Lifestyle Interventions

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About Lifestyle Interventions

Helping families navigating substance abuse crises, mental health emergencies, and behavioral health challenges find a path forward.

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As featured in
The Addicted Mind PodcastThe Circle with Jeffrey SaadAmazon MusiciHeartRadioYouTubePsychology TodayVoyageLAAlcoholFree.comThe Addicted Mind PodcastThe Circle with Jeffrey SaadAmazon MusiciHeartRadioYouTubePsychology TodayVoyageLAAlcoholFree.com
Community of people celebrating hope and recovery at sunset

Mission

Our Mission

Lifestyle Interventions is a Los Angeles intervention and recovery support service, not a treatment facility. Founder Chris Howard, CADC-III, CCMI-M, leads a team that guides families through crisis intervention, recovery mentoring, and treatment coordination. We work alongside treatment providers to help families find clarity and a steady path forward.

We work with families who are navigating substance abuse crises, mental health emergencies, and behavioral health challenges. Many of the families who call us have already tried everything they can think of on their own. They have had the conversations. They have set the boundaries. They have spent sleepless nights wondering what to do next.

Our role is to meet them right there, in that moment of uncertainty, and help them see a path they might not know exists. Sometimes that means guiding a family through a professional crisis intervention. Sometimes it means connecting someone with the right treatment program. And sometimes it means providing ongoing recovery mentoring, week after week, as someone builds a new life one day at a time.

We are based in Los Angeles and serve families across the country. We are available around the clock because crises have a way of happening at the worst possible times. And we stay involved for as long as a family needs us, because meaningful recovery takes more than a single conversation.

Founder

Meet Chris Howard, CADC‑III, CCMI-M

Chris Howard is the founder of Lifestyle Interventions. He is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC-III, Sober College) and Certified Case Manager/Interventionist (CCMI-M, Breining Institute), and he holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. With 16+ years of experience in behavioral health, Chris has dedicated his career to helping individuals and families navigate some of their most difficult moments.

Chris founded Lifestyle Interventions because he understood firsthand that families dealing with addiction and mental health crises often do not know where to start. They are overwhelmed, exhausted, and frequently told that they cannot help their loved one until that person chooses to help themselves. Chris built this practice around a different belief: that a well-prepared, professionally guided intervention can change the trajectory of someone’s life.

As a CADC-III, Chris holds one of the highest levels of certification available in alcohol and drug counseling. As a CCMI-M, he is trained specifically in the clinical and logistical demands of crisis intervention, from preparing families for a structured conversation to coordinating immediate treatment placement when someone is ready to accept help.

Over the past 16 years, Chris has guided hundreds of families through crisis interventions, developed personalized recovery mentoring plans, and helped clients navigate the complex landscape of treatment options. He works with a wide range of clients, from individuals dealing with substance abuse to families managing mental health emergencies, always with the same standard of discretion and care.

Chris is based in Los Angeles and works with families throughout Southern California and across the United States. He is available around the clock, because he knows that crises do not follow business hours.

Chris Howard, founder of Lifestyle Interventions

Our Story

This Work Is Personal

Chris’s understanding of crisis and recovery did not start in a classroom. It started with his own. He has been in recovery since 2009, and the community he entered then became the place where he first learned how lasting change actually takes hold.

What began as his own recovery grew into a calling. Working alongside mentors and clinicians, he found he could reach families in crisis, and that the same honest, accountable approach that had helped him could help them too. That experience became the foundation of Lifestyle Interventions.

It is also why the work here is built around long-term change rather than quick fixes. Chris has spoken openly about this path, including in a long-form interview with Authority Magazine.

A Related Practice

Ethos Recovery

Structured sober living for men, Los Angeles

Chris is also the founder of Ethos Recovery, a structured sober living community for men based in Los Angeles. Lifestyle Interventions operates as an independent crisis intervention and advisory service. The two practices serve different stages of the recovery journey, with Ethos providing the long-term living environment and Lifestyle Interventions providing the family-facing intervention and coordination work.

Learn about Ethos Recovery
Who We Serve

Who We Serve

We work with families and individuals at different stages of crisis and recovery.

Families in crisis

Parents, partners, and siblings who are watching someone they love struggle with addiction or mental health. Many have already tried everything they can think of and are not sure what to do next.

Young adults who are not launching

Young adults who have left school, are not working, or are stuck in patterns that are stopping them from building an independent life. Often these situations involve substance use, anxiety, or untreated mental health.

Professionals and high-profile individuals

Executives, public figures, and high-net-worth clients who need discretion alongside professional support. We work quietly and confidentially.

Clinicians referring out

Therapists and counselors who need an intervention specialist for a client who is not engaging with treatment, or who need a steady hand for a family they cannot reach.

Our Approach

How We Work

1

We respond.

When a family calls us, we answer. We do not route calls to an answering service. We pick up. And when the moment calls for it, we get in a car and go to where we are needed. This is a personal service, and we take that seriously.

2

We stay involved.

We do not hand families off to a treatment center and disappear. We follow up. We check in. We stay connected through the transition from crisis to treatment to ongoing recovery, because we know that the most vulnerable moments are not always the first ones.

3

We are honest.

We will not tell a family what they want to hear. If a situation calls for immediate intervention, we say so. If a different approach would serve someone better, we recommend it. Our goal is not to sell a service. Our goal is to help.

