Spirit & Associates Special People Inspiring Recovery in Time Intervention, Counseling, Mediation and Training Services   Team Approach
	Spirit and Associates believe the most effective approach to intervention is the "Team" approach. During the past ten years the "multi-disciplinary" approach has been both recognized and utilized as being the most effective method in the majority of clinical treatment settings. The client's individual needs are most realistically met when utilizing various resources and skills. We value the intervention participant's observations and insights along with each other's while conducting an intervention. We both have extensive experience with conducting interventions independently, with a combined experience in excess of forty years. While working as "independent" interventionist we were successful at getting the client to accept treatment at the first meeting approximately seventy percent of the time. Over the past eight years we have found by working together, as a team, our overall success on first time meetings with our clients has increased to better than ninety percent.   Comparison: A)  Single Interventionist          Versus          B)  Team Interventionists A. If the client doesn't like the interventionist, half the battle is lost. B. The client may respond more positively toward one member of the team. Should this occur the chance of a successful outcome is enhanced by having that interventionist take the lead in conducting the intervention. Rapport is critical for a successful outcome.   A. If the client has issues with men and the interventionist is male the outcome of the intervention could be negatively affected. B. Sometimes a client may be more responsive to a male rather than a female or vice-versa ---- this isn't clarified until the intervention has begun. The team interventionist can then decide who will lead and who will take a more passive role.   A. The participants are limited to a single perspective of the process and client. The single interventionist depends solely on his own expertise and insight. B. The intervention participants are better trained and prepared for the intervention due to being able to be exposed to both a male and female perspective. In addition by having more than one interventionist available the advantage of multiple experience, expertise, and perspective is achieved.   A. A. The solo interventionist must carry the entire process relying only upon his insight alone as to what the next "best step" is to be. B. Two interventionists working as a "Team" are able to share the labor in conducting the intervention and on those occasions when the intervention becomes lengthy in time the "fatigue factor" is greatly reduced enhancing the likely hood of a successful outcome. In addition, when two interventionists work together as a team they have the advantage of working as co-facilitators in being able to bring to bare twice the level of expertise and insight. Furthermore, the team interventionist approach allows greater ability to coordinate and adjust the strategy utilized during the intervention.   A. The clients objections can be challenging and draining for the best of interventionists when working alone, especially if over a prolonged period time. B. Interventionists working as a team have found that their ability to overcome the client's objections has been, in effect, doubled by working together. The old adage of "two heads are better than one" clearly applies in the intervention setting.   A. The solo interventionist risks becoming exhausted, and therefore less effective, if the intervention process becomes longer in duration. B Should the intervention become particularly long in duration the team interventionists are able to have greater stamina and effectiveness. They have worked on a single intervention for as long as eight hours.   We have found that important details are less likely to be overlooked by having two professionals working in concert with one another. Not unlike when you take an airline flight, you will always find that there is a pilot and co-pilot flying the airplane or when in a surgical suite there is a team of doctors and nurses working together. Those who have performed both the duties of pilots and surgeons will readily attest that an intervention can often be far more complex, difficult, and fatiguing than many other undertakings that are always conducted by a team of professionals rather than a single individual working alone. Another important consideration is the protection of the family and friends that may be participating in the intervention from verbal or emotional abuse from the identified patient. Professionals working together as a team are far often better able to shield family members and friends from the client's negative projections, blaming, or abuse.   Spirit & Associates   440 Marsh Run Road, New Cumberland, PA 17070   (717) 774-0423 or (570) 262-8751 or 866-901-9992 Toll Free  Spirit & Associates©  Copyright 2000 - All Rights Reserved  spiritassociates1@verizon.net