The family has a very important role to play in the alcohol treatment program in North Carolina. At every part of the program, right from coaxing the person to get into treatment to the post treatment where the person is monitored so that he or she does not have a relapse into the addiction, the family is a very important agency. It can be said that a lot of the success of the alcohol treatment in North Carolina depends on the family too. But, in order to be an effective agency for the treatment, it is vital that the family educate themselves on what their jobs and roles will be while the program is going on.

Let us take a step by step look at why the family intervention program is considered to be above all other kinds of similar programs that exist for alcohol treatment in North Carolina.

Step # 1: Motivating the Patient

There can be no agency better than the family of the patient to motivate them to get into the treatment. Here the role of the family becomes irreplaceable. The professional way to go about this is to first organize a group of people from the family members who will take care of preparing the patient for the treatment at an emotional and mental level. These people will be trained on what they must do by an intervention specialist, who is known as an interventionist. The role of the interventionist is to make it clear to the members of the family group what they have to do and what they can contribute to convince the patient to get into the treatment.

The family group will use the tool of motivating speeches in order to prepare the patient. Their speeches will contain messages to the patient about how much they love them and how much they want them back into a sober life. They will also make it clear to the patient that they are losing out on a lot because of staying in the addiction. Some relevant family members will also provide material incentives to the patient if they can successfully snap out of the addiction.

The group may have to meet several times in order to discuss, rehearse and practice the speech. The main intention is to convince the patient, which might be a very difficult thing to achieve at the first meeting itself.

Step # 2: Selecting the Treatment Center

Once the patient has been convinced to get into the treatment program, it becomes the onus of the family to select which program will be suitable for the patient's needs. They will have to meet with a substance abuse counselor for this purpose that will look into the patient's condition and then suggest a program that will do them good. The interventionist can also do this if it is mentioned in their job description.

The family will also have to learn about the various programs that exist for alcohol treatment in North Carolina and decide on that basis which the best one will be for the patient in question. Once that is done, they will also look at the formalities of the admission procedure.

Step # 3: Liaising with the Treatment Center

After the person begins his or her treatment at the alcohol treatment center in New York, it is expected that the families minimize their intrusion with the patient. However, they will need to keep themselves aware of how the program is progressing. For this, they might be needed to meet with the treatment officers to keep updated. They might also need to participate in some discussions if they sense that the program is not going in the way think it should.

Step # 4: Handling the Discharge Process

The discharge process will need first finding out what date can be person be taken back home on. Once that is done, the family may have to attend a short counseling program at the treatment center itself where they will he helped to cope with the addiction treatment and how to welcome the patient back home after the treatment. They will also have to fill in the discharge forms and handle the various discharge formalities that exist.

Step # 5: Aftercare

During this process, the family will be coached on various methods they can use to keep the patient away from developing a re-addiction. They are trained on reading the signs and symptoms of the addiction and what they must actually do when the patient does have a relapse.