What do you do if you, or someone you love, has a drinking or drug problem?  Dealing with addiction is complicated, even for trained professionals.  Too often, family members feel they can contain the situation, but typically the behavior only spins further out of control.  
Any recovering addict will tell you, it is rarely a one person job to achieve abstinence or sobriety.  The underlying issues that contribute to addiction are like a mine-field for the untrained person.  Not only is there an urgency to getting abuse under control, but also underlying psychological issues need to be addressed.  If they’re not, relapse is bound to occur.  The bottom line: quitting drugs and alcohol is one of the most challenging and painfully difficult experiences a family can endure.  
Only 12 percent of addicts who try to quit on their own succeed, compared to 75 percent who seek outside help.  There is a lot of help available since addiction exists in every area of society, wealthy and poor, and racial boundaries.  Years of someone’s valuable life can be lost to addiction.  Years that could have been productive and secure.
The type of help available ranges from self-help like AA and NA to in-patient treatment facilities.  AA and NA are successful at providing support so long as someone keeps with the fellowship.  In-patient treatment is an option that can be costly and sometimes impossible due to work and family responsibilities.  In the middle is the outpatient treatment.  Private outpatient treatment allows someone to continue to live while recovering and adds the professional training and customized help the addict needs that is not available in self-help support groups.
This type of counseling is private and discreet, can involve the family and guides everyone through the issue including how to prevent relapse and even facilitate interventions.  Interventions are an important step in the recovery process and are sometimes the difference between life and death.  However, it is unwise to perform an intervention without first consulting a professional.
Addiction needs to be looked upon as a disorder.  And when someone has a disorder, they need professional help to get well.  If they don’t, they could lose the best years from their lives and maybe lose their life altogether.  Addiction, no matter what stage it is in, should never be underestimated.   
Scott Spackey is a California Registered Addiction Specialist, Interventionist, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Life-Coach.  For more information, please call 661-299-1966, email: Scott@Life-Mind.com and visit www.life-mind.com.