List of Intervention episodes
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This is a list of episodes for Intervention, an American reality television program which has aired on the A&E Network since 2005.
Each episode follows one or two participants, each of whom has an addiction or other mentally and/or physically damaging problem and believes that they are being filmed for a documentary on their problem. Their situations are actually being documented in anticipation of an intervention by family and/or friends. The producers usually follow up months later to monitor the addicted person's progress and film it for "follow-up" episodes of the series or for shorter "web updates" available on the show's website.
As of May 2012 a total of 165 episodes and 12 specials have aired. Most episodes are available individually on DVD from A&E's website.[1]
Series overview
Season | Episodes | Specials | Premiere | Finale | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 13 | 1 | March 6, 2005 | August 21, 2005 | |
2 | 21 | — | October 30, 2005 | December 17, 2006 | |
3 | 15 | — | March 16, 2007 | September 7, 2007 | |
4 | 10 | — | December 3, 2007 | March 17, 2008 | |
5 | 13 | 4 | June 23, 2008 | November 30, 2008 | |
6 | 13 | 1 | December 15, 2008 | March 23, 2009 | |
7 | 15 | 3 | May 25, 2009 | October 19, 2009 | |
8 | 17 | 1 | November 23, 2009 | May 10, 2010 | |
9 | 9 | — | June 28, 2010 | August 22, 2010 | |
10 | 13 | — | December 13, 2010 | March 21, 2011 | |
11 | 13 | — | June 20, 2011 | September 12, 2011 | |
12 | 13 | — | January 2, 2012 | April 2, 2012 | |
13 | TBA | — | August 13, 2012 | TBA |
Season 1: 2005
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Alyson and Tommy" | crack cocaine, morphine / cocaine abuse | March 6, 2005 | |
Alyson was a White House intern and an award-winning student. She met a boy in college who showed her the world of drugs and she became an addict. Alyson now lives at home with her parents and is a heavy user of morphine and crack. She works hard to alienate herself from the people who love her. Alyson also takes painkillers from her dying father. Tommy, a 38-year-old ex-stockbroker, is addicted to cocaine. He has lost everything to drugs including his job, retirement plan and his luxury condominium. Now Tommy lives on the streets and tries to keep up his drug habit. | |||||
2 | 2 | "Gabe and Vanessa" | compulsive gambling / compulsive shopping | March 13, 2005 | |
Gabe is addicted to gambling and has lost over $200,000 in casinos. He has even withdrawn money from his parents' accounts without their knowledge. | |||||
3 | 3 | "Tamela and Jerrie" | prescription drug abuse / self-harm | March 20, 2005 | |
Jerrie's family calls interventionist Jeff Van Vonderen to help their 29-year-old daughter, who is addicted to Vicodin. Jerrie is so addicted that she has been forging physician signatures to get the prescriptions that she thinks she needs. She also walks around the waterfront to find drug dealers so she can get high. Tamela, a 24-year-old artist, cuts herself with razor blades. As a child, she was molested and has a hard time getting over what happened. Her family hopes she will go into treatment. | |||||
4 | 4 | "Alissa and Brian" | compulsive gambling / methamphetamine abuse | March 27, 2005 | |
Alissa's parents and friends try to save her from her gambling addiction. She has lost over $30,000 on 25-cent slots. Her boyfriend has three jobs and makes all of the money, while Alissa gambles it away. Brian has a bad crystal meth habit. He is also a sex addict. Brian roams around the streets to find new partners every night. Epilogue: Alissa refused to go to treatment, and she broke up with her boyfriend as a result; she is now married and claims to have "cut down" on her gambling. Brian was asked to leave rehab after 40 days; he relapsed several times but claims to be sober as of December 2007. | |||||
5 | 5 | "Sara" | methamphetamine abuse | April 3, 2005 | |
She had everything she ever wanted out of life, including a wonderful husband and family. In fact, she almost had a perfect life until it all ended in divorce. Not knowing how to handle the divorce, she turned to crystal meth. Sara is now a junkie and has lost everything in her life, including her daughter. She lives at home with her parents and continues using drugs. Her family hopes she will get help to get her life back. | |||||
6 | 6 | "Travis and Matt" | methamphetamine abuse / crack cocaine | April 17, 2005 | |
Former rock star Travis now spends his days in a meth-filled haze, an addiction that has cost him nearly everything. Epilogue: Travis immediately walked out of the intervention, but later decided to accept the offer of treatment. After completing his program, he moved to Utah and began traveling and playing music. He suffered a brief relapse, but regained sobriety in September 2005 and maintained it until September 2007, when he had another relapse; he has since stayed sober. Matt had several relapses, then joined the United States Navy. He no longer uses drugs, but still drinks. | |||||
7 | 7 | "Peter and Renee" | video game addiction / eating disorder | May 1, 2005 | |
Peter is addicted to video games. He refers to himself as characters that are in the games he plays. Renee has an eating disorder and is dependent on water pills to keep her thin. Her health and her family are all feeling the effects of Renee's eating disorder. | |||||
8 | 8 | "Tina" | prescription drug abuse | May 8, 2005 | |
Tina is a mother of three and a true desperate housewife. She spends all of her time gambling with her car and house payments while high on prescription pills. Tina is at a crisis stage with almost all of her jewelry pawned and getting paycheck advances at any chance. Now she spends all of her days at race tracks and bingo halls. Her husband Harley has contacted Intervention as a last resort. Epilogue: Tina left treatment after 37 days. She and Harley divorced in 2006; Tina now takes Percocet daily for kidney stones. | |||||
9 | 9 | "Cristine and Kelly" | alcoholism / anorexia | June 5, 2005 | |
Cristine, a wife and mother with an abusive and dark past, is an alcoholic who drinks about 18 beers a day. Just three years ago, Cristine was top saleswoman at her LA-based newspaper; now, since her return to work after having her first child, the alcohol has damaged her career so much that she has yet to collect any commissions from her ad sales. Her husband is a stay-at-home dad, but their "home" is Cristine's mother's living room floor due to Cristine's business problems. Now Cristine's health is failing – she often works 4 hours or less a day due to stomach problems caused by her drinking – and the family feels an intervention is the only thing that can save her from herself, but Cristine wants no part of rehab after a disastrous stint two years ago. Kelly is an anorexic real estate agent and club DJ in Florida who weighs only 93 pounds and who often consumes less than 5% of her body's caloric needs for the day. She has a 6-year-old daughter who is following in her mother’s footsteps, imitating Kelly's disdain of food by refusing to eat her breakfast and leaving her lunch tray full of food. Kelly's boyfriend wants to come live with her in Florida but knows he cannot save Kelly by himself and needs outside help. Everyone who loves Kelly is not only trying to save her, but also her daughter. | |||||
10 | 10 | "Kelly F. and Mark" | alcoholism / prescription drug abuse | June 12, 2005 | |
Kelly is living on the streets and is an alcoholic. Even though he has a genius-level IQ, he cannot seem to stop himself from living off others. Epilogue: In the June 29, 2009 airing of this episode, the epilogue shows that Kelly spent 20 days in an Arizona treatment facility before being transferred to a center in California. He completed 60 days of treatment, but is shown purchasing and drinking a beer directly after leaving the treatment center. He went home to pick up his dog and reunite with his girlfriend Klover, but 5 months after she leaves him and he cannot find his dog. Mark completed his treatment in 2005, had his morphine pump removed and no longer uses opiates to control his pain. He still lives with his family and is still unemployed. He never spoke to his wife again before she died, 2 months after he completed treatment. | |||||
11 | 11 | "Rachel and Tommy Update" | heroin, prostitution / cocaine abuse | June 26, 2005 | |
Rachel, who was once a gorgeous child, now spends all of her time getting high on heroin and engaging in prostitution. Tommy is a cocaine abuser who has lost everything, including his job, to support his habit. | |||||
12 | 12 | "Michael and Randi" | aggressive anger / bulimia, methamphetamine abuse | July 10, 2005 | |
Michael has a serious anger problem. He has a history of violent behavior and has been known to punch holes into the walls of his father's house. Randi is a bulimic and a crystal meth addict. She is in denial of her condition and cannot deal with her childhood sexual abuse. | |||||
13 | 13 | "Michael and Brooks" | alcoholism, prescription drug abuse / prescription drug abuse | July 24, 2005 | |
Michael is a school athlete, yell leader, and now addicted to pills and alcohol after emotional pain from his high school days; Michael is now facing jail time after parole violations. Brooks is a former wrestling star turned drug addict after an ATV accident with his brother Chase left him paralyzed from the waist down. Brooks admits he is addicted to "drugs, period; nothing specific" and his older brother Ian has become his drug abusing partner. | |||||
14 | 14 | "Follow-Up: Sara, Matt, Gabe & Alyson" | TBA | August 21, 2005 |
Season 2: 2005–2006
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 | 1 | "Corrine" | heroin / methamphetamine abuse | October 30, 2005 | |
