By David Palmer
Interventions are a valuable tool in helping alcoholics and other drug addicts get well. And they come in various sizes and shapes.
In my own case, a psychiatrist I was seeing in Denver about my acute anxiety realized after a couple of sessions that I was an alcoholic and directed me to my nearest Alcoholics Anonymous meeting forthwith. He knew that our talks would come to nothing if I did not deal with the alcohol issue first, and he “intervened”.
I went to my first AA meeting that night, got a sponsor, went to a hundred meetings in a hundred days, had a two-week “slip,” and have since accumulated 35 years of sober living and adopted a strong Christian faith. This type of one-on-one intervention is commonly found in the context of 12-Step meetings and the tradition of sponsorship, but what about those painful family confrontations we read about? For this I turn to the book, “Dying for a Drink. What you and Your Family Should know about alcoholism” by Psychiatrist, Anderson Spickard Jr. MD and author Barbara R. Thompson and the chapter, “Group intervention: love and honesty.
“The structure of a group intervention follows a simple pattern,” Spickard says. “Family members join with other significant people in the alcoholic’s life to give feedback about the negative consequences of his drinking in a way that is loving and non-judgmental but firm. As the evidence accumulates, the alcoholic’s defense mechanisms give way, and he or she may be open, at least temporarily to an offer of outside help.”
Dr. Spickard offers five guidelines for conducting a group intervention:
1. Find professional help
2. Choose the intervention team
3. Write a letter
4. Chose the time and place
5. Hold a practice intervention
Several years ago I had the privilege of interviewing the late athlete and broadcaster, Pat Summerall, at his home in Dallas. Summerall was the beneficiary of a group intervention conceived and led by his long time friend, NFL colleague and fellow broadcaster, Tom Brookshire. It put him in the Betty Ford clinic in Palm Springs for treatment.
Summerall stayed for 33 days, five more than the usual 28, he says, because it took him five days to get over his resentment against Brookshire and his intervention. But with the help of a “Big Book” and a Bible on his bedside table, he settled in.
Summerall, of course, was ultimately grateful for Brookshire’s intervention and stayed in close touch. Since the day he left Betty Ford he never had another drink, and he found a deep faith in God.
After Summerall left Betty Ford, he began to turn his attention to helping others, including his old friend and drinking buddy, legendary New York Yankee baseball player, Mickey Mantle. Summerall and Mantle had been pals and drinking buddies going back to when they had adjoining lockers in Yankee stadium, where the Giants and Yankees played their home games.
Shortly after Summerall got out of Betty Ford, Mantle pressed him for details on the experience.
“Are they big into religion out there?” he asked.
“Well, yeah—it’s part of it.” Summerall answered
When Summerall asked him about what denomination he was, Mantle had no idea what that meant with the explanation that “I ain’t never been to church.”
“Being from Oklahoma,” Summerall said, “you probably are a Baptist. “.
To which Mantle replied, “That’ll be fine. I’ll take that.” In December 1993 Mantle checked in to Betty Ford. In early 1995, Summerall says, “Mickey was diagnosed with liver cancer. He was admitted to Baylor University Medical Center in late May of that year and then approved to get on a transplant list. “Unfortunately, the transplant did not restore Mickey’s health.” Summerall said, “and on August 13, 1995 my dear friend died at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.”
Summerall mourned the loss, but he said, “I was glad for one thing that happened to Mickey after he became sober. Despite his lack of experience with organized religion, Mickey found faith, the things he heard at the Betty Ford Center and from visits from his old Yankee teammate, Bobby Richardson, led him to God.”
Editor’s note: Summerall died in April 2013. For more on his addiction and recovery, see David Palmer’s book, “Pathways to Serenity. Overcoming your addictions one day at a time.”
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