A drug and alcohol intervention is a process of overcoming the barriers, getting across to the addicts and making them realise where they stand and what can be done to come out of the spell of substance addiction.

Intervention for drug abuse is a wake up call for someone who is going off the deep end. It is an attempt to put a safety net under the person whose life is spiraling downwards out of control. Successful interventions are behavioural interrupters. They address the problem, set boundaries, and offer solutions. They penetrate the addict’s denial system and are a turning point in their life and ideally result in the individual going into a drug and alcohol rehab programme.

A drug and alcohol intervention is an honest, heartfelt, communication. Intervention is an opportunity for family, friends and co-workers to say, “Hey, we’re watching you die, Man. It’s tearing our hearts out. What you do affects us too! We want you to get some help!” An intervention of truth, piercing the protective armour of denial, is an incredible gift of love. It is opportunity of hope for a new life, for both the addict and his family.

Recovery does not have to be a painful process. Life is painful enough. Recovery should feel good. New alternative treatments that are holistic in nature are having remarkable results.

What is holistic? Wikipedia defines ‘holistic health’ as “a concept in medical practice upholding that all aspects of people’s needs, psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. As defined above, the holistic view on treatment is widely accepted in medicine. A different definition, claiming that disease is a result of physical, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental imbalance, is used in
alternative medicine.”

The concept of holistic health is very old and has been around for approximately 5,000 years. This strain of medical practice developed in India and China but is present in many areas of the world. Around the 1970’s, the holistic health approach became much more popular and accepted as a form of medicine in North America. Socrates contributed to one of the main ideas behind holistic health through his belief that the body cannot be thought of as multiple organs and parts, but as a whole single unit. The actual word “Holism” originated in 1926 from Jan Christiaan Smuts, even though it had been practised for centuries before this.

In the past, addicts have resisted treatment, because it seemed more painful and difficult, than their active addiction. Thankfully, times have changed. Alternative treatment modalities have come a long way from the old days ‘break them down, let them suffer and feel the pain so they don’t do this again mentality. Today, we know there is a lot more to recovery than shoving the twelve steps down someone’s throat.

Healthy treatment does not just give you a time out, put a Band-Aid on a wound the size of a decubitus ulcer, and send you on your way. Healthy treatment does not shame or degrade a human being; instead it heals low self-esteem and empowers the individual to reach new heights. Healthy treatment gives you what you need to feel good physically, emotionally and spiritually. Healthy treatment reignites the spirit and restores the joy of living. Healthy treatment is holistic treatment of mind, body and spirit.

Recently the Art & Entertainment Networks show INTERVENTION, introduced America to a heroin addict using in her bathroom. We witnessed her progress while in treatment at North Miami’s G&G Holistic Addiction Treatment Programme, better known as THE HOLISTIC CENTER. A sober year later, this woman is now working for the treatment centre that helped her on her path to recovery. The before and after pictures are astonishing. We see two different people: 1) a heroin addict standing in a six hour long vegetative state in front of her bathroom mirror, nodding off after shooting up, and 2) a bright eyed, confident, joyful woman who is an inspiration to others, and who is self-supporting financially and emotionally. Her intervention was the bridge that transported her from the dead zone and gave her the opportunity to recover.

Think of it as an intervention of a cargo ship that transports the addict from active addiction to a destination, which is the protection of a addiction treatment facility. The captain is the facilitator. The crew is made up of trusted family, friends, and co-workers. You have done your research and have a timetable and destination in mind.

Your cargo is your loved one and his emotional baggage. As Captain, you must steer the ship. Each crew member takes a turn at the helm, speaking his truth in love, chipping away at the addict’s anchor of denial. By the time each person has shared their truth, feelings, needs, fears, and hope, the family will have travelled a great distance from denial into truth, and thoroughly defined the problem. It is now time to offer a solution.

Holistic Treatment is a solution, a blessing. Imagine treatment as a well of healing waters, not a prison from which you need to escape. It is imperative that the addict understands they are receiving a gift, not punishment. Regardless of the mask of arrogance and defiance, the core of every addict is shame, guilt, self-hatred and fear. Love motivates and empowers. Acceptance waters the soul and facilitates healing and spiritual wellness.

In this day and age, when addiction recovery treatment is a billion dollar industry with pitiful success ratios, it is imperative to know that there is HOLISTIC TREATMENT that works, addressing the mind, body, and soul. Holistic treatment not only has the highest recovery rates, individuals seem to thrive, find genuine happiness, joy for living, and peace of mind.

For more information on The Miami Center for Holistic Healing go to www.miamiholistic.com