Professional Certified Intervention

A Certified Intervention Professional (CIP) is a highly specialized and credentialed professional whose primary role is to guide families, friends, and other concerned individuals through the process of an intervention to encourage someone struggling with substance use, mental health, or behavioral issues to accept help and enter treatment.

Unlike what is often sensationalized in media, a professional intervention is a carefully planned and structured process, and the CIP plays a critical role in its success.

Hiring a Certified Intervention Professional significantly increases the chances of a successful intervention and can be a pivotal step in helping a loved one begin their journey to recovery.

Key Roles and Responsibilities of a CIP:

Assessment and Planning:

• Thorough Assessment: The CIP conducts a comprehensive assessment of the individual in need, gathering information about their substance use/behavioral patterns, mental health history, family dynamics, and any co-occurring disorders.

• Team Building: They work with the family and concerned loved ones to assemble an "intervention team" and educate them about addiction/mental health, the intervention process, and their roles within it.

• Strategy Development: They determine the most appropriate intervention model (e.g., Johnson Model, ARISE, Love First) based on the individual's situation and the family's dynamics.

• Treatment Recommendations: Based on their assessment, they research and recommend suitable treatment facilities and programs that align with the individual's specific needs (e.g., inpatient, outpatient, dual diagnosis).

• Consequence Planning: They help the family establish clear boundaries and consequences that will be implemented if the individual refuses treatment, emphasizing loving detachment and self-care for the family.

Facilitation of the Intervention:

• Structured Meeting: The CIP organizes and facilitates the actual intervention meeting, ensuring it remains focused, compassionate, and productive. They manage emotions, prevent arguments, and keep the conversation on track.

• Guidance and Support: They guide each team member in presenting their pre-written letters or statements, which express love, concern, and the impact of the person's behavior, while also outlining the consequences of refusing help.

• Crisis Management: They are trained to handle various reactions from the individual, including anger, denial, or resistance, and to de-escalate crisis situations.

Treatment Placement and Transition:

• Immediate Action: If the individual agrees to treatment, the CIP often facilitates their immediate transition into the recommended facility, sometimes even accompanying them directly.

• Logistical Support: They help with logistics like travel arrangements, packing, and communication with the treatment center.

Aftercare and Family Support:

• Post-Intervention Support: Many CIPs offer ongoing support to the family after the intervention, regardless of whether the individual enters treatment. This can include guidance on maintaining boundaries, family counseling, and connecting with support groups (e.g., Al-Anon, Nar-Anon).

• Coordination with Treatment: They often liaise with the treatment facility to ensure a smooth transition and communicate with the family about the individual's progress (with appropriate consent).

• A marketer or recruiter for a specific treatment facility: While they recommend treatment options, their ethical code dictates that their primary allegiance is to the client's best interest, not to a particular facility.

• A therapist or counselor for the individual in crisis: While they have extensive knowledge of addiction and mental health, their role is distinct from ongoing therapy. Their focus is on motivating entry into treatment.

• Someone who enables a chaotic or spontaneous confrontation: Interventions are planned, not impulsive, shouting matches.

Intervention Platforms: 

In-Person and Telehealth or Telecommunication Technologies based sessions for constructing and conducting an Intervention or Counseling wherever possible should the need and capacity arise through the Guidance of an Experienced Professional Interventionist such as myself, (Brian Woodside) or an appropriate referral.

Types of Interventions: 

Dual Diagnosis, Substance Use Disorders, Trauma, and Family-Focused are primary. I will help make appropriate referrals when an Intervention is shown to be out of the scope of myself or my staff’s expertise. Let’s explore what the core issues really are. Intervention Life was established to communicate an individual’s life issues and find the correct individual path of resolve for those willing and NOT willing to work on themselves.

Intervention Styles: 

Systemic Family model, Johnson model, Arise model. I will use a combination of Intervention models and therapeutic techniques when and where appropriate to be most effective for the individual and the family to achieve stated goals.

Certified Intervention Professional (CIP):

The CIP credential is often administered by organizations like the Pennsylvania Certification Board (PCB) or the Association of Intervention Specialists (AIS). While requirements can vary slightly, common elements include:

• Education: A minimum of a high school diploma/GED is typically required, but many CIPs hold bachelor's or master's degrees in related fields like psychology, social work, or counseling.

• Work Experience: Significant hours (e.g., 4,000-6,000 hours, often 2-3 years full-time) of direct work experience providing substance use intervention and related services.

• Supervision: A specified number of supervised hours by an experienced intervention professional.

• Specific Training Hours: Dedicated hours of education in areas such as: 
  • Intervention theory and practice
  • Substance use disorders
  • Mental health disorders
  • Family systems
  • Motivational interviewing
  • Crisis intervention
  • Behavioral health ethics

• Intervention Experience: Facilitation or co-facilitation of a certain number of interventions (e.g., 10 interventions, with written narratives demonstrating understanding of the process).

• Ethical Adherence: Commitment to a strict code of ethics.

• Examination: Passing a comprehensive certification exam.

Hiring a Certified Intervention Professional significantly increases the chances of a successful intervention and can be a pivotal step in helping a loved one begin their journey to recovery.