Intervention profiles people who are losing the battle with their addictions, and whose friends and families feel the only remaining option is to hold an intervention. Each documentary follows the lives of these addicts, taking an unflinching look at the impact of their addictions on their everyday lives, all the while the addicts are unaware that an intervention is being planned. Each airing ends with the friends, family and a professional interventionist urging the addict to get treatment. If the individual should choose treatment, the addict immediately enters a widely respected treatment facility.
Written by Sophie and last updated on feb 10, 2023.
PS: The following content contains spoilers!
PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!
Austin had everything he could have wanted growing up: the love and support of a close-knit family and an invitation to go to a school for gifted teens. But not wanting to be separated from his pals, Austin turned the offer down in favor of the local high school, a decision that led to a life of partying, and ultimately down the rabbit hole of heroin and fentanyl addiction. Now his family can only watch in horror as Austin wastes his considerable gifts on the relentless pursuit of his addiction.
The episode was rated 6.98 from 48 votes.
Clint, 36, was raised in a tight-knit, middle-class family. His parents expected success for their four children who were all precocious and engaged in school. But in high school, when his siblings had gone off to college, Clint fell in with the wrong crowd and began to struggle. The only graduation he would see was to a life controlled by crystal meth and opioids. At a loss as to where it all went wrong, Clint’s parents have seen their son’s excesses progress to crazy and dangerous levels. Without an intervention, they know he will die.
The episode was rated 6.98 from 62 votes.
Tanisha was leaving the dream life as an assistant to rap icon, Snoop Dogg. But when her fianc was brutally killed in front of her, grief-stricken, Tanisha turned to her mother, who introduced her to heroin. Tanisha has become a full-time junkie, and her family is terrified that without help, they will lose her.
The episode was rated 7.05 from 76 votes.
Katherine was a bright college student with dreams of becoming a journalist until she was abducted and brutally assaulted. Katherine swiftly spiraled, becoming dependent on a dangerous mix of drugs to mask the trauma. Her parents have already purchased a burial plot for her and are certain that it’s only a matter of time before they bury their only child.
The episode was rated 7.06 from 93 votes.
By the age of 21, Joshua had the world in his hands. A six-figure salary managing a dozen convenient stores, marriage, and owner of his own home, Joshua was a great provider for his wife and her children. But a back surgery in 2010 led to a severe addiction to pain pills that morphed into an extraordinary addiction to hand sanitizer that has cost him everything. Now, his family is petrified that without help, Joshua's his addiction will blind him, cause a massive stroke, or death by organ failure.
The episode was rated 7.07 from 70 votes.
With the birth of her two daughters, Samantha gave up using crystal meth and heroin. But when she began consorting with figures from her druggy past, she fell back into addiction and soon lost custody of her children. Samantha's family are desperate to help her be the good mother she once was, but now she is addicted to fentanyl and her very life hangs in the balance.
The episode was rated 7.26 from 42 votes.
As a child Melissa endured an unstable and tumultuous upbringing. As a teenager, she found a friend in crack cocaine and began a life of partying and drugs that continued until her son was born. Eager to create a stable life for her child, Melissa went cold turkey and enrolled in nursing school. But the good times did not last long. Melissa fell narrowly short of graduating, and slipped back into a life crack cocaine and heroin abuse. Now, at 32, Melissa sells her body to support her habits and has lost custody of her son. Her family fears that she has nothing left to live for and, without an intervention, will soon be dead.
The episode was rated 7.32 from 50 votes.
Ashley was a child prodigy on the TaeKwonDo octagon, headed for international competition had she stayed the course. But when the haunting memory of childhood molestation caused her to turn to the numbing effects of drugs at the age of 15, her athletic career was pinned to the mat. Now 21, Ashley is deeply addicted to crack cocaine and IV opioids. As she and her girlfriend are evicted from their apartment for their disruptive fights, excessive drug use and partying, her family fears that, without an intervention, Ashley will disappear into the streets forever.
The episode was rated 7.37 from 49 votes.
The only child of a single mother and world-class fiddle player, Alex was surrounded by music from birth. His mother married when Alex was five, but after a few years the marriage deteriorated and life became difficult at home. Friction with his stepfather left Alex increasingly isolated and he turned to the fiddle to try and gain acceptance. Alex's skill developed and he had some early recognition, but living in his mother's musical shadow was difficult and he began to compensate with alcohol as a young teenager. Just as Alex was beginning his professional career, his mother and stepfather divorced. The combination of his family's dysfunction and life spent on the road soon turned his fondness for drink into a debilitating, fall-down addiction. Now in his mid-twenties, Alex's career is at a standstill and his health is rapidly deteriorating. Without an intervention, he could lose his career, his family and his life.
The episode was rated 7.41 from 37 votes.
