drugs
• 5 of the population has an eating disorder
• Two million compulsive gamblers -- five million
  others have a significant problem
• 40 of the alcohols and drug addicts also have a
  dual diagnosis, or concurrent mental/nervous
  disorder
• There are 18 million Americans who need
  immediate treatment but are unwilling to go

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Where do the addicted turn?

• Workplace70 of alcoholics/addicts have jobs but
  dont get help for fear of retribution
• Legal, Medical, Spiritual ProfessionalsNeed
  solutions to offer clients in crisis
• Familiesdont know what to do or where to turn
  when faced with an addiction crisis or get/give
  the wrong advice

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Addiction Myths

• Addiction is a lack of willpower and a character
  flawvoluntary behavior
• You can't help alcoholics/addicts until they want
  helpcant force them
• An alcoholic must hit bottom
• Treatment cant work if the alcoholic doesn't
  want it.

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What does the Family/Workplace do?

• Nothing
• Keep secrets
• Enmeshed and get sick themselves
• Make deals they shouldnt make
• Make promises they cant keep
• Make a lot of mistakes
• Everyone gets sicker
• Addict gets more control and power

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So What Do Addicts Do?

• Take the balance of power away from healthy
  family
• They get sicker and are left to sort out their
  addictions by themselves
• Become Cannibals that eat themselves and their
  families alive
• Forced to wait for some form of external
  intervention/ consequences/pain to get them into
  action
• Legal, Medical, Financial, Workplace

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Who are we helping today?

• Small percentage of the addicted that are self
  aware or those that hit bottom external
  consequences
• The bigger piece, those bouncing around
  struggling who may never hit bottom, 18 million
  who need treatment but arent willing to get help

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How can we help?
Whats old is new Karen Hagen
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How it used to work

• Proactive workplace interventions
• Case management
• Detox
• Treatment
• Return to work/home support
• Monitoring

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Intervention Works!

• Underutilized and misunderstood within the
  continuum

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What is an Intervention?

• Intervention is a process that motivates someone
  to accept help when they are unable or unwilling
  to ask for help themselves. 

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Misunderstood

• Myths and bad advice
• Wont work or isnt appropriate
• Make matters worse
• If appropriate at all -- only then for severe
  cases
• Family can do an intervention by themselves
• Confused with a 12 step callCant I call A.A.?
• Performed by cowboys not professionals. Bad
  apples ruined the bunchindustry is changing

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Underutilized

• Miss early intervention on those who need help
  now
• Perceptions become realityif it wont work or
  make matters worse then why do it?
• Fear of letting outsiders inside
• Analysis is paralysis
• Demonized by those professionals who should know
  better including some treatment centers
• Some mental health professionals believed that
  they failed if they have to call/refer for help
• Dont know interventionists exist If I only
  would have known you existed earlier

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Intervention What its not

• Confrontational or shaming
• Knock-out drag-down dangerous fight
• Traumatic event for everyone (including treatment
  centers, counselors, families, and IPs)
• Interventionist is no longer a bounty hunter with
  a snatch and drop mentality where 100 of the
  focus was getting the addict to treatment at any
  cost

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InterventionWhat it is

• Pivotal Family Event that rates up their with
  their families marriage, births, and deaths
• Family addiction education and action plan is
  result of the process
• Unbelievably successful

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Philosophy Goals

• 1. To help the family/workplace system
• The system is our client
• Help those who want help
• Greater good for the greater number
• Help the system determine what is acceptable and
  unacceptable in their family/workplace and have
  them set healthy and safe boundaries
• 2. To get the addicted person into treatment in a
  way that compliments treatment

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InterventionsWhat we do

• Change in belief system
• Realignment of powerno longer held hostage
• Redraw the map of acceptable behavior
• Strength and guts
• TruthPainPower (break the conspiracy of
  silence)
• Change families

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The Challenge

• Obstacles in getting systems (family/workplace)
  to change / take action
• Sick themselves
• Denial
• Enmeshed
• Fearful
• Held hostage
• Afraid of making things worse
• Finances / cost of treatment
• Legal
• Dont recognize intervention exists

