By David Gulden, LMHC, LMFT
A New Hope Recovery Services | Winter Park, Florida
You’ve tried talking to them. You’ve pleaded, reasoned, and probably even begged. But your loved one still won’t accept help for their substance use disorder.
You feel helpless, exhausted, and increasingly desperate as you watch someone you love deteriorate—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. You know they need treatment. They probably know it too, somewhere deep down. But every time you bring it up, you hit a wall.
If you’re reading this during October—Substance Use & Misuse Prevention Month—you might be wondering: If prevention didn’t work, what do I do now?
Here’s what I want you to know: Prevention doesn’t stop when addiction starts. For families facing active addiction, professional intervention IS prevention—preventing the next overdose, the next DUI, the next destroyed relationship, and the next tragedy.
The Truth About “Wanting” Help
The truth is, someone deep in addiction often won’t wake up one day and decide they want treatment. Their brain is wired to seek the substance above all else. That’s not a moral failing—it’s a medical reality.
I’ve been working with families and individuals struggling with substance use disorders for over a decade—as a clinical director in treatment centers, as a therapist, and now as a professional interventionist. And I can tell you this with absolute certainty: Waiting for your loved one to “want it” is medically unrealistic when their brain has been altered by chemicals.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), addiction fundamentally changes brain circuitry—the brain’s reward system becomes hijacked by substances. It’s compulsive craving, seeking, and use in the face of negative consequences.
When you’re craving and your midbrain is so wrapped around this substance, you’ll walk through anyone for a drug. That’s not who they are—that’s the disease.
You’re Not Alone in This Struggle
I know what you’re going through. When people call A New Hope Recovery Services, they’re hopeless. They’ve been dealing with this situation for years sometimes, and they have tried everything they know how to do to get this person to change.
You’ve probably:
- Had countless conversations that went nowhere
- Offered to pay for treatment, only to be refused
- Watched them promise to quit “on their own” repeatedly
- Felt ashamed to tell friends what’s really happening
And with Thanksgiving approaching, you’re probably dreading the family gathering. You’re terrified your loved one will show up drunk or high—or worse, won’t show up at all.
You’ve read about waiting for “rock bottom,” but you’re terrified that “rock bottom” means death. Your concern is valid. Rock bottom can have devastating, even fatal consequences. Families don’t have to wait for that.
Why Professional Intervention Is Prevention
This is what most people don’t understand: Professional intervention isn’t just crisis response. It’s prevention—active, powerful, family-driven prevention.
We believe that an intervention is a loving and life-saving act. At the end of the day, it’s a group of people giving the gift of recovery to someone who, at the moment of the intervention, typically doesn’t want it.
1. It Prevents the Escalation That’s Coming
Active addiction is progressive. Every day your loved one remains without intervention is a day they’re at risk of overdose (especially with today’s fentanyl-laced drug supply), fatal car accident while impaired, arrest and criminal record, or loss of job, home, or custody of children. Professional intervention interrupts this trajectory toward more severe consequences.
2. It Prevents Holiday Crisis
The holidays you’re already dreading are a high-risk time for someone in active addiction. Family stress, increased substance availability, and emotional triggers create dangerous conditions.
Intervening NOW means your loved one can be safely in treatment during the holidays—instead of drunk or high at your dinner table. Or in the emergency room. Or in jail. That’s prevention.
3. It Prevents Family System Collapse
Addiction affects every member of the family. The families are the unsung heroes of the intervention—they’re often suffering equal to or sometimes much more than the person who’s struggling.
While your loved one is numbed out by substances, you’re wide awake dealing with the chaos, the fear, the trauma, the financial strain, the lies, the betrayal. You’re living in a constant state of hypervigilance, waiting for the next crisis.
Professional intervention begins the healing process for the entire family system—regardless of whether your loved one immediately accepts treatment. You stop enabling. You set healthy boundaries. You start recovery even if they’re not ready yet.
4. It Prevents Death
At the end of the day, this is about keeping someone alive long enough to access treatment and recovery. We’re in the midst of an epidemic. According to SAMHSA, substance use disorders contribute to hundreds of thousands of deaths annually in the United States.
I’ve lost friends and clients to this disease. I don’t want your loved one to become another statistic. And neither do you.
