Intervention Review

Intervention is an actual reality show. That is, it's about actual lives and isn't scripted. At first when it was advertised, I was afraid that it might make it seem like all you have to do is get the family together and the addict recovers. No.

First of all, for the most part, the addicts don't realize they are being filmed for "Intervention" until they are actually confronted. The few that do figure it out try to get out of it. I thought with the popularity of the show, more and more addicts were going to be wise to the whole being filmed thing, but as it turns out, addicts are busy doing other things and not usually tuning into A & E.

This show doesn't just profile people addicted to alcohol or narcotics. There are people with eating disorders and other self-destructive behavior on here too.

This show is real. Finding out why people turned to these behaviors is disturbing and makes me feel for them. The effect on their families, especially their children is hard to watch. Those people are hurting, too. Addicts often ruin their relationships with their friends and family by stealing from them, lying to them, neglecting them, or taking advantage of them in a myriad of other ways. Understanding these people has made me more compassionate toward them.

The interventions don't always work. Some people just can't shake it. But the show does try and help out as much as possible. If an addict gets kicked out of a program, other arrangements are usually made. It's recommended that the family members also get counseling and attend meeting such as ALANON. Some families have even been sent to The Betty Ford Clinic, which offers a program for families of addicts. What I find interesting is that while the addict usually enters the program, the end of the show summary often notes that the family members declined to participate in counseling or go to meetings.

When these shows are re-run, they update the end part that shows how long the addict has gone without falling back into their old ways. You can also catch up with how some participants are doing on ae.com. 

This is a gripping, heart-wrenching show. You get the unvarnished truth about addictions and how they affect everyone. I like that the interventionists have also overcome addictions themselves. This type of drama puts the "reality" in "reality show."