Corinne is a pretty 18 year-old who was an honor roll student, star athlete and played the clarinet and saxophone. She started using drugs at 14 after being sexually abused by a neighborhood boy who babysat her. Still striving to move forward while battling her addictions, she completed her GED and began college, finishing two semesters before dropping out. Now, Corinne has become addicted to a deadly combination of heroin and crystal meth. Corinne is also a diabetic who requires insulin, but she often skips her doses because she is so high. After repeated trips to the emergency room, her family is expecting to hear that they've lost her for good. Epilogue: The epilogue reveals that Corinne relapsed several times after leaving treatment, but became sober when she learned that she was pregnant. She gave birth to a baby girl and has remained sober since January 2007. | |||||
16 | 2 | "Audrey and Howard" | heroin / alcohol abuse | November 6, 2005 | |
Audrey, 24, was popular and artistic. Now, she is a heroin addict living on the streets. She has been an addict for 5 years and her family feels like the next time they will see her is in a coffin. Her family plans an intervention to save her, if they can. Howard, 39, is a driving instructor to celebrities, the CIA and the FBI. He drinks when he can't get high from driving fast. Now, Howard's doctor has told him his liver is failing and unless he stops drinking, he will die. | |||||
17 | 3 | "Adam and Michael" | heroin / anger management | December 4, 2005 | |
Adam, who began using heroin after his girlfriend broke up with him, panhandles money at gas stations to get enough money to score. His family is "hanging on by a thread" and desperate for intervention help. Michael is a violent son who holds his family hostage with his rage. Truly in crisis, his family will do anything to stop living in terror. Epilogue: Michael was kicked out of treatment for threatening other patients. Shortly after returning home he assaulted his girlfriend, was arrested, and sent to jail. Adam successfully completed treatment and is now working as a production assistant. | |||||
18 | 4 | "Heidi and Michelle" | plastic surgery addiction, compulsive shopping / methamphetamine abuse | December 11, 2005 | |
Heidi leads a busy social life and takes great pride in maintaining her health and personal appearance. Unfortunately, she is addicted to plastic surgery (over $40,000 worth of procedures in just a few years) and compulsive shopping (leading to a $110,000 credit card debt). Heidi has stolen her mother's identity and used it to procure more charge cards to feed her shopping addiction and now collection agencies are threatening to file charges of felony fraud for both the identity theft and the massive credit card debt Heidi rang up, which stresses her elderly mother to no end. Suffering the loss of her father and sexual molestation at the hand of her cousin at a young age, once bright student Michelle turned to drug use. Michelle has admitted to trading sex for drugs and uses methamphetamine intravenously. Her mother is afraid that at any moment Michelle will shoot up for the last time, but a more immediate threat emerges when rivals of Michelle's meth dealer boyfriend come after Michelle and her family now that her boyfriend is in jail. Tara Fields and Candy Finnigan are brought in to help free these women from their imprisoning addictions. Epilogue: Heidi left treatment after only 30 days, and received more cosmetic procedures. Michelle joined a counseling group and was told she no longer had to attend due to her progress. She then married her high school sweetheart and is expecting her first child. She has been sober since September 19, 2005. | |||||
19 | 5 | "Salina and Troy" | bulimia / methamphetamine abuse | January 8, 2006 | |
For the past eleven years Salina has been suffering from severe bulimia. She also struggles with a shopping addiction and recently began battling a new urge, self-mutilation. After relocating to Los Angeles, Troy had a promising future until his recreational crystal methamphetamine usage escalated into a full-blown addiction. While high Troy reports to having had, "hundreds of homosexual encounters." Now homeless and unemployed, he sells methamphetamine and claims that injecting crystal meth helps him stay alert and survive on the streets. Epilogue: Salina completed treatment, returned home and had a son with her husband; she has not binged or purged since September 2006. Troy tested positive for HIV shortly after starting treatment. After completing his program, he stayed sober for over a year but suffered a relapse. He then went through an outpatient program and has remained sober since November 2007. | |||||
20 | 6 | "Kristen" | alcohol abuse, heroin | January 15, 2006 | |
Kristen is an alcoholic and heroin addict who prostitutes herself for her drug and alcohol money. Her addictions and behavior has cost her custody of her child. Her family hopes that an intervention will help reunite Kristen and her child. Epilogue: Kristen relapsed once and moved into a halfway house. She gave birth to a son in October 2006. She has been sober since January 2006. | |||||
21 | 7 | "Follow-Up: Cristine, Brooks, Ian, Audrey" | TBA | January 22, 2006 | |
Following up on alcoholic Cristine, drug-addicted brothers Brooks and Ian and junkie Audrey at various stages in their recoveries. Cristine is no longer drinking but her husband didn't go for the suggested counseling and his lack of commitment is damaging their relationship. Brooks and Ian have both struggled through rehab issues – Brooks has been through three rehab centers and relapsed repeatedly but is now doing well at The Foundry in Birmingham, AL, while Ian is living with a former addict in Taos, NM. Brooks visits his brother in New Mexico, but when Brooks' counselor discovers crack residue on the kitchen table, he threatens to separate the brothers until Ian confesses that his roommate, the "former addict", is still using drugs and Ian hasn't spoken up because he didn't want to lose his apartment. Brooks and Ian return together to Birmingham and now have to learn to deal with their own addiction demons. Audrey's recovery from heroin has been long and drawn-out, but she has finally learned to deal with her addiction. Now her sisters want her to move in with them. | |||||
22 | 8 | "Antwahn and Billy" | crack cocaine / opiates, methadone | March 12, 2006 | |
Antwahn managed to survive a rough and abusive childhood to become a star basketball player in the NBA and in the European leagues, until a knee injury ended his career; now Antwahn is a homeless crack addict whose wife is on the verge of filing for divorce unless Antwahn can get off drugs. Billy seemed to be living the typical life of a suburban teen until his mother had a near-fatal heart attack and was diagnosed with severe heart disease. Billy turned to opiates to dull the emotional pain; after his family sent him to rehab, Billy returned addicted to yet another opiate, methadone and now believes he is as addicted to "the needle" as he is to the drugs. Epilogue: Billy completed treatment and moved into sober living program, but suffered a number of relapses and moved back to New York. He has remained sober since July 2006. After completing his own treatment, Antwahn relapsed and moved back to Los Angeles. He spent four months in jail on a theft charge, after which he became sober and was put into the work-release program; he has maintained sobriety since July 2007. | |||||
23 | 9 | "Annie and Amy" | methamphetamine abuse / eating disorder | March 19, 2006 | |
Amy is a free-spirited dancer and class clown who is now a homeless meth addict with a past history of self-mutilation. Annie is a ballet dancer who is anorexic and bulimic and is very close to death. Both have co-dependent partners in their addictive behaviors (Amy's boyfriend Tom; Annie's fellow dancer Selena). Success in their interventions depends heavily on whether or not their partner addicts will also agree to get help. Epilogue: According to a November 2008 re-airing, Selena went through her own treatment for anorexia and transferred to another facility to continue working on healthy weight gain. Annie left her program after one month, had a relapse and re-entered treatment; she relapsed again, but has since stopped binging and purging. She broke up with her boyfriend and married an old friend, with whom she now has a daughter. Amy went through rehab, got clean and moved back to California to rejoin Tom. He accepted an invitation from the producers to go through his own meth rehab, but left the program after 11 days. Now he works in construction and says he has been sober since the intervention, while Amy says no longer uses meth but drinks on special occasions. | |||||
24 | 10 | "Chuckie" | heroin | March 26, 2006 | |
Chuckie, the son of Three Dog Night vocalist Chuck Negron, was born addicted to heroin when Chuck Sr. and his wife Julia Densmore Negron were both heavy drug users. At 18, Chuckie became addicted to heroin again; he now lives in a motel room, spending his days mooching money from his mother and shooting up. With the birth of Chuckie's son, Noah, to his now-clean former girlfriend Jen, the family is in a race to break the cycle of addiction before it costs the family yet another generation. Epilogue: Chuckie was kicked out of treatment after 69 days for using heroin. Within five months, he had been arrested on a car theft charge. A November 2008 re-airing revealed that he ultimately served a total of 15 months in prison on this charge and that his ex-girlfriend gained sole custody of his son. He has since been released and is back in treatment. | |||||
25 | 11 | "Gina and Andrea" | drug abuse, problem gambling / alcoholism, cocaine, marijuana | April 2, 2006 | |
Gina is bright, fun-loving and ambitious, but she's losing a difficult battle with drugs and compulsive gambling. Andrea is a 30-year-old, divorced, single mother addicted to alcohol, cocaine and marijuana. She says that she loves the party lifestyle and that she can't end the cycle of drinking and drugs in which she's immersed herself. | |||||
26 | 12 | "John" | alcohol abuse, crack cocaine | July 9, 2006 | |