The Johnson Model: Loving Act, Not Confrontation
If you’re familiar with interventions from reality TV, you might think they’re aggressive confrontations. That’s not what we do.
I use the Johnson Model, which emphasizes preparation, compassion, and natural consequences—not threats or ultimatums. It’s a structured, therapeutic process where the family system comes together to present the gift of treatment.
Here’s the intervention process:
Family Assessment & Preparation (1-2 Weeks Before): I meet with family members individually to assess the severity of the situation, screen participants for appropriateness, prepare each family member emotionally and practically, and identify healthy boundaries and natural consequences.
The Intervention Day: This is not an ambush. It’s a loving, carefully prepared family meeting where each person shares their impact statement, we present treatment options that match clinical needs, and we make it clear: the family system is changing today, whether the person goes to treatment or not.
48-Hour Nationwide Mobilization: Often within 48 hours of that first call, we can mobilize and facilitate an intervention. That means families calling today can have their loved one safely in treatment before the holidays. That’s the prevention advantage of acting NOW instead of waiting.
Ongoing Family Support: This is where my background as a licensed therapist matters. I work with families throughout treatment, providing family therapy sessions, boundary coaching, communication with treatment centers, and support regardless of outcome.
Why Clinical Licensure Matters in an Unregulated Field
Here’s something families need to understand: Intervention is an unregulated field. There’s no such thing as a “licensed interventionist.” Anyone can call themselves an interventionist with minimal training.
What I am is a licensed therapist who provides intervention services. And that difference matters tremendously for your family’s safety and success.
I hold dual licensure as both a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC-Q.S.) and a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT-Q.S.)—along with certifications as a Master’s Level Addictions Professional (MCAP), Case Manager Interventionist (CCMI-M), and Substance Abuse Professional (SAP).
This clinical training allows me to:
Assess Co-Occurring Disorders: Many people struggling with substance use also have anxiety, depression, mood disorders, trauma, or PTSD. I can clinically assess these mental health conditions and ensure the treatment plan addresses the whole person—not just the addiction.
Understand Family Systems: As an LMFT, I’m trained in family systems theory. The intervention isn’t just about getting one person to treatment—it’s about systemic change, changing the way everybody operates to promote overall system health.
Provide Ongoing Therapeutic Support: Because I’m a licensed therapist, I can provide family therapy beyond the intervention day. People go to treatment and get help for 30, 60, 90 days. But the family often doesn’t get any services. They have their own trauma around the fear of losing their loved one, plus all the chaos that comes with active addiction.
Maintain Independence from Treatment Centers: I don’t receive kickbacks or commissions from treatment centers. When I assess someone for treatment placement, I look at their insurance, their clinical presentation, their specific needs—and I give the family options. That’s ethical treatment matching, not predetermined placements based on referral fees.
October: The Prevention Month You Can Actually Act On
October is Substance Use & Misuse Prevention Month—a time when SAMHSA and communities nationwide focus on raising awareness about substance use prevention.
But here’s what those campaigns don’t always make clear for families already in crisis: Prevention doesn’t stop when addiction starts.
If your loved one is already deep in active addiction, you’re not “too late” for prevention. Professional intervention is tertiary prevention—preventing further harm, preventing escalation, preventing death.
During this October Prevention Month, you can take action:
- Schedule a confidential family consultation
- Learn about professional intervention options
- Get your loved one into treatment before the holidays
- Begin your family’s healing journey
Don’t just raise awareness this October. Take preventive action.
What Happens If They Say No?
This is the question families ask me most: “What if we do the intervention and they still refuse treatment?”
Here’s the truth: Even if your loved one doesn’t immediately accept treatment, the intervention creates change for the family system.
I tell families: “Look, if we’re going to do this, I promise you that the minute we intervene on your loved one, everything is going to change. They may not go to treatment that day—and that’s part of the intervention process. But systemic change will happen because the family system is taking action regardless.”
After the intervention, the family stops enabling behaviors, sets and enforces healthy boundaries, begins attending Al-Anon or Nar-Anon, continues family therapy, and starts their own recovery journey.
And you know what? Often the person who refused treatment initially reaches out days or weeks later. Because the family system changed, and they can’t continue the addiction in the same way. The enabling stopped. They get uncomfortable. And discomfort creates motivation.
