While this is always part of the intervention preparation that I take families/teams through, it can also serve as a stand-alone presentation.  This training can be especially valuable for families or teams who would like to have a conversation with their loved one without an interventionist (or hired professional).

In the training, I lay out the foundation, framework, and strategy for the team’s communication and approach to their loved one.  Important consideration is given to emotional and attitudinal preparation as well.  I talk about the importance of sequence (i.e., getting everything in the right order).  Finally, the harder edge of the conversation (what is often called, “The Bottom Line”) is also clarified and developed.  Developing an united front, a group message, understanding framing and receivable communication, as well as anticipating the loved ones resistance and reaction to the group are all important elements to the training.  From my experience, the quality of the training often determines the outcome of the intervention/conversation.

Co-dependency, enabling, appropriate support, boundaries and limits, self-care, chemical dependency as a family disease, roles and rules in chemical dependency.

My business is called “There is Hope Interventions” because I believe so strongly in the need for and function of hope in life (and recovery).  Often life works against hope; certainly, chemical dependency does.  This talk focuses on bolstering the hope factor in recovery, including the notion of “vital hope”.

Many dispute whether aiming to be happy is a proper goal or motivation for life.  Regardless of where you land with this question, the science of happiness offers a rich blend of insights as well as a framework for recovery/healthy living.  This talk should enlarge your understanding of recovery and deepen some of your existing practices.

Aristotle has said, “he who has mastered his fears will be truly free”.  Yet many feel mastered or overcome by the fears and anxieties in their life.  This talk is designed to better understand the proper function of fear in our life and strategies for better managing fear, so it is both insightful and helpful.

Chemical dependency has often been referred to as a “Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde” disease.  Few concepts are as helpful to families when they prepare for an intervention as this one.  The development of these macro changes in personality illuminates the various objectives in treatment and recovery as well.

Because metaphors and stories can bring definition, clarity and meaning to our internal experience, they hold great potential in recovery.  They not only help us understand our own story, but also communicate it.  Specific stories are used to illustrate important concepts and some of the work of recovery.

Freedom is an apt metaphor for recovery, as well as its preeminent goal.  But what does it mean to be free and what do we do with our freedom when we have it?  This talk draws from our shared American history, political science and even some philosophy to deepen our understanding of “freedom”.

Loss is an essential part of life and an inevitable by-product of chemical dependency.  While recovery needs to incorporate grief work to help individuals move toward healing and integration, it doesn’t always do so.  In this talk, focus is given to understanding loss, as well as tools to assist in grief work.

Kevin is also willing to put together talks for families on enabling, clarifying their “bottom lines”, providing appropriate support, dealing with relapse and letting go (detaching/disengaging).