At 33, all John can see is the loss in his life. His mother died when he was 12. This year, he lost his sister, his cousin and his best friend. His only escape from it all is in his addiction to crack and alcohol, an addiction that has already come close to taking his life. His family and friends cannot imagine losing someone else. Their only hope is an intervention and the possibility that John will seek treatment. Epilogue: John moved back to Massachusetts after completing his program and got a job in a cancer treatment facility. He has been sober since February 2006. | |||||
27 | 13 | "Follow-Up: Antwahn and Rachel" | TBA | July 16, 2006 | |
We revisit with two of our subjects to see how they've been doing since we first profiled them. Antwahn's family staged an intervention to save him from cocaine and he went to treatment. But unfortunately, we learn that his story does not end there. And Rachel's continuing battle to stay off heroin has been threatened by her attempts to help her boyfriend get clean. | |||||
28 | 14 | "Tammi and Daniel" | alcohol abuse / methamphetamine abuse | July 23, 2006 | |
Tammi has five sisters who are all driven, successful career women and survivors of everything from the corporate rat race to breast cancer, but Tammi is an alcoholic facing jail terms for several DUI violations. Daniel was born into a family of traveling evangelists who seemed to have everything until Daniel's father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and a long-time family friend took care of Daniel and his sister...and molested Daniel, who turned to drugs, including meth, to deal with his anger and his self-loathing. Epilogue: Tammi completed 90 days of treatment, then returned home and served 90 days in jail for past DUI offenses. She now works as a dental assistant, sees her children regularly and has been sober since February 2006. After Daniel completed his program, he had several relapses and then moved into sober living. He moved to Florida to be closer to his sisters and has been sober since April 2007. | |||||
29 | 15 | "Mike and James" | speedballs / methamphetamine abuse | July 30, 2006 | |
Mike is a chiropractor from Modesto, California who loves adrenaline rush sports like snowboarding, jet ski riding and other forms of living "the high life"...which also includes a hardcore addiction to smoking heroin and cocaine together, a combination known as a "speedball". Now Mike has lost his wife, kids, apartment, car and tens of thousands of dollars to his drug addiction. Epilogue: After Mike left treatment he spent 3 days in jail for drunk driving and criminal mischief. He returned to his parents’ house and began visiting his children regularly. Mike continues to drink but stopped using drugs. | |||||
30 | 16 | "Tim" | crack cocaine | August 6, 2006 | |
Tim is an up and coming music producer who becomes addicted to crack cocaine. His girlfriend Madyson is lead singer in Tim's band and is just starting to break through in the local music scene, but Tim's crack abuse is threatening to derail her career. Interventionist Candy Finnigan has to persuade Madyson that the only way to help Tim is to force him to go to rehab. | |||||
31 | 17 | "Betsy" | alcohol abuse | August 13, 2006 | |
At 40 years old, Betsy seems to have it all. She's beautiful with great friends and a gorgeous house. But Betsy is miserable and she drinks up to five bottles of chardonnay a day to mask the pain. The alcohol is starting to take its toll. She has been in detox several times this year. Betsy does not believe she has a problem with alcohol. | |||||
32 | 18 | "Cristy" | methamphetamine abuse, alcohol abuse | August 20, 2006 | |
Cristy is a severe methamphetamine addict/alcoholic. She was once a fun-loving and outgoing child, but now her addiction has changed her into a person her family does not even recognize. Due to her addiction, Cristy lost her job and abandoned her career aspirations and she now finances her drug and alcohol use by working as a stripper. She has ruined her father's rental property and has such violent tendencies that many of her relatives fear her. Despite an outstanding warrant for her arrest on DUI charges, Cristy insists she'd rather go to jail than go through rehab. Epilogue: Cristy, who had left rehab early against her family's wishes and entered jail rather than bow to the pressure of returning for 60 more days of treatment, was given a choice by the judge at her sentencing for her DUI arrest: Rehab for two years, or 90 days in jail. Cristy chose jail. While in jail, she was able to get clean from both meth and alcohol, but relapsed six weeks after her release. After the episode was re-aired in March 2009 it showed that Cristy was living with her grandfather and continued to drink and use drugs. As of June 2010, Cristy works in Las Vegas and has claimed to have found Jesus. | |||||
33 | 19 | "Sylvia" | alcohol abuse | December 3, 2006 | |
A high-functioning 49-year-old, affluent, former interior designer and onetime actress. From North Carolina, Sylvia is twice-divorced and a habitual drunk driver. She lost her thriving business and custody of her four children, as her alcoholism worsened. Sylvia prefers mini-bar-sized bottles of vodka – which she calls "red tops" – that she hides in her purse and around the house. A lifelong perfectionist and overachiever who fears being alone, Sylvia's addiction is fueled by unresolved rage at her first husband, her mother and herself. Both Sylvia and her adult relatives are desperately trying to cope, but unsure of how. Epilogue: Sylvia returned to North Carolina after completing her 90-day treatment program in California. She resumed work in interior design and pursued certification to become a drug/alcohol counselor. Her first ex-husband granted her unsupervised visits with their children; she has been sober since June 2006. | |||||
34 | 20 | "Jessie and Laurie" | bulimia / prescription drug abuse | December 10, 2006 | |
Jessie is a sorority girl enrolled at Oregon State University who dreams of being a pediatrician. Jessie was a bright and sociable child who excelled in school and was in a gifted program. However, throughout childhood she experienced severe anxiety, panic attacks and night terrors. She learned that binging on sugary foods would lead to a rush of endorphins that calmed her anxiety. Concerned about gaining weight, she began purging after her binges, and developed bulimia. Because of her eating disorder, Jessie has been forced to drop out of school. Her parents have to lock their food cabinets and refrigerator when she comes over to visit them, and Jessie has turned to stripping to make enough money to pay for her food addiction. Laurie was a well-respected prison death row psychologist until her affair with a co-worker became public knowledge. A stressful divorce, followed by injuries, illness and accidents led to her becoming addicted to tranquilizers and opiate painkillers; now Laurie has lost everything, including her children. Laurie almost seems oblivious to having lost custody of her children to her own parents, and refuses to give up her pills or seek any kind of help. Epilogue: Jessie successfully completed treatment for bulimia, has returned to college at Oregon State and has not binged or purged since the intervention. After the episode was re-aired in March 2008 Laurie had successfully completed treatment at a rehab center and was working to regain custody of her children until she overdosed on heroin and Oxycontin in January 2008; she recovered from the overdose and as of March 2008 is back in treatment near her home so that she can continue to work on her relationship with her children. | |||||
35 | 21 | "Lauren" | heroin | December 17, 2006 | |
Lauren is a former Physical Education teacher who is now a major heroin addict. She lives at home with her mother and holds her family hostage, almost literally, with her volatile temper. Her best friend Déa has become her addiction partner and each woman fuels the others addictive tendencies. And to top everything off, her boyfriend Mike, a former cocaine addict, recently relapsed and was kicked out of his home the day before the intervention, giving Lauren yet another reason to refuse to change her behavior. Epilogue: As a condition to get Lauren to agree to go to treatment, Mike, who had a desire to get back into recovery and wanted to be a role model for Lauren, was allowed to move in temporarily with Lauren's family. The show's producers offered to get Mike into treatment in a nearby facility in Pennsylvania; Mike eagerly accepted but had many issues during his second stint in rehab and his relationship with Lauren is strained. Lauren managed to get sober and worked for Oasis, a drug treatment center, in Anaheim, California until she relapsed in November 2007; she returned to recovery and has been sober since January 2008. During Lauren's initial rehab stay, her childhood friend Déa died of a drug overdose. The episode carries a dedication "In Loving Memory of Déa". |
Season 3: 2007
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
36 | 1 | "Ryan" | prescription drug abuse, drug abuse | March 16, 2007 | |
Ryan abuses OxyContin and other opiates. Ryan's mother was previously married to a cocaine addict; when that marriage ended, she married a man who became an alcoholic. Ryan has been through rehab in the past but always failed. His stepfather's drinking makes any attempt at gaining help for Ryan even more difficult because Ryan calls out the hypocrisy. Interventionist Ken Seeley tries to make sense of the tangled family dynamics to get everyone on board to help Ryan succeed this time. At the end of the episode, Ryan agrees to go to treatment, but is kicked out of one rehab center and runs away from the second episode. Epilogue: The update at the end of the episode indicated that Ryan moved to Los Angeles and suffered a relapse. His stepfather never went to treatment – which he had promised to do – but he did quit drinking. | |||||
37 | 2 | "Jacob" | alcoholism | March 23, 2007 | |
