My name is Jim Reidy, and I’m in recovery- I have been since March 4, 2006. I am a father, a husband, a mentor, and an Interventionist. I never would have imagined, in a thousand life times that I would become either a mentor or an Interventionist. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I am not one of the lucky ones only because I survived my own battles with addiction, I am because I get to witness miracles almost daily. There is a reason why they say that “The greatest weapon against the disease of addiction is the recovering addict.” That reason is empathy- the wordless language that speaks from one addict or alcoholic to another saying; “I may not have been where you’ve been, or done what you’ve done, but at one point or another I have felt what you’ve felt.” “You are not alone.” I believe that the life, the profession of an Interventionist is more of a calling and purpose than a career of one’s own choosing. I didn’t choose this line of work, it chose me. I hope that in the lines that follow these I will accurately portray just how much this life means to me, and why it is that I keep doing what I do; in spite of all the heart ache, sleepless nights, and turbulence that accompany it.

Throughout my career of interventions, which currently exceeds three hundred, I have been attacked with a baseball bat, knives, and even a gun at one point. It has not been some walk in the park trying to love someone who doesn’t even love their self. I always have kept in the back of my mind, going into every family session and intervention its self, that I am saving Jim Reidy. That this person, this alcoholic, this drug addict, is someone’s baby. And they deserve a shot at a new life. That has kept me going every single day.

I have had the privilege of working as an Interventionist with Intervention Services Inc. for quite some time. And though there are many modalities available from which bring about success, I have come to realize that the “Love first Approach” is by far the most effective. After all, we are attempting to offer a foreign concept, love- to someone who hasn’t felt it in almost forever. Now, I don’t just get a signal in the sky that alerts me to “123 Elm Street” to meet with “little Timmy Smith” and whisk him away to a magical treatment center. In fact, there is an entire team that goes into implementing and executing a successful family intervention. A family would contact my home office, located in Philadelphia, PA and speak with one of our coordinators; Herb, Jay, Tonya, etc… From that point on, our team is getting to know the situation and the addict His or Herself through the family’s eyes. They are identifying many things, such as, Leverage. Do they have children? Do they have a job? Do they have pending legal issues? How does the addict depend on the very people calling? How can we implement emotional effect? How do we make a deep emotional impact? We need to make an impact that will not only trigger an agreement to go to rehab, but will trigger them to surrender to a new way of life.

The reason why we want to identify these types of things before hand is so that we can get to know our Intended Patient. Drug addicts who are in need of intervention have long since adjusted their lifestyle to where they can survive on the bottom for many years. They use the very drug that is destroying their lives to cope with the destruction that the drug is causing. This is the propensity of active addiction. So we need to manipulate the bottom at which they are living. We need to make them feel their bottom, because the drugs that they’re using is the same thing that’s keeping them numb from feeling what’s become of their life. Once we have an accurate and detailed case file, and the family has agreed to intervene the coordinators contact myself and give me in their own words a description of the situation and send me the case file. The coordinators also send me over the information regarding flights, rendezvous point for the family workshop and times to meet.

The family workshop is where the true changes occur. We talk about manipulation tactics, emotional blackmail and hijacking that occur, and what it means to enable. We MUST remedy the environment and relationships around the addict first, or we accomplish nothing. This is what we mean when we say, “If the family doesn’t change, the addict never will.” We also take to writing loving impact letters, where we explain to our Intended Patient just how much they mean to us, and why we have gone to such great lengths to save them. This is where the Love First Approach comes from. We need the addict to know that this is not punishment, in fact, this is an act of compassion. An act of true grace, in which we are attempting to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. Get out your Kleenex, because this part still gives me the chills, every time. I get to witness, first hand, the love, compassion, and rich history that each family has for one another. It is a miracle to take in. Often times, this is where the addict agrees to surrender to a new way of life, when they see themselves as their family sees them and not as they see them self. It is remarkable.

But what if the addict doesn’t agree to go? What if they love their drug more than they love their family? Well that is when we implement our new healthy boundaries and bottom lines. We will no longer contribute to their addiction and we will no longer be negatively effected by their addiction. This is when it is time for our Intended patient to finally feel, for themselves the consequences of their drug loving lifestyle. We must stick to our guns, or we are in fact enabling them. If our family stays strong and makes recovery the more attractive option, our addict family member will hit nothing but bitter ends. Realizing that what our family did was right all along. That is when they “bottom out” and agree to surrender. This is a special time as well, when you hear the elated voices of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” realize that their hard work has paid off and “Timmy” has finally surrendered to a new way of life. But in my experiences, Bottom Lines is incredibly rare. If we execute a successful and “from our gut” Family day, and we deliver an emotional impact unlike they have ever experienced before, the intended patient will go Ninety Five percent of the time. That is a beautiful thing.

Even with the Guns, the bats, and the knives, I remember that I am the ultimate weapon against this disease. Not Jim Reidy personally, but the recovering addict. I carry with me the most effective and beautiful weapons of all, Empathy, Love, and experience.