An excerpt from the book Love First: A New Approach to Intervention for Alcoholism and Drug Addiction:

"Intervention is the most effective technique families can use to help a loved one suffering from chemical dependency --alcoholism or other drug addiction. It is also the most ignored. But just as CPR is often the first, life saving step in helping a heart attack victim, intervention is the most powerful step that a family can take to initiate the recovery process.

"There are many common misconceptions about intervention. Some think it is an emotional ambush or an uncaring attack. But Love First demonstrates that intervention is a carefully planned process founded on love and honesty. Many people have heard about tough love where tough comes first; this book puts love first.

"Through our work in intervention, we have found that love is a powerful force when confronting addiction. In the past, expressions of love were delegated to a few brief sentences during an intervention. We've learned that when we expand the role of love in intervention, it is love that first breaks through denial, not toughness. Using love first, we often never have to use tough love."

A family intervention begins with one person.

Looking for a way to end the problems caused by alcoholism or other addictions, one family member or friend brings other people together to learn how to help.

Those who love the alcoholic put aside everything they think they know, and begin anew. With a thorough and updated education, the family makes a well-informed decision about intervention.

There are several ways to get educated. You can hire a professional interventionist to guide the family. The interventionist will help you decide if intervention is right for your family and how best to help affected children. He or she will also lead the intervention.

To find an interventionist in your hometown, call a local alcohol and drug treatment center. If none is available locally, call a nationally recognized treatment center. Hazelden and The Betty Ford Center maintain a list of interventionists who work nationwide. When contacting an interventionist outside your hometown, ask if he or she offers initial family consultations via telephone conferencing calls. You may also contact us to inquire about our pessional intervention services.

You can also educate yourselves using low-cost resources on intervention. You can get the best-selling book Love First from almost any library or bookstore — it is very wideley available. If you need a professional later, you can make the investment then.

We also offer a complete online video course on addiction an intervention. This method will take you step-by-step through the whole process right now, using streaming video. You can watch the video through a broadband connection right now on your computer. To learn more, click here.

Once family members and close friends understand that intervention is based on love and dignity, it is likely they will support taking this well-planned, highly successful approach to helping a loved one.

How do you know? If you're not sure if your loved one has a problem with alcohol or other drugs, take this quiz.

For information on our professional intervention services, click here.