Jacob is an alcoholic whose mother was a major drug dealer when he was a young man. Jacob, normally a calm and friendly guy, has a darker side that comes out when he drinks; he has been thrown out of multiple bars for fighting, including fighting with bouncers. Now living with his mother (who has recently returned after serving two years for drug dealing), Jacob and his mom are constantly butting heads, driving Jacob even further into the bottle. Jeff VanVonderen has to cut through the complicated tangle of multiple familial addictions and dysfunctional relationships to get Jacob to agree to accept help. Epilogue: After this episode re-aired in June 2008, Jacob accepted the offer from a couple who had seen his episode and offered to pay for his college education; Jacob entered a small college near his clean and sober living facility in the spring of 2007 and is now majoring in English. He has been sober since June 2006. | |||||
38 | 3 | "Kim" | eating disorder, self-injury | March 30, 2007 | |
Kim is anorexic and bulimic, and also cuts herself. Kim's biological father was physically and emotionally abusive to the family, and Kim's early childhood was very traumatic. As a result, Kim suffered from severe separation anxiety, and clung to her mother for comfort. Kim's mother was overwhelmed with Kim's emotional demands and felt like her children needed a father figure, so she remarried when Kim was still a young child. Kim's relationships with her family and friends are strained—her mother enables her behavior, her stepfather openly disdains her "neediness" and attention-seeking behavior, she has lost her husband and her home. Kim's anxiety and eating disorder are destroying her, the negativity is now threatening to destroy everyone around her as well. | |||||
39 | 4 | "Anthony" | drug abuse | April 6, 2007 | |
The youngest son in a gregarious Italian-American family in New Jersey, Anthony should have been following in his half-brothers' footsteps to open his own pizza parlor...but instead followed his heroin-abusing half-sisters' addictive lead, ending up with a serious addiction problem. Though he successfully completed rehab to get his heroin addiction under control, he still felt an overwhelming desire to inject something into his system, leading to an ever-worsening addiction to shooting cocaine. Anthony has robbed his brothers' businesses, stolen from his parents and committed a number of serious criminal offenses, all in the name of obtaining drugs. | |||||
40 | 5 | "Trent" | drug abuse | April 20, 2007 | |
Trent, 33, is a four-star chef who's served U.S. presidents and Hollywood stars. But as the child of alcoholics, Trent's formative years were marked with violence and abuse. He ultimately turned to drugs to cope and today he is homeless, sick, battling freezing temperatures and has an insatiable heroin and cocaine addiction. His friends and family fear he won't make it through the winter on the streets. Epilogue: Trent completed treatment and moved into an apartment. After 11 months of sobriety, he had a brief relapse following the death of his mother. He has been sober since December 2007. | |||||
41 | 6 | "Dillon" | drug abuse | April 27, 2007 | |
Dillon is a crystal meth addict living in a small town in Oklahoma. He is also a criminal whose violent tendencies – brought on by manic phases in a bipolar cycle and amplified by meth use – frighten his family, who admit that if he keeps going down this road, he will either end up dead from the meth or dead from the crimes. Dillon also refuses to stay in compliance with his bipolar medication, making even attempting to talk to Dillon about his increasingly out-of-control behavior nearly impossible. What starts out as a typical intervention with an uncooperative addict quickly spirals into a situation requiring police intervention to solve. Epilogue: An update after re-airing in June 2008 revealed that Dillon was forced to leave rehab after 31 days due to refusing to obey house rules or take medication for his bipolar disorder. Upon his return to Oklahoma, he was arrested and jailed on a DUI charge. He worked on an oilfield and lived with his grandparents; as of December 2008, he was not taking medicine for his bipolar disorder and said he was sober. In November 2011, Dillon's girlfriend called the police after he attemped to strangle her. Dillon fled the police and broke into his mother and stepfather's home, where beat his stepfather with a gun and then forced them out of the house. The police were called, and after a standoff, Dillon fatally shot himself. | |||||
42 | 7 | "Jessica and Hubert" | drug abuse, alcoholism | May 11, 2007 | |
Jessica, 21, comes from a tight-knit family. Her father, mother, sister and grandfather all work at the family-owned gas station. But Jessica's not allowed to work there any more. Ever since Jessica became addicted to heroin at 17, her family cannot trust her. And even worse – her addiction is straining family relationships. Everyone wants to see her go to treatment. But just organizing the intervention is tearing them apart. Hubert is a middle-aged American Indian man whose struggles to keep his family together amidst an abusive childhood at the hands of his alcoholic stepfather, along with the pressure to protect his siblings from the verbal, emotional and physical violence from his alcoholic parents, eventually drive him to the bottle as well during his life in Las Vegas as a bartender. Hubert moved back to Los Angeles to care for his dying diabetic mother, but after her death, his alcohol abuse worsens. His stepfather, showing "Tough love", kicks Hubert out of the house and Hubert becomes homeless, depending on recycling bottles and cans for booze money. Another homeless friend, John, a bipolar who is non-compliant with medication, helps take care of Hubert on the streets by feeding him, buying him alcohol and helping him find safe places to sleep at night. A real estate agent who frequents the park where John and Hubert "live" during daylight hours had gotten to know Hubert and John and realized what a kind gentleman Hubert was underneath his layers of dirty clothes and alcohol abuse. The real estate agent contacted Intervention requesting an intervention for Hubert and the producers tracked down Hubert's family, who had lost track of him after being he was kicked out of his stepfather's house. With Hubert's stepfather now dying and other family members feeling deep regret about abandoning the man who had always taken care of them in their times of need, the race is on to bring Hubert back to sobriety so that his family can become whole once more. (After the episode re-aired stated that Hubert has been sober since 2006 and was able to stand sober at his stepfather's bedside just before his stepfather passed away. The producers helped Hubert's friend John get his badly damaged teeth fixed; John has since reconnected with his family in Indiana following the show's initial airing. Jessica relapsed after treatment.) | |||||
43 | 8 | "Laney" | alcoholism | June 1, 2007 | |
Laney, 36, is a hard-core alcoholic who grew up in a dysfunctional family where her mother's many husbands and boyfriends both physically and verbally abused her, in addition to being raped by an ex-boyfriend in her own home. Laney is a millionaire thanks to a divorce settlement from her husband, a dot-com exec whose stock options paid off handsomely, but she spends her days alone in a luxurious mansion with only her cat for a companion, drinking rum constantly and popping tranquilizers in a futile effort to numb the pain. She books limousines to take her everywhere, including long cross-country trips to visit relatives, claiming that she does not want to take her cat, Puddy-Tat Ashworth, on a commercial airliner. When Laney, during a hospital stay caused by a suicide attempt drug overdose, overhears a doctor telling a nurse that her family is planning an intervention while she is still hospitalized, she checks out of the hospital against medical advice and rushes home before her family can stop her. When Candy Finnigan leads the family over to Laney's home the next morning to conduct an "ambush intervention", Laney locks herself in her mansion and calls the police to get "this group of really weird people who are trying to break into my house" off her property, leading to the most unorthodox intervention ever seen in the series. Epilogue: Laney only lasted two days in treatment before she checked out, retrieved her cat from the rehab center staffer who was caring for it and booked a limousine to drive her back to Kansas from the Florida rehab center. In a video update at interventiontv.com, Laney now says that this decision saved her life, because her limousine driver was a part-time counselor at a Jacksonville, Florida-area church. During the three-day drive back to Kansas, they talked constantly about Laney's drinking and the underlying issues that fueled her self-destructive tendencies, why she had decided to seek help, why she was now leaving this help and more. After thinking back over the conversation, Laney decided to sell her house in Kansas and leave her old life behind. She now lives in Florida and has become very close to the driver who gave her the incentive to give up alcohol and has been sober since June 2007. | |||||
44 | 9 | "Ashley" | drug abuse | June 8, 2007 | |
Growing up, Ashley, 20, was always considered the wild child. While her younger sister was quick to follow the rules and be active in the church, Ashley tended to reject her parents' strong Christian values. The more her parents tried to guide her, the more she pulled away. By her teenage years, Ashley became a chronic runaway and drug addict and is convinced she's on her way to Hell for being a meth addict. Epilogue: Ashley completed 105 days of treatment, got married and moved to California. She is working to regain custody of her son and has been sober since January 2007. | |||||
45 | 10 | "Andrea and Ricky" | drug abuse | June 15, 2007 | |