Don’t Wait for Rock Bottom
People think they have to wait for “rock bottom” before intervening. That’s a myth—and it’s a dangerous one. Rock bottom could be overdose death, vehicular manslaughter, loss of custody of children, homelessness, suicide, or irreversible medical damage.
You don’t have to wait for any of that.
The families feeling isolated and hopeless—that’s where interventionists like myself come in. We are motivators. There is hope out there because it absolutely seems like a hopeless condition when you’re watching someone you love harm themselves or put themselves in danger.
If it seems hopeless, if it seems like there’s nothing you can do about it—it’s just not true. That’s why treatment centers exist for substance use disorders and mental health issues. That’s why therapists and interventionists like myself exist.
You can take action today. Before Thanksgiving. Before another holiday is ruined. Before your loved one becomes another statistic.
Your Next Steps
If your loved one is refusing help and you’re dreading the upcoming holidays, here’s what I want you to do:
1. Stop Blaming Yourself
This is not your fault. You didn’t cause this. Addiction is a disease—a medical condition that alters the brain. You can’t love someone out of addiction, and you can’t force them to want recovery. But you can create an opportunity for change.
2. Reach Out for Professional Guidance
Call A New Hope Recovery Services at (407) 501-8490 or toll-free at (888) 508-HOPE for a confidential family consultation.
We’ll discuss your loved one’s current situation, whether professional intervention is appropriate, the preparation process, treatment options and insurance coverage, your family’s specific needs and concerns, and timeline for intervention (remember: we can mobilize within 48 hours).
There’s no charge for an initial consultation. Just information, support, and hope.
3. Download Our Free Family Guides
“The Family’s Guide to Understanding Professional Interventions” explains why people with substance use disorders resist treatment, how professional intervention works, what to expect during the process, and what happens after the intervention, regardless of outcome.
“Pre-Intervention Planning Toolkit” provides family readiness assessment tools, step-by-step preparation strategies, support team building guidelines, and professional consultation protocols.
Download the guides:
4. If Your Loved One Is in Immediate Danger
- Expressing suicidal thoughts → Call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
- Medical emergency or overdose → Call 911
- Mental health or substance use crisis → Call SAMHSA at 1-800-662-4357
Never wait when someone’s life is in immediate danger.
A Message of Hope
At the end of the day, if someone survives and ends up in treatment, I don’t care what the circumstances are—that’s when they can start to get better, and the family can start to heal.
Professional intervention is absolutely a loving, life-saving act. Like any other disease, addiction can be treated and is absolutely treatable.
I’ve seen what happens when families wait. I’ve seen the consequences. I’ve attended too many funerals. But I’ve also seen miracles. I’ve seen the person who refused treatment in the intervention sitting in the car with me afterward, relieved—saying, “I’m just tired, you know?” Living the lie, putting everybody through all the tremendous pain of addiction—they’re worn out. And that’s when they’re ready to surrender.
I’ve seen families heal. I’ve seen people celebrate years of sobriety. I’ve seen families that were completely broken come back together.
There is hope. But hope requires action.
Don’t let another holiday pass with your loved one still suffering. Don’t wait for rock bottom. Don’t wait for them to “want it.”
This October, during Substance Use & Misuse Prevention Month, make intervention your family’s prevention strategy.
About David Gulden, LMHC, LMFT
David Gulden is a licensed therapist and professional interventionist at A New Hope Recovery Services in Winter Park, Florida. With dual licensure as both a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT), David brings comprehensive clinical expertise to families facing addiction crises.
David became a certified professional interventionist in 2017 after training with leading experts in the intervention field. With over a decade dedicated to the recovery process, David’s background includes serving as primary therapist, program manager, family-program director, and clinical director for multiple national treatment providers. He specializes in the Johnson Model of intervention with a family systems approach.
A New Hope Recovery Services
Winter Park, Florida
Phone: (407) 501-8490
Toll-Free: (888) 508-HOPE
Website: anewhoperecovery.com
Need Help Now?
Crisis Resources:
- 988 – Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- 1-800-662-4357 – SAMHSA National Helpline
- 911 – Immediate medical emergencies
Schedule a Consultation:
Call A New Hope Recovery Services at (407) 501-8490 or (888) 508-HOPE
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