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Case 1Making Wrong Deals

• Family situation Smart/educated parents who are
  school principals. Three children.
• Addict Eldest child 16 years old junior in H.S.
• Drug of Choice Marijuana
• Family consequences of addiction Entire family
  system was dysfunctional, negative effect on all.
• Mistake Deals that they shouldnt make
• Outcome Cancelled intervention. Parents
  divorced one year later. Kid arrested for meth.
  possession

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Case 2Not taking a chance

• Work situation MnDOT snow plow team leader
• Addict 35 Male, Husband and Father
• Drug of Choice Alcohol and Cocaine
• Consequences of addiction work place was aware
  of his usage and decided to take action before
  something happened
• Did Right Supervisor called the EAP and got a
  referral to an intervention group
• Outcome Successful intervention, client clean
  and sober and thankful for the intervention.

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Case 3Waiting too long

• Corporate situation European President of US
  public company
• Addict 56 year old man
• Drug of Choice Alcohol
• Corporate consequences of addiction Poor
  business decisions, lost profits, loss of moral
  and motivation
• Mistake Waited too long
• Outcome Successful intervention, patient too
  sick to return to work. Saved his life but with
  severe cognitive impairment.

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Case 4Fear

• Family situation Married couple with two
  children
• Addict Mother 31Flight Attendant
• Drug of Choice Alcohol
• Family consequences of addiction Driving the
  children while under influence, a car accident,
  and fears about using at work
• Stuck Point Husband was afraid to approach wife
  because of her response and the unknown
  consequences in workplace
• Outcome Family decided to wait and see if she
  got better on her own..shes still driving drunk.

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Intervention Works

• 88 of time people accept help and go to
  treatment within the 1st 24 hours

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What if they say no

• Its still a day of changesystem gets better
• Family/Workplace is off the hook and can let go
  of guilt and responsibility
• New reality shift in power
• Part of the process intervention isnt over

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Intervention Works!
. To have the power to intervene and to choose
to do nothing with that power is irresponsible
and inhumane Intervention combined with treatment
is the best solution
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Intervention Outcomes

• 20 year study by Hazelden showed that intervened
  upon clients did better than non-intervened upon
  clients
• Family/Employer involved from beginning
• Treatment and aftercare discussed openly
• More relapse doors are shut
• Truth and not secrets
• Consequences

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Post Treatment/Reality of Care
Location
Family
Time
Job
Various reasons not to implement the prescribed
continuing care plan
ObjectiveIs recovery and not getting someone to
treatment
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Compulsions Addressed

• Drugs/Alcohol
• Eating Disorders
• Self Harm
• Gambling
• Sex and Love
• Mood Disorders/Trauma
• Compulsive spending addiction
• Other compulsive/self destructive behaviors

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AIR Intervention Statistics

• 2003-2005

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Who Makes That First Call?
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Primary Drug of Choice
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Primary Drug of Choice
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Meth Interventions

• Interventions are more difficult and dangerous
• Paranoia
• Psychotic
• Less likely to work immediately
• Depends on last usage
• Frequency and duration of usage
• Typically requires another form of intervention
  first
• Jail
• Detox
• Lockdown mental health facility

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Final Intervention Statistic

• We convince 9 out of 10 of the addicted
  individuals to accept help
• We convert 1 in 10 families to hire us despite
  the fact that they are in desperate pain and need
  help.
• 20 dont have money
• 50 dont have the willingness to change

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Our Opportunity

• Debunk the myths by educating people
• You can offer people help before they ask for it
• Nobody has to get sicker before they get better
• Nobody has to find a bottom because they may
  never get there
• Willingness to go to treatment isnt as important
  as the individuals willingness when they leave
  treatment
• Intervention works because treatment works
• Take action earlier than later!
• Get intervention back into your continuum of care

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Opportunity

• Opportunity to educate the brotherhood and
  sisterhood that it is okay to take action
• Opportunity to educate our families that it is
  their obligation to provide help
• Get peers involved in the intervention process
• Become less tolerant and patient
• Go back to what worked

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Winning the war on drugs

• Globally its too large a problem40 years
• Fighting it as an air warhundreds of miles away
• Needs to be house to house fight
• Fighting so close that you can see the tears
• Every day we are winning the war on addictionone
  person, one family, one workplace at a time
• It begins with someone simply saying that ITS
  NOT OK

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www.addictionintervention.com/lap Bob_at_AddictionIn
tervention.com