Not long ago Andrea, 31, decided to follow in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother and became a nurse. But all the while Andrea was hiding a dark secret – a growing crack addiction. Now she's lost her job and relies on several male friends to buy her drugs. Growing up, Ricky seemed to be on a path to greatness. He was a straight-A student, a star athlete and named one of the three brightest students in school. He joined the Marines, where he served as a police officer. But what started as experimentation with drugs has turned into an out-of-control heroin addiction. Ricky's friends and family fear for the worst but hope an intervention will be his best chance for getting his life back. Epilogue: Andrea cut ties with the older male friend who enabled her behavior in exchange for what Andrea euphemistically referred to as "wifely duties", upon entering treatment. She moved into sober living after completing the program; she has been sober since February 2007 and is expecting a baby. Ricky spent two months in treatment, then moved into sober living in Florida. He works as a waiter, has begun running again and is training for a half-marathon. He has been sober since March 2007. | |||||
46 | 11 | "Leslie" | alcoholism | June 22, 2007 | |
Leslie is a suburban Oklahoma housewife with a severe alcohol addiction. Her addiction is so all-consuming that Leslie has resorted to drinking mouthwash for its alcohol content. She has been arrested multiple times and is facing jail time for several DUIs. Leslie's husband has filed for divorce from her in an effort to protect their children, but takes her back in as part of one last shot at an intervention. Epilogue: After the episode re-aired in April 2008 Leslie and Craig finalized their divorce while both were undergoing rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic in 2007; Leslie was able to stay sober until she relapsed in November 2007, but went back into rehab and has been sober since January 2008. Episode re-aired in March 2011; Leslie relapsed again but has been sober since January 2011. | |||||
47 | 12 | "Coley" | drug abuse | August 10, 2007 | |
Coley is a meth addict who was raised by his mother, who was a speed junkie for much of his childhood. Previous attempts at rehab seemed to have started Coley on the path back to sobriety until his mother was found dead in her home a year ago. Since then, Coley has been on a meth-snorting binge, endangering himself and others because of his occupation – a logger. | |||||
48 | 13 | "Caylee" | bulimia, drug abuse | August 17, 2007 | |
Caylee is a 23-year-old bulimic who is also addicted to "speedballs" (heroin and cocaine, smoked together). She has dropped down to 80 lbs. Caylee's mother, Christy, has been a major influence for her addictive behavior. Christy had a traumatic childhood (including physical abuse and rape) and has hidden bulimia from her family since she was much younger. Christy taught Caylee how to watch her weight and together they suffer from this very dangerous eating disorder. Unable to cope with Caylee's growing drug abuse and stealing money for drugs, Christy left her family and moved to Chicago, where her bulimia is becoming life-threatening. The family wants to help both of them, but they need to have Christy present at the intervention to confront Caylee. Then, the family plans to confront Christy, with treatment options for both of them. Epilogue: Caylee and Christy both agreed to go to treatment at different facilities. After the episode re-aired in August 2008, Christy completed treatment and moved back to Salt Lake City to be with her family again; she has not starved, binged, or purged since July 2007. Caylee spent five months in rehab, relapsed repeatedly on heroin and/or bulimia, but got clean and also returned to Salt Lake City, only to relapse once again on heroin. She has recently been sober since April 2008. | |||||
49 | 14 | "Pam" | alcoholism | August 24, 2007 | |
An alcoholic with a terrible past full of failed marriages and abuse, Pam drinks to cope with her past and cannot move beyond her pain, which is damaging her relationship with her loving boyfriend Marvin. Pam's mother is in serious denial about the abuse her children suffered and even claims Pam makes up these stories to keep Mother from "being happy"; Pam's siblings – all of whom have had addiction problems – sympathize with her anger at their mother, but all have urged her to let go of the pain so that she can stand a chance at having a good life. Cirrhosis has already claimed one member of her family. Her family does not want Pam to be the second victim and urge her through an intervention to agree to treatment. (Pam accepted treatment and became sober as of July 2007. One of Pam's nieces posted on the Intervention forum on televisionwithoutpity.com in July 2008 that Pam was approaching one year sober and is now engaged to marry Marvin.) | |||||
50 | 15 | "Jill" | alcoholism | September 7, 2007 | |
Jill was a beautiful teen well on her way to a successful dance career but was betrayed by a boyfriend who distributed copies of a tape that depicted them having sex. Now, Jill is depressed and hurt, using alcohol to numb her pain. Further complicating the issue is the divorce between Jill's parents left all of their children hurt and adrift and Jill's mother has serious problems with verbalizing expressions of love. Her family hopes an intervention will bring Jill out of her alcohol daze and help her deal with her pain. Epilogue: Jill and her mother went to family therapy and are still working on their relationship. She stayed sober for nine months, then had a brief relapse; she has been sober since April 2008. |
Season 4: 2007–2008
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
51 | 1 | "Emily" | eating disorder | December 3, 2007 | |
This twenty-six year old grew up struggling to meet her parents' high expectations, as well as constantly being overshadowed by her more outgoing identical twin, Tiffany. Despite winning many academic and athletic honors, Emily suffered from depression and low self-esteem. Her shameful feelings intensified when she was date-raped in college. She dieted in hopes of regaining control of her life, but now she weighs less than 90 pounds. Her family hopes an intervention will save her before she starves to death. Epilogue: After the episode re-aired in March 2008 indicated that Emily actually lost weight at her first rehab center; she transferred to another center for eating disorders and was put on a feeding tube and has finally begun to gain weight. | |||||
52 | 2 | "Dawn and Fabian" | drug abuse, alcohol abuse | December 10, 2007 | |
Dawn, a forty-nine-year-old former model, is now homeless and wanders around town using meth and suffering from the effects of meth psychosis. Fabian is an amateur artist, musician and photographer who was once a rising star in the Los Angeles entertainment promotion scene, but his childhood growing up with a bipolar mother who once kept her miscarried fetuses in jars and boxes in closets, coupled with his girlfriend miscarrying Fabian's child, sends him down a meth and alcohol spiral toward oblivion. Epilogue: Dawn completed treatment, returned to Nebraska and was sober for a year before she relapsed in July 2008; she says she is "trying to get sober again". Fabian was kicked out of his treatment program after only 33 days for making homemade wine. Returning to Los Angeles, he was evicted from his loft; after living with friends and doing drugs and continuing to drink, Fabian finally hit a bottom and entered a 12-step recovery program. He has been sober since July 2008. | |||||
53 | 3 | "Follow Up: Ryan and Hubert" | TBA | December 17, 2007 | |
A look at how two people have fared since their interventions. Ryan, an OxyContin addict, was in and out of treatment for months before dropping out entirely and hitting bottom as a homeless heroin addict on the streets of L.A. Now he's back in rehab at Oasis in Anaheim, California, a facility where he'd had previous clashes with the rehab director, under orders from a judge to stay in rehabilitation for one year or face a jail sentence for heroin possession and DUI conviction. Ryan, as in his earlier stints in rehab, openly refuses to conform to the facility's rules; the facility's director, speaking at a follow-up hearing after Ryan's first 60 days at Oasis, informs the judge of Ryan's continued rule-breaking and asks the judge to remind Ryan of the terms of the sentence. He will be kicked out of Oasis if he breaks one more rule or continues to defy the staff counselors and doctors. Ryan puts this to the test just six weeks later as he is kicked out of Oasis' Sober Living program for prank-calling his former girlfriend. Hubert, a former homeless alcoholic, is nine months sober and has a new job as well as a new home in a halfway house program called Clean and Sober Living. But he still struggles with the death of his stepfather, who finally admitted during the intervention that he had been a "terrible father" to Hubert; Hubert was able to fulfill his stepfather's dying wish – to see Hubert sober – by coming to his bedside just weeks into his rehab. Hubert also struggles with house rules about no interactions with people previously involved with possibly enabling the addicts, meaning he must avoid seeing old friend John, a fellow homeless person who often fed Hubert, bought alcohol and helped him find a safe place to sleep. John is equally sad about not being allowed to see Hubert, but acknowledges that if Hubert staying away from him is crucial to maintaining Hubert's sobriety, it is a small price to pay to save his life. As a gift to John for helping Hubert and his family come together for the intervention, the show's producers paid for John to have his badly misaligned and decaying teeth capped and replaced. At the time of filming, Hubert was celebrating reaching the nine month sobriety milestone by watching his episode of Intervention with his siblings and housemates, with a goal to reach one year so "I can get a cake" (a tradition at Clean and Sober Living); in December 2007, Hubert successfully reached that milestone and got his cake. | |||||
54 | 4 | "Brooke" | prescription drug abuse | January 7, 2008 | |
