Intervention

THE COTTER MODEL OF INTERVENTION

Intervention

Experience has taught me, no matter how hurt, lost or despairing a person may be, it doesn't have to be that way.

Nor does a chemically dependent person need to hit bottom before help can be initiated and accepted. The earlier action is taken, the more likely the person is to fully recover and stop causing pain to self and others.

It is never too late to intervene. To intervene with a chemically dependent person is to come between the person and their drug of choice, instigate a course of treatment and ultimately recovery. Intervention is the first step to be taken by people who care about the person with the problem. It is a constructive, caring meeting, carried out as an act of compassion, with dignity and respect for all concerned.

"I Did What?!"

(When They Won't Quit, page 51)

I once worked with an alcoholic lawyer who had been vacationing with his family at an ocean resort. He woke up one morning covered with scraped skin from his nose to his feet. The day before his family found him trying to take a swim in the driveway in front of his beach house. When he was told about the incident, his response was an incredulous "I did what?"

I also intervened with a fellow who had been under the influence of LSD when he crushed a man against a wall with his car. When the police later arrested him and told him what he had done, he too reacted with shocked disbelief, "I did what!"