How do I get my loved one into treatment?

Start with a calm, caring conversation expressing specific concerns. Offer to help research treatment options. Consider the CRAFT method (Community Reinforcement and Family Training), which has a 64-74% success rate. A professional intervention is another option if they refuse.

Should I do an intervention?

Professional interventions have an 80-90% success rate in getting the person to accept treatment. Consider an intervention when your loved one denies the problem, has refused repeated suggestions to get help, and consequences are escalating.

For families

Are you enabling or supporting? A guide for families of people with addiction

Published March 2, 2025 · 9 min read · Updated April 2026

Last medically reviewed: April 2026

Reviewed for accuracy by licensed clinical professionals. Editorial process.

The line between enabling and supporting is the most agonizing distinction a family member can face. Both come from love. Both feel like you are helping. But one perpetuates the addiction while the other creates conditions for recovery.

What enabling looks like

Enabling removes the natural consequences of addiction. Specific examples include: giving money knowing it will be used for substances, paying rent or bills so they do not experience homelessness, calling their employer to explain an absence caused by substance use, bailing them out of jail without requiring accountability, making excuses to other family members ("they're just going through a hard time"), cleaning up after episodes of use (literally or figuratively), providing housing with no conditions regarding sobriety, and avoiding difficult conversations to "keep the peace." Each of these actions comes from a place of love and a desire to prevent suffering. But they also remove the pain that often motivates a person to seek help.

What supporting looks like

Supporting addresses the addiction directly while maintaining boundaries. Examples include: offering to drive them to a treatment assessment, researching treatment options and presenting them, attending family therapy or Al-Anon meetings, expressing love and concern directly and specifically, maintaining clear boundaries with consistent follow-through, being present and emotionally available without financing the addiction, celebrating recovery milestones, and participating in treatment when invited by clinical staff.

How to shift from enabling to supporting

This transition is painful. You will feel guilty. You will question yourself. You will face anger and manipulation from your loved one who has relied on your enabling to continue using without consequences. Seek your own support first — Al-Anon, Nar-Anon, or a therapist who specializes in family addiction dynamics. Write your boundaries down. Share them with someone who will hold you accountable. Understand that the short-term pain of enforcing boundaries can lead to the long-term outcome of your loved one seeking treatment.