Brooke suffers from chronic pain and doctors have never been able to find a diagnosis. Her family thinks she takes too many prescription pain pills. Brooke was found unconscious and injured by the Intervention production crew after taking "an extra pill or two" to take the pain away. Her mother wants her to go to a Lyme Disease treatment center, but Brooke's regular doctors are adamant that she does not have Lyme Disease. Epilogue: After the episode re-aired in April 2008 indicated that Brooke underwent treatment for Lyme disease and rheumatoid arthritis at a center for chronic pain management where doctors continued to adjust her medications to alleviate her chronic pain; however, Brooke admitted after viewing the episode that she was indeed addicted to pain pills. As of September 2008, she has undergone treatment for that addiction and had her knee replaced, resulting in improved mobility. | |||||
55 | 5 | "Jason and Joy" | alcohol abuse, drug abuse | January 14, 2008 | |
Jason is an alcoholic and cocaine abuser who makes all of his money selling drugs. His sister, Joy, is often his drinking partner and co-drug user whose partying ways cost her custody of her two-year-old son. They come from a large religious family that was torn apart by their mother coming out as a lesbian and then abandoning her entire family. Though the primary addict who needs an intervention is Jason, it becomes increasingly apparent that both Jason and Joy need professional help. | |||||
56 | 6 | "Josh and Ben" | eating disorder, drug abuse | January 21, 2008 | |
Josh is a talented young singer with an uncontrollable desire to eat; he weighs over 550 pounds. Ben is a genius with an IQ of 170 and a debilitating addiction to DXM. Both addicts suffered at the hands of abusive fathers and father figures throughout their childhoods and both have serious issues with low self-esteem. Ben also happens to be a long-time Internet persona known as "Rob Cypher"; his blog contains entries describing the filming of this episode, his stint in rehab and his reaction to the finished episode. Ben, under the name Rob Cypher, has also appeared on the dextroverse forums,[2] which is a forum of people who use DXM for recreational purposes. Epilogue: Josh recently provided his own video update on YouTube, in which he says that he has moved into a halfway house in Boca Raton, Florida. As of July 2008, he has lost 192 pounds; his father underwent treatment as well and has lost 50 pounds. An update episode later showed that Josh returned home for his brother's high school graduation 172 pounds lighter. He also came out as gay to his parents and ex-girlfriend as did his brother. As of October 2011 he has lost 260 pounds though his weight continues to fluctate, but he works on managing it. | |||||
57 | 7 | "Tressa" | drug abuse | January 28, 2008 | |
Tressa is 32 and was an outstanding female athlete from Nebraska, the world women's shot put champion who would only have had to drop the shot in front of the throwing circle to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympics, until she tested positive for cocaine the day before the 2000 Olympic Trials. Tressa was banned for 2 years from Olympic competition; her family then found out about her LGBT lifestyle and drug abuse, which caused severe strain in all of their relationships. Tressa has given up sports altogether and now uses crystal meth daily as her life spirals out of control. Her girlfriend has kicked Tressa out for stealing, leaving Tressa even more emotionally overwrought. Epilogue: Tressa speaks to her family several times a week, but they do not discuss her sexuality. She resumed her track career and won several gold medals at the 2008 USA Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships[3] but has relapsed several times since the going to rehab. As of early May 2010, according to the show she claims to have been sober since March 2010. | |||||
58 | 8 | "John T." | alcohol abuse, drug abuse | February 4, 2008 | |
As a former clean-cut track star, John's life used to revolve around athletics. Now, after a leg injury ended his running career, John spends his time abusing his body with alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy and hallucinogenic drugs. He believes he is living a charmed life as a successful and popular DJ when the reality is that he is losing his friends, his family and his chance at success in the music industry to an addiction that could result in permanent brain damage or death. Epilogue: John spent several weeks in treatment but had to return home to complete his probation. He moved back in with his parents and finished treatment at an outpatient facility. John completed vocational training and is a certified forklift operator. He continues to pursue a career as a DJ and has been sober since May 2007. | |||||
59 | 9 | "Brad" | PTSD, drug abuse, alcohol abuse | March 24, 2008 | |
Brad grew up the eldest of three – and the only boy – in his family. His parents split when Brad was young and his mother attempted to parentally abduct his younger twin sisters, leaving Brad behind with his father; despite evidence to the contrary, Brad's mother insists she never intended to abandon her son. Brad's father won custody of all three children and married his children's former babysitter. Brad self-medicated as a teen with marijuana to deal with the emotions left by his abandonment and his anger at his stepmother's attempts to enforce discipline. At 18, Brad's father ordered him to either leave home forever or sign up for the military; Brad chose the Army and came out of Basic Training seemingly a changed person. After two tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom, however, Brad's tenuous hold on maturity and inner peace was shattered after Sgt. Deason, his commander, was killed on the last day of their second tours. Brad returned home suffering from serious PTSD. Unwilling to accept the drug and counseling therapy offered by the VA and unable to find a job because his Army skillset doesn't match current employer needs ("Nobody wants to hire someone whose only job skill is killing people," Brad's dad notes), Brad gets a job as a stock clerk at a liquor store, self-medicates to deal with his pain and is now drinking over a pint of vodka per day and smoking any weed he can get his hands on. Brad wants to return to the Army Reserves, but Brad's family wants him to get past his PTSD and anger issues first. Epilogue: Brad left treatment after 21 days. His father refused to let him back in the house; he quit his job at a liquor store and moved in with friends. Though he continues to drink, he says he has cut down. | |||||
60 | 10 | "Lawrence" | drug abuse, alcohol abuse | March 17, 2008 | |
Having graduated high school with academic and athletic honors, Lawrence, 34, became a successful owner of a chain of tanning salons in Las Vegas in the early 1990s, but he was never able to dull the pain of emotional and physical abuse suffered in childhood at the hands of a brutal father figure. In his early twenties, Lawrence gained formal custody of his two younger siblings in an attempt to remove them from a home environment full of unhealthy abusive dynamics. However, Lawrence could never conquer his own demons brought out by the brutality and he began consuming GHB for both its muscle-building and mind-relaxing properties. When GHB was taken off the market, Lawrence looked for a substitute for GHB's calming effects and turned to alcohol. Addicted within weeks, the alcohol abuse left Lawrence a shell of his former self as he frequently consumed over a liter of vodka a day in large 32-ounce mugs. A recent battle with testicular cancer has left him further weakened; Lawrence had surgery to remove the cancer, but never underwent any follow-up treatment, despite his family's pleas to see an oncologist or a urologist to ensure the cancer has not returned. Lawrence's body is covered with deep purple bruises in random spots, a sign of low blood clotting factors indicating impending liver failure. Lawrence's denial of his deteriorating health and his accelerating drinking problem is so strong that at one point he openly denies having had anything to drink while holding a plastic mug full of straight vodka, in an apartment where the garbage cans are full of empty vodka bottles. Lawrence's loved ones bring in Jeff VanVonderen for an intervention in the hope that this show of love and support will help Lawrence get the help he needs and that by sharing his story he might help others. Epilogue: After 30 days in treatment, Lawrence was asked to leave for refusing to focus on his recovery. He returned to Las Vegas and relapsed after three weeks of sobriety. On February 23rd, 2008, he died as a result of complications stemming from cirrhosis of the liver. He is the first Intervention profiled addict to die post-intervention. |
Season 5: 2008
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
61 | 1 | "Chad" | alcohol abuse, crack cocaine | June 16, 2008 | |
After a troubled childhood that sent him to juvenile hall for felony arson, Chad's father introduced him to cycling at age 15. Chad went pro and cycled on the same team as Lance Armstrong. But after getting kicked off the team for "personality conflicts," Chad was crushed and turned to drugs. Now homeless, Chad spends his days panhandling, smoking crack, and drinking. His family's many efforts to get him off the streets have failed. Their last hope is an intervention.[4] Epilogue: Chad walked out of the intervention, but accepted the offer of treatment after a subsequent one-on-one meeting with Jeff Van Vonderen. Chad completed treatment, moved into sober living with plans to attend college and bought a new racing bike. A February 2009 re-airing stated that he relapsed briefly with alcohol, but has since regained sobriety and maintained it since September 2008; he is also competing in races and has joined the Amore & Vita professional cycling team. At the beginning of October 2009, the Sacramento Bee reported Gerlach was again living on the streets after leaving a rehab facility in September. However, according to a March 2010 follow-up episode, he is living part-time with his girlfriend, with whom he has a baby daughter, and has been sober since December 2009. | |||||
