Intervention, Season 7

There is an episode in season 5 missing FYI. It's about a girl named Kristen.

when are they going to have season 8 on here? i'm assuming not for a while beings it's still on TV, but just curious.

THIS SHOW IS A VERY LONG EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER RIDE

I love this show. The reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is that the reality usually stops once the addict enters treatment. The show gives anyone who hasn't lived with addiction a look at how low us addicts can go to numb our realities. Recovery from addiction takes a lifetime, one day at a time, and a loving intervention is often where lives can be saved. Whilst "Intervention" takes an astonishingly unflinching look at addicts when they are using, it doesn't show the whole story of addiction post-treatment for those who don't make it. Intervention is a very good start, but it doesn't necessarily mean "happily ever after". Nonetheless, "Intervention" is reality TV at its best.

What's great about this show is that it shows us what it is really like for the addicts/drunks/self-mutilators/anorexics/bulimics/gamblers and their parents/spouses/children/employers. I don't know how long the camera crews follow around the addicts before they let their guards down, but what you see on your screen is the stuff none of these people in their right minds would want anyone to see. Addicts abuse and manipulate their families, steal, shoot up drugs they cooked mixed with toilet water, sell themselves, stumble around, cuss out strangers, cut themselves with razors, fist fight their friends, drink LIsterine (I'm only guessing... all labels are blurred out), they have sweat pouring off them while they are digging around in their veins with needles, they leave their children in dangerous places... It's all the stuff that is SO not glamorous. When you watch you can't believe how selfish these people are. You hate them for hurting their families. You hate their families for not doing the "right" thing to stop the addicts from destroying the whole family. The families beg, threaten, bargain, and very much resent them. Everyone feels guilty. Everyone thinks the addicts are pieces of poo. That's what's great about the show... it lets voyeurs taste another family's misery. If you're from an addict family, you can commiserate. If you're from a family that's fairly even-keeled, you can feel better (or superior: it's up to you) about your own life. If you're an addict or a former addict I can't imagine what you might get out of watching this show. The stuff about this show that is annoying: it is 100% formulaic. No deviation, no surprises. Once you've seen one episode, you've seen them all. (But that won't stop you from watching more, you voyeur!) 1)They introduce the addict and family, then show us some f'ed up stuff about their lives. 2)They reveal the addict's childhood and throw in some traumatic event that we are led to believe is probably the root cause of their addiction 3)They show how the person is practically beyond recovery 4)They surprise the subject with an intervention and inevitably persuade them to go to rehab. Also annoying: Their star interventionist Jeff Valala is SO arrogant, and he says literally THE SAME EXACT SCRIPT to each addict he interventions. He is manipulative of the entire family and if a mom or dad or brother says something that strays from Jeff's script he belittles them into shutting up or kicks them out of the intervention. (Pay special attention whenever a family member does not parrot that they would do "ANYTHING" to help the addict recover. He is egomaniacal, and its a problem which is obviously out of control way worse than any drinking problem he ever may have had. The other interventionists tend to be compassionate and dedicated, personalizing every intervention for the individual. Which leads me to my final pet peeve about this show: there is no room for any type of recovery except one based on the "12 steps." Here's the problem with that: just cause these people have royally screwed up their own lives and their families lives does NOT mean that the best possible option is to turn their entire life over to a cult, especially one run by people as egomaniacal as this Jeff guy. It is NEVER a good idea to hand over the reins of your mind, life, money, brain, or family to any group that stands to profit from telling you how to live. It's too bad everyone wants to pretend addicts/drunks/self-mutilators/anorexics/bulimics/gamblers have a disease. They don't have a disease, they have downward spiraling habits, possibly even chemical dependencies, but behavior is behavior. The show itself demonstrates that by showing how incentivizing one course of action and disincentivizing another can cause a change in behavior.... tada! I can't think of a single disease that can be treated through incentives! So that's my review. Good show. Great scenes. Good drama. Unfortunately formulaic (but even that shows us something about how boring and unglamorous addiction is) one interventionist I can't stand. A couple I adore. All based on a pretty flawed recovery industry. I watch every episode!

i had never seen an episode of intervention. but someone mentioned to me i should see the episode titled "Robby" a former member of the R&B group city high. i was shocked to see how real the show is and also what an intervention actually is. this show is gripping. i have recommended this show to everyone i know and we all feel the same about it.

This show highlights the addiction problems that are suffered by both Addicts and the friends/family who love and care for them. Addiction, and it's impact, is so misunderstood, and stigmatized, in the United States. The portrayal of what "addiction" is, and the impact it has on both the Addict, as well as the families and friends of the Addict is portrayed (painfully) accurately in this series. Addiction does not descriminate by age, ethnicity, financial status, upbringing, family status, etc. Addiction is seen by many as a "moral" choice, or a sign of weakness of the part of the addict (AND, that is solely the problem and responsibility of the Addict to get "better".) This program shows clearly the important role friends and family play in both the continuing addiction (relapses, enabling behaviors, etc.), and, the recovery process. An addict cannot get healthy until the people around him/her are healthy. Intervention shows the important role that friends and family play in motivating an addict to become sober, and supporting throughout a lifetime of "recovery"... The program clearly shows that it is not only the Addict that must go through a Recovery... Friends/Family must make an effort and be willing to make changes in the way they interact with the Addict (learning about "co-dependence" and "enabliing"), by reaching out and getting help for themselves through counseling and support groups such as AlAnon, Families Anonymous, etc... it shows that there is hope for the mental and physical health of both the addict and those that care for/about him. This is difficult to put into words. and I hope it makes sense... After years of watching the program, I found my son is an addict, and has been in treatment for over two years. We have both had to go through an education and recovery process, which was not easy. I am happy to say that as of today, my son has been sober for 1 year and two months, achieved one day at a time. We have both made major changes in our behavior, and the way we interact with each other -- ALL key to both his AND my own "recovery."

It's unbelievably sad how much sadness is out there in families faced with these challenges. I can't imagine loving someone and feeling so helpless to help them. I wonder where they find the strength to go on. Thank you for bringing such raw reality to the outside world, it's not a perfect world and we have to be exposed to it to understand peoples weaknesses.