Skip to main content

Lifestyle Interventions

Logo
Menu
Request a Confidential Consultation
Logo
A Family Checklist

When to Stage an Intervention

Ten signals, and what they mean for your family

Most tools ask how serious a situation has become. This one asks something narrower. An intervention is a specific tool, and this checklist tells you whether it is the right tool for your family right now. It takes about three minutes.

Start the checklist
Who it is for

Is this the right step for you?

✓ This checklist is for you if you are

  • ✓ Wondering whether it is too early, or already too late, to act
  • ✓ Weighing up whether a formal intervention is overkill
  • ✓ Getting different opinions from different family members
  • ✓ Wanting something concrete to bring to that conversation

! Not the right step right now if

  • ! Someone is in immediate danger
  • ! There is a medical or psychiatric emergency unfolding
  • ! There is violence, or a threat of violence, in the home
In a crisis, call 911, or call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The checklist can wait. Safety cannot.
If you have already taken the online assessment. That one looks at what has been happening with your loved one over the last three months. This one looks at whether your family is in a position to act. They answer different questions, so it is worth doing both.
The checklist

Ten signals, about three minutes

Answer only what you are reasonably sure about. If you genuinely do not know, choose not sure. A guess in either direction makes the result less useful to you.

1
Direct conversations have already been tried, and nothing changed.

Not one difficult evening. Several honest attempts, by people they respect, with no lasting difference. An intervention is what you reach for when ordinary conversation has run out.

2
More than one person is worried, not only you.

One concerned person is easy to dismiss as overreacting. Several people seeing the same thing is the raw material an intervention is built from.

3
They deny or minimise the problem whenever it is raised.

If they can already see it clearly, a direct offer of help may be enough. Consistent denial is what a structured, prepared conversation is designed to get past.

4
The family is absorbing consequences that belong to them.

Bills paid, excuses made, messes cleared. When the family carries the weight, the person rarely feels enough of it to change on their own.

5
This is a pattern over months, not a single bad incident.

One frightening night may call for a different response. A pattern that has held or worsened over months is what an intervention is built to interrupt.

6
They are unlikely to seek help on their own.

If someone is already asking where to go, your job is to help them get there. An intervention is for when that request is not coming.

7
The family disagrees about what to do, and that disagreement is now part of the problem.

One person holding a limit while another quietly undoes it means nothing holds. Preparation is where that gets resolved, before anyone speaks to your loved one.

8
You could offer something concrete if they said yes today.

A yes with nowhere to go usually becomes a no within days. Knowing roughly what you could arrange, and afford, is part of being ready.

9
There is a window when they are reachable.

Times of day, or stretches of days, when they are sober, rested and able to hear something. If such a window exists, it can be planned around.

10
The situation is stable enough to plan, rather than an emergency tonight.

An intervention is a prepared event, not an emergency response. If tonight is a crisis, that calls for 911 or 988, not a checklist.

0 of 10 answered
Your answers save on this device only.

When an intervention is not the right step

Some situations call for something else first. These are not reasons to give up. They are reasons to act differently.

  • ! Someone is in immediate danger, or there is a medical or psychiatric emergency. Call 911.
  • ! There is violence, a threat of violence, or a weapon involved. Leave and get help. That is a safety matter, not a family conversation to be arranged.
  • ! The person you are worried about is a minor. Different options apply, and I can talk you through them.
  • ! They are already asking for help. Help them get it. An intervention is for when that request is not coming.
  • ! Nobody except you sees a problem yet. Start by talking to one other person who knows them.
  • ! You have not yet had one honest, calm, direct conversation. Start there.
Common questions

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from the 18 question assessment?
The assessment measures what has been happening with the person you are worried about. This checklist measures whether your family is in a position to hold a structured conversation. A situation can be serious and still not call for an intervention this month, and a less severe one can be exactly the right moment. They answer different questions.
How is my result calculated?
It counts how many signals you answered yes to, out of ten, and places that in one of four ranges. It is a straightforward count of things you told me. It is not a clinical or diagnostic measure, and there is no validated research instrument behind it.
Do some signals matter more than others?
Yes. Signals 7 and 8 carry more weight than the rest. A family that cannot agree, or that has nothing concrete to offer on the day, tends to struggle no matter how serious the situation is. If those two are blank, they are usually the place to start.
What if I score low but I am still worried?
A low count does not mean nothing is wrong. It usually means an intervention is not the tool for this month, and that something else comes first. The result page suggests what.
Is this confidential?
Yes. Your answers are stored in your own browser on your own device. They are not sent to me, and I cannot see them unless you choose to share them.
Will someone call me after I use this?
Only if you ask. There is no form to complete in order to see your result, and I do not receive your answers.
Does an intervention actually work?
No interventionist can promise an outcome, and I would distrust anyone who told you otherwise. What preparation buys you is a better run attempt, a family speaking with one voice, and a clear next step ready if the answer is yes. A first refusal is also common and it is rarely the end.
Ready to talk?

Not sure what your result means?

That is a normal place to be, and it is worth twenty minutes on the phone rather than another month of wondering.

Request a Confidential Consultation

I am Chris Howard, founder of Lifestyle Interventions in Los Angeles. I hold the CADC-III and CCMI-M credentials. I do not operate a treatment facility and I do not take referral fees.

lifestyleinterventions.com · © 2026 Lifestyle Interventions

More assessments

More assessments like this

Do You Need an Intervention?Are You Carrying Too Much?