62 | 2 | "Dan" | alcohol abuse | June 23, 2008 | |
To the outside world, the life of 40-year-old Dan may seem ideal. Dan is married to a supportive wife, Sarah and has a beautiful daughter, Ava. He loves music and works as a first mate for a snorkeling and whale-watching boat company on a stunning Hawaiian island. But everything is not what it seems: Dan is an alcoholic. An adolescence filled with physical violence and verbal abuse left Dan with deep emotional pain and the loss of his son Miles after only a few days of life only intensified the pain. Dan's family desperately hopes that an intervention will turn his life around. Epilogue: Dan completed four months' treatment and moved back to Hawaii to reunite with his family. An April 2010 re-airing stated that he had a brief relapse after eight months' sobriety, then moved into sober living; his wife divorced him in January 2009 and he continues to drink. | |||||
63 | 3 | "Sandra" | prescription drug abuse | June 30, 2008 | |
She sits in her garage every day, popping painkillers, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and sleeping pills. Sandra's pill use is so bad that her two sons, 17 and 11, have left the house. Her best friend, Julie, moved in with her and although Julie suffers from multiple sclerosis, she takes care of all the housework. Julie and Sandra's husband, Dan, ration Sandra's pills so she doesn't overdose. They know they're enabling her, but they're afraid of what will happen if they stop. Sandra's family is ready to try an intervention, but they're not sure she'll ever choose her family over her addiction. Epilogue: At the end of an October 2008 re-airing reveals that Sandra completed six months of treatment and moved back to Las Vegas, while her husband and sons went through a program for addicts' families. She has been sober since February 2008. | |||||
64 | 4 | "Charles" | heroin, alcohol abuse | July 7, 2008 | |
A talented motocross rider, Charles, 23, is still dealing with terrible childhood memories. When he was seven, his father went to jail for molesting him and his younger brother and his mother became an alcoholic. Today, he uses heroin and alcohol to blot out his memories, but he's pushed most of his family away. Now, his half-sister, Lindsey, is reuniting the family in one last attempt to help Charles with an intervention. Epilogue: Charles was kicked out of his program for having syringes mailed to him, but transferred to another one in Florida. A November 2008 re-airing revealed that he subsequently moved into sober living, but relapsed after one month; now he lives back on the streets in California and is again using heroin. He was arrested for using his brother's identity and has been in jail since September 2009. | |||||
65 | 5 | "Marie" | alcohol abuse | July 14, 2008 | |
A Sophia Loren look-alike, Marie was born into an Italian mob family. When her parents' marriage end, Marie and her mother struggled with extreme poverty. Marie's three marriages ended in divorce, but she was still determined to give her children what she didn't have growing up. Despite her own unhappy love life, she became a highly successful matchmaker and well-known socialite. She even appeared on shows like 60 Minutes. Then Marie met her fourth husband, Bora, an addict and alcoholic. Marie tried to clean him up, but developed her own addiction to alcohol. Bora's alcoholism killed him and now Marie is headed down the same road – fast. Marie's family knows an intervention is her last hope. Epilogue: Marie completed treatment and moved to Alabama. Her two daughters are now attending 12-step meetings; a November 2008 re-airing further noted that her son moved in with her five months after the intervention. She has been sober since March 2008. | |||||
66 | 6 | "Tom" | drug abuse | July 21, 2008 | |
Growing up in a South Boston neighborhood run by the Irish mob, Tom got caught up in the gangster lifestyle. By his 20s, he was dealing drugs and running with the wise guys while holding down his day job as a fireman at the Boston Fire Department. Throughout it all, Tom remained a dedicated and loving father to his four children. Eventually, Tom's other life caught up with him after being indicted on drug charges. He lost everything – his house, his job and his family's respect. Epilogue: Tom now has weekly contact with his family and hopes to become a drug/alcohol counselor when he finishes treatment. He has been sober since January 2008; his wife had been planning to divorce him, but has not gone ahead with it. | |||||
67 | 7 | "Asa" | bulimia, alcohol abuse | July 28, 2008 | |
Born into a mixed-race family in a predominantly white town, Asa struggled with low self-esteem and body image growing up. Classmates teased him because of his size, ethnicity and effeminate manner. Desperate to loss weight, Asa became bulimic. He came out as a gay man at 19 and started using hard drugs and drinking heavily. For the past 10 years, Asa has been working towards his college degree. Being a medical science student, he understands how his eating disorder and alcoholism are affecting him, but he's been unable to stop. His family now realizes that an intervention is their last chance to help Asa. Epilogue: Asa completed treatment, returned to college and is now applying to graduate school. He has been sober since March 2008 but, as of December 2008, has binged and purged several times since the intervention. | |||||
68 | 8 | "Derek" | Alcohol abuse | August 4, 2008 | |
He was once a championship bodybuilder and successful property owner. But when he turned 30, Derek felt he was over the hill and became severely depressed. He started drinking to cope with the pressures of marriage and the responsibilities of getting older. His beautiful wife left and now Derek's days are all the same – he sits in his dark basement, smoking and drinking and bemoaning the loss of his wife. He narrowly survived one suicide attempt and his family is worried he'll try again. An intervention is their last hope. Epilogue: Derek was kicked out of treatment after three months for getting drunk and bringing alcohol onto the grounds. He went on a four-day drinking binge, then returned to his home in Ontario. His girlfriend rented a room from him for some time, but eventually moved out after he threatened to hurt himself; he has since attempted suicide several times and is still drinking. | |||||
69 | 9 | "Allison" | Inhalant abuse | August 11, 2008 | |
She was a pre-med student on her way to becoming a surgeon, but the trauma of being molested as a child and her parents' brutal divorce haunted Allison. She started to inhale computer dust remover, which is potentially fatal with each breath. Her erratic behavior and absence from classes got Allison dropped from the pre-med program. Allison is currently inhaling up to ten cans of dust remover a day and also struggles with anorexia and self mutilation. Epilogue: Allison immediately walked out of the intervention; in response, her family called her "sugar daddy" [Allison's sole source of income] to warn him off and called the Humane Society to have her cats taken away. When animal control officers, the police and her sister arrived at her house, she became argumentative and was forcibly removed for a psychiatric evaluation. She was subsequently released from the hospital and accepted Jeff's final offer of treatment the next day. Her treatment has helped her cope with the underlying issues that are causing her self-destructive behaviors. Now she speaks with her mother and sisters every week and, as of July 2009, has stopped contact with her "sugar daddy." Sober since May 2008, she now works at a treatment center in California. | |||||
70 | 10 | "Intervention In-Depth: Meth Mountain" | Methamphetamine | August 18, 2008 | |
Narrated by Meredith Vieira. In Marshall County, Alabama, crystal meth has permeated the rural community on all fronts, to the point where the area has earned the nickname “Meth Mountain.” Affected individuals featured on the show include Chuck, a man who may lose custody of his children because of his addiction; Boo, a long-time addict who looks far older than his 58 years; Shanta, who injected meth while she was pregnant; and Dr. Mary Holley, a crusading obstetrician whose addicted brother committed suicide. | |||||
71 | 11 | "Phillip" | alcohol abuse | August 25, 2008 | |
A 44-year-old singer and songwriter, Phillip used music to escape the pain of an unstable childhood. He gained fame due to his charisma and musical talents, but Phillip now consumes up to four pints of peppermint schnapps a day. He lost his career, the love of his life and the respect of his family. Epilogue: Phillip underwent treatment, but his girlfriend Teresa would not commit to doing the same in a separate offer from Jeff. A November 2008 re-airing revealed that he remained sober for four months, then had a brief relapse. He has since moved to Washington, is living with a friend he met in treatment and has been sober since September 2008. By 2009, it was reported on a replay of the episode that Phillip and his girlfriend Teresa were working for the rehab center. | |||||
72 | 12 | "Mike and Jenny" | Obsessive-compulsive disorder / prescription drug abuse, drug abuse | September 1, 2008 | |
Mike, 67, was a police sergeant, avid outdoorsman and respected citizen. But after he was injured while apprehending an addict, signs of Mike's obsessive-compulsive disorder started to emerge. His fear of germs caused him to wash his hands over 40 times a day. The problem forced him to retire early and his wife divorced him. He was able to keep his OCD under control for eight years, but a relapse caused him to think his food was spoiled and almost starve. Mike's children feel an intervention is their only hope of helping him. Jenny, 32, is a talented hairstylist from a close-knit Mormon family. When a diagnosis of endometriosis crushes her dreams of having a family, she turns to prescription drugs. Her addiction quickly escalates to IV heroin and meth use. Epilogue: Mike completed nearly three months of treatment, moved back to his apartment in Utah and began taking medication for his OCD. An April 2009 re-airing revealed that he recently stopped the medication due to financial difficulties. A subsequent re-airing in late 2011 revealed that Mike died in September 2011. Jenny relapsed on heroin after one month in treatment and soon learned that she was pregnant. The same re-airing revealed that she returned to treatment to undergo a safe detox and gave birth to a healthy baby girl; she has been sober since August 2008. | |||||