4

We come from experience.

The people who work at Lifestyle Interventions have not just studied these situations; many of us have lived them. That experience shapes the way we work with families, the way we listen, and the way we show up in moments that require more than clinical knowledge.

Our Philosophy

Recovery is not measured in 30-day blocks.

Real change takes a long arc, and we stay close for as long as a family needs us.

The acute-care model

  • 30-day inpatient programs
  • Short, structured episodes of care
  • Discharge when the program ends
  • A clear place in the system, but not the whole picture

How we work

  • Long-arc engagement with families
  • Mentoring that holds people accountable for weeks and months
  • Steady, honest contact that rebuilds trust
  • Family conversations that lead to acceptance of treatment
Accountability is at the center of how we work.

Not as pressure, and not as punishment, but as the structure that lets meaningful change actually take hold. People do not get better in isolation. They get better when someone steady is willing to stay close, ask the difficult questions, and tell the truth.

Our Beliefs

What We Believe

★

Recovery is possible.

We have seen it happen for people in situations that looked completely hopeless. We hold that belief on behalf of every family we work with until they are ready to hold it themselves.

♥

Families deserve support too.

When someone in a family is struggling, the whole family is affected. The fear, the confusion, the grief of watching someone you love suffer: these are real, and they deserve attention. We work with the whole family, not just the individual.

★

Confidentiality is non-negotiable.

Every family that comes to us deserves complete discretion. We do not discuss cases. We do not share names. Our clients’ privacy is protected at every stage.

✓

The right help matters.

Not every program, counselor, or approach is right for every person. Finding the right fit makes a significant difference in outcomes. We take the time to understand each individual before making any recommendation.

↺

One conversation can change everything.

The call is often the hardest step. We work to make that first conversation as easy as possible: free of judgment, free of pressure, and focused entirely on what would actually help.

Media and Press

Media and Press

Chris and the team have been featured in national publications and on industry podcasts covering crisis intervention, family-systems recovery, and long-term behavioral change.

Articles

Authority Magazine: Second Chapters: How I Reinvented Myself

Long-form interview on accountability, why Lifestyle Interventions does not operate as a treatment center, and the long-term recovery approach.

Read on Authority Magazine →

Psychology Today: Verified Professional Profile

Listed as a behavioral health professional based in Los Angeles.

View profile →

VoyageLA: Meet Chris Howard of Los Angeles

Local feature on the family-system model and the audiences Lifestyle Interventions serves.

Read on VoyageLA →

VoyageLA: Hidden Gems: Meet Chris Howard of Ethos Recovery

Profile on the community-driven approach to long-term recovery.

Read on VoyageLA →

The Addicted Mind: Healing as a Family: The Road to Addiction Recovery

Written companion to Episode 163, on healing the whole family during recovery.

Read on The Addicted Mind →

The Circle with Jeffrey Saad: He Saved Our Son's Life

Parent testimonial on a young-adult intervention guided by Chris.

Read the story →

Podcasts

The Addicted Mind Podcast: Episode 163: Healing as a Family with Chris Howard

Chris on the family-systems approach and his own path to this work.

Listen on The Addicted Mind →

Against All Odds Podcast: From Adversity to Reinvention

Conversation on overcoming adversity and rebuilding.

Watch on YouTube →

The Circle with Jeffrey Saad: He Saved Our Son's Life (video)

Video version of the parent testimonial interview.

Watch on YouTube →

Recovery Refined Podcast: Long-term Recovery and Accountability

Conversation on what real recovery work looks like beyond the 30-day window.

Watch on YouTube →

Success is Subjective Podcast: Redefining Success in Recovery and Beyond

Conversation on how a person's definition of success shifts through recovery.

Listen on Amazon Music →

The Unbroken with Sam Dav: Family Support Meeting Special

Supporting a loved one through a family support meeting.

Listen on iHeartRadio →
A young woman in a professional therapy session

Frequently Asked

Questions About Lifestyle Interventions

Who founded Lifestyle Interventions?
Lifestyle Interventions was founded by Chris Howard, a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC-III) and Certified Case Manager/Interventionist (CCMI-M). Chris has spent 16+ years working with families and individuals navigating addiction, mental health crises, and recovery.
Is Lifestyle Interventions a treatment center?
No. We are not a treatment facility and we do not provide clinical treatment. We are an intervention and recovery support service. We help families plan and execute crisis interventions, provide recovery mentoring, and coordinate placement at the right treatment programs. We work alongside treatment providers; we do not replace them.
What credentials does your team hold?
Our team holds a variety of certifications and specialities. Our founder, Chris Howard, holds a CADC-III (Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Level III) and CCMI-M (Certified Case Manager/Interventionist) certification. These are among the highest-level credentials available in the intervention and recovery support field.
What areas do you serve?
We are based in West Los Angeles and primarily serve families throughout Los Angeles County and Southern California. We also work with families across the United States when the situation requires it. Crisis does not have geography; we go where we are needed.
How long has Lifestyle Interventions been operating?
Lifestyle Interventions has been serving families in Los Angeles and across the country for 16+ years. Our team brings years of combined experience in crisis intervention, behavioral health, and recovery support.
What is the first step?
The first step is a phone call. Call us at 866-826-0985, any time, day or night. The conversation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation. We will listen to your situation and help you understand your options. If we can help, we will tell you how. If a different resource would serve you better, we will point you in that direction.