ABOUT THE EPISODE:
You've likely seen the A&E show "Intervention" where families work with a professional team to encourage a loved one to go to drug or alcohol treatment, and wondered how much of that is reality vs. Hollywood show. In this episode, you'll hear from someone who's been an interventionist on the show, is a Master's Level Licensed Counselor, Board Certified Interventionist (CIP) and Certified Arise Interventionist. She brings  40 years of experience in the field of addiction and mental health to this very important conversation.

This episode will be helpful if you've questioned what it could be like to take the step of an intervention or of hiring someone to transport your son or daughter to treatment. It's a daunting and scary consideration for most parents and understandably so.

My guest today is Heather Hayes, who has developed the Respectful Adolescent Transport Protocol and Trauma-Informed Responsive Intervention which is used with the families she engages with. We dove deep into topics like; 

• whether treatment needs to be voluntary to be effective, 
• Heather's own substance use, treatment and recovery journey,
• why don't we have addiction drills and education like we do for fire, earthquakes or active shooters when it's more likely to kill our kids
• the average age of first substance use and why that's important
• the state of treatment today for teens and young people
• what can trauma-informed and responsive adolescent transport look like?
• external vs self-traumatization
• family involvement in the intervention or transport process
• what parents can do if they suspect drug use to help inform their decisions
• things parents can and should do (and not do) if you're considering treatment for a teen or college-age child
• what actions support your child's health vs contributing to their demise
• why she prefers to think about fierce protection vs parental denial
• why she believes it's important for parents to step out of their comfort zone when it comes to treatment
• the unique aspect of substance use and addiction that's more hopeful than any other disease
• and so much more

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Heather Hayes & Assoc.
• Resource pack for parents and communities

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
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