How to Make a Loved One Go To Rehab
Unfortunately, you cannot make someone go to rehab. Even if you know that their drug and alcohol use is putting them in a bad spot, the complexity of ruined relationships isn’t enough. In fact, the only thing that you might be able to do is to ensure they are sent to jail if they are endangering children or partaking in illegal activity. The issue with that is that jail is not rehab, and people that get sober because of the unavailability of drugs in jail will often turn to other alternatives.
You can, however, play a pivotal role in helping your loved one get to rehab for addiction treatment. Through education, endurance, fighting for the relationship you once had with this person, you can help them understand that rehab might be the only option for them.
First: Educate Yourself
You need to learn about the disease that is an addiction, as well as their drug of choice. Someone addicted to narcotics will have different experiences than someone addicted to alcohol. But ultimately, it all circles back to the raw disease of addiction. The drug use is simply a side effect, and usually, addiction is paired with mental illness or underlying and unaddressed trauma.
The best way to learn about addiction is to speak with the rehab center and attend open 12-step meetings. That Nar-Anon and other similar “Anon” meetings are frequently open to family members or those affected by addiction to attend as well. Here you’ll have the chance to learn about the local resources and the experiences that these people have had through their addiction.
Second: Refuse to Accept Responsibility for Their Addiction
Addicts are manipulative. It’s the age-old insight that they’ll do or say anything to get their next hit or fix. That puts their loved ones in a delicate situation because the addict will often put some blame on them. They’ll say things like, “You weren’t there when I needed you,” or “You spend your time doing (blank) instead of helping me.” But the truth is, as much as addiction is a disease, the drug use itself is a choice that you can’t control.
Third: Contact a Professional Interventionist
Nearly every rehab center can help you locate or access a professional interventionist. Although it might seem difficult bringing in a stranger to help with a family matter, this outsider can give your entire family and the person who needs help a new perspective.
When working with a professional interventionist, you’ll have the time to sit down with them and the people who will be part of the intervention and discuss some of the finer points. Someone, a parent or sibling, may not be on-board because they may not be aware of the extent of their addiction. Without everyone’s support, a successful intervention is unlikely.
Finally, a professional interventionist is someone who has experience reasoning with people who have severely impaired logic due to their drug use or mental state. An interventionist will help you put together a plan, manage the intervention, and execute it in a way that should lead to the person going to rehab.
Four: Always Have a Plan
Even if you choose to go without a professional interventionist, you’ll need a plan. You need to know who will say what during an intervention or it you’ll have a more private intervention that will be one-on-one.
Make backup plans for what will happen if the person refuses to accept treatment. What are the consequences, and how will you handle them? Many people choose to cut ties or financial support in an effort to end enabling behavior. Deciding if that’s right for you is difficult but not impossible.
What you’ll absolutely need a plan for is if the person accepts treatment. You don’t want to have someone agree to treatment only to find out that there are no open positions at the rehab of your choice. Setup these parts of your plan ahead of time and discuss your goals with the rehab facility you choose. You may also want to consider speaking with a few different facilities to see what options are available and if they have openings.
Reach Out for Help in Planning and Scheduling For Your Loved One to go to Rehab
When you’re ready to put together a plan and help your loved one get into a rehab program, contact Rehab Carolinas. At Rehab Carolinas, we work with a wide variety of therapy options and counseling options for those dealing with trauma or mental illness. Meet with our team today to discuss the best way to approach your loved one about treatment.