CAREER & FAMILY ISSUES

Trustees, Family Leaders, Business Owners
ARP's program assists trustees, family leaders and business owners to address addictions in beneficiaries and family employees. ARP works with each situation in a confidential, effective and supportive manner. You play a crucial role in the successful resolution of the problematic, self-destructive or life-threatening addiction of someone you have fiduciary or business responsibility for. Because we know both addiction and wealth, we are uniquely qualified to counsel you throughout the recovery process. Those with money and prominence have well documented issues which must be addressed for successful healing and continued recovery.

Executive Interventions
Sometimes employees, key executives, trustees, family leaders or business owners develop an addiction. Often articulate, clever, and disarming, the professional is adept at hiding his or her dependency, or if discovered, they divert attention to other issues. Most addicts care about their jobs but at times, the need to drink or use is all-consuming. Employee drug abusers cost their employers about twice as much in medical and worker compensation claims as their drug free workers (National Institute on Drug Abuse).
 
How do you address the problem without doing more harm? Do it right and do it NOW! The professionals at ARP will take over the burden of assessing the situation, identifying the problem, and suggesting a course of action. Executive, corporate, and professional interventions must be handled with extreme care. Many issues including legal, insurance, disclosure, and return-to-work matters must be handled by experienced professionals.

Family Interventions
Anytime someone needs help, a Family Intervention is a proven option to consider. It can be used for people engaged in any type of self-destructive behavior. An intervention is the most powerful and successful method for helping people get into recovery.

Traditional "Surprise" Interventions
A surprise intervention occurs when the addicted loved one is unaware that the intervention will take place and only finds out when it begins. This type of intervention has been popularized in the A&E television show "Intervention." These interventions are effective and can be the easiest to arrange, assuming the proposed patient can be located. They are usually the preferred method when addict's health or safety are in jeopardy.
"Family Meeting" or "Discussion" Interventions
Family meeting or discussion interventions usually involve some form of advance notice to the addict so that she or he is not suprised about the topic when attending the meeting. Given the choice of attending a meeting where the addict and his problems are being discussed, most often, the addict shows up for fear of what will be said about him. This form of intervention can be very effective as the addict becomes involved in the discussion.
The Preparation

Our interventionist works with your family in deciding who should attend the actual intervention. The participants will meet with the interventionist beforehand to educate the family about the disease of addiction and how to best care for themselves in the difficult times ahead. The preparation takes several phone calls and usually more than one meeting.
 
The Intervention
A convenient and safe meeting place for the intervention is decided on. This could be the addict's home, workplace, a neutral place, or ARP's offices. When the addict arrives, the interventionist reassures the addict that everyone is gathered out of love and concern. Each participant explains how the addiction has affected them and what they want their relationship to be in the future. The addict is asked to accept help now and that treatment arrangements have already been made. The tone is loving, respectful and supportive, but firm. The trained interventionist minimizes conflict and debate.
 
After the Intervention
An intervention is only the beginning of the recovery process. While the addict is away at treatment, family and other concerned persons need education and guidance as to what to expect and how to help the newly recovered family member. They also need help in repairing the hurts that have been caused by the addiction.

Families & Friends
We specialize in working with affluent, wealthy, and/or prominent families, but apply our knowledge and expertise to families of all backgrounds.

Persistence
We support persistence in the face of what is a very powerful disease - the disease of addiction. We find "letting go" or doing nothing is not a very successful technique for the affluent or prominent because they can access sufficient resources to continue on with few external consequences. One of our roles is to help you hang in there - support you in being tenacious - in the face of resistance or relapse.

For Parents of Adult Children and Adolescents
Understanding Affluence
Many professionals and non-professionals do not know or give credence to the clinical needs of affluent families. We do. The correct and empathetic understanding of these clinical needs is often times the missing ingredient in successful recovery. Although factors that need to be included in the recovery equation to improve recovery rates for children of affluent, wealthy or prominent families, other factors discussed on this site that are beneficial in improving rates for our children.

Affluence and Addictive Patterns in Young Adults
The challenges of affluence, prominence or inherited wealth often lead to dysfunctional or self-destructive behaviors in our children. A familiar pattern is emerging for many adolescents and young adults with access to money and other privileges (perks) that come with successful parents or multi-generational wealth.
 
For more information see The Dark Side of Wealth, by Tian Dayton, and Are Wealth Advisors Meeting the Core Need of Our Families, by William Messinger and Terry Hunt.