73 | 13 | "Intervention After-Treatment Special" | drug abuse | September 8, 2008 | |
Three of the show's interventionists and five former addicts are featured guests on this episode, hosted by Christopher Lawford and recorded before a studio audience. Jeff Van Vonderen, Candy Finnigan and Ken Seeley discussed their respective motivations for entering the field, after which clips from the addicts' episodes were shown and the addicts themselves commented on their experiences during and after treatment. The addicts, with their comments on sobriety as of the tape date:
Jeff Van Vonderen disclosed that he had taken a leave of absence from Intervention in order to sort out personal issues associated with a relapse into his own past addiction. | |||||
74 | 14 | "Kristen" | heroin, cocaine | September 22, 2008 | |
Kristen is a 20 year old who injects heroin and cocaine. She prostitutes herself on the streets of Baltimore to get high. She usually injects the drugs into the artery in her neck. During the intervention Kristen is very emotional, but agrees to treatment as she realizes she will die if she doesn't get help. Epilogue: Two months after entering treatment, Kristen's mother visits her. Kristen is clearly doing much better and both she and her mother nearly break down into tears at the sight of each other. She and her mother develop a much better relationship as a result. Kristen has a brief relapse before completing treatment, but gets sober again afterwards and the episode states that she has been sober since September 22, 2008. Afterwards, Kristen moves back in with her family. | |||||
75 | 15 | "Ed and Bettina" | Alcohol abuse | September 29, 2008 | |
Ed, 53 and Bettina, 49, had a picture-perfect life, including three adoring kids, a dream home, sports cars, motorcycles and a respected place in their church community. But six years ago, Ed made a bad career move and ended up unemployed. He and Bettina lost everything they had worked for. They began to drink and quickly became alcoholics. Ed has been hospitalized for internal bleeding and Bettina for withdrawals so excruciating she thought she was dying. Their children have begged them to stop drinking, but it only strengthens the bond between Ed and Bettina. Epilogue: Ed and Bettina completed their respective treatment programs and moved into sober living in Florida. He plans to find a job in sales, while she is now a house mother in a sober-living facility; they have been sober since June 2008. April 2009 Epilogue Update: Ed and Bettina completed their respective treatment programs and moved into sober living in Georgia. Ed is a natural gas salesman, Bettina works in a supermarket. Bettina suffered a brief relapse after 5 months of sobriety, but has been sober again since December 3, 2008. Ed has remained sober since his intervention. | |||||
76 | 16 | "Intervention In-Depth: Prescription Addiction" | TBA | October 20, 2008 | |
Narrated by Bill Kurtis. Abuse of prescription medications has led to hundreds of overdoses and deaths in and around Tampa, Florida in recent years. The experiences of three addicts are highlighted during this hour: Matt, whose brother introduced him to drugs before Matt entered high school; Brian, who began "doctor shopping" and forging prescriptions to feed his habit; and Tim, an unemployed 20-year-old whose mother Teri, herself a recovering addict, provides the money and shelter to enable his addiction. | |||||
77 | 17 | "Intervention In-Depth: Heroin Hits Home" | TBA | November 30, 2008 | |
Narrated by Donnie Wahlberg. This episode examines the recent rash of drug abuse among high school students in and around Brockton, Massachusetts – first OxyContin, then heroin. The experiences of four such addicts (Pat, Peter, Sarah, Shannah) are profiled. |
Season 6: 2008–2009
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
78 | 1 | "Janet" | alcoholism, sexual addiction | December 15, 2008 | |
At age 6, Janet was molested. She was also bullied by other kids, making her extremely self-conscious about her looks. At 18, she married a drug dealer who made her rich, but her husband was sent to prison, leaving her alone with two sons. She turned to drugs and alcohol and had multiple affairs. Her husband discovered one of her affairs and divorced her. Janet remarried and had two more children, but she missed her old luxurious lifestyle and began drinking heavily. Now she frequently passes out, threatens suicide and puts herself in life-threatening situations. Epilogue: Janet completed treatment. She moved back in with Russ and her children. She is no longer dating Bud. Janet has been sober since August 4, 2008. | |||||
79 | 2 | "Nicole" | eating disorder (dysphagia), prescription drug abuse, child neglect | December 22, 2008 | |
As a result of being sexually molested by her neighbor as a child, Nicole has developed dysphagia, a psychological inability to swallow. At mealtimes, she chews her food for the taste and then spits it out; her only nutrition comes from liquid supplements, taken through a feeding tube she has used for years. Her weight has fallen drastically and she abuses the medications prescribed by her doctors to help her deal with her past trauma. Nicole's family now fears for both her life and the welfare of her two daughters. Epilogue: Nicole spent two months in treatment, during which time she learned to swallow baby food, then moved back home with her husband. She has stopped abusing her medications and plans to start seeing a therapist for help with post-traumatic stress disorder. Although she still uses the feeding tube, she has gained more than 25 pounds since the intervention. | |||||
80 | 3 | "Brittany" | drug abuse, prostitution | December 29, 2008 | |
Brittany was born five years after the brutal rape and murder of her 9-year-old sister, Terry. Brittany struggled with the pressure to live up to her mother's perfect image of Terry. At 12, Brittany was molested and she began taking drugs and sneaking out at night – anything to get out from under Terry's shadow. Now she shoots up Dilaudid six times a day, begs family members for money and prostitutes herself. Brittany's mother scrambles to give Brittany enough money for her fix. Desperate and on the verge of bankruptcy, Brittany's family prepares for an intervention. Epilogue: Brittany left treatment after three weeks and moved back to Alabama, where she now lives with her boyfriend. She began a methadone program and is no longer using Dilaudid; her mother plans to begin seeing a counselor for help with PTSD. A recent re-airing of this episode revealed that she broke up with her boyfriend and later spent over a month in jail for drug possession. She has been sober since January 2010. | |||||
81 | 4 | "John C" | self-injury through neglect of personal health | January 5, 2009 | |
As a boy, John was diagnosed with ADHD and was shunned by his classmates for being different. When he developed diabetes, he took good care of himself at first, but later slipped into a depression and began failing to monitor his blood sugar, eating whatever he wanted and not taking proper doses of insulin. His behavior now has his entire family fearing for his life, especially his mother, whose own health is worsening under the stress. Epilogue: After two months in treatment, John was asked to leave for failing to follow the plan laid down for him. He moved back home with his parents, where he began to look after himself properly and gained 35 pounds. He has kept his blood sugar under control since September 2008. | |||||
82 | 5 | "Follow Up: Tressa and Josh" | drug abuse, eating disorder | January 12, 2009 | |
This episode revisits the cases of Tressa, whose drug habit ruined both her family relationships and her chances of qualifying for the 2000 Olympics and of Josh, a morbidly obese compulsive eater whose family worried about both his health and his father's. Update: Tressa attempted to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials, but fell just short of the needed mark. She went home to Nebraska, her first visit since the intervention, to attend her mother's wedding. At the 2008 USA Track and Field Masters Championships, she won four gold medals. At the time of Josh's first visit home to attend his brother's graduation, the first time his family had seen him since the intervention, he had lost 172 pounds. While in treatment, he outed himself to his parents and ex-girlfriend; his brother subsequently outed himself as well. As of May 2009, Josh has lost a total of 253 pounds and is living in Florida, where he works at a treatment center. As of October 2011, Josh lost 260 pounds, but his weight continues to fluctuate though he does work on controlling it. His diabetic father underwent four months' treatment for obesity and anger management and lost 60 pounds, but has since regained most of that weight but has become a better father. | |||||
83 | 6 | "Casie" | drug abuse, bulimia | January 19, 2009 | |
Once a fantastically successful hairstylist, Casie now works in a small-town salon. She abuses numerous drugs, is bulimic and sometimes prostitutes herself. Her parent’s divorce and her mother’s cocaine addiction shattered Casie’s childhood. This left Casie: with very low self-esteem; idolizing the father who abandoned her at age three (while blasting those who haven't with her anger over it); and, desperate for attention – yet convinced that no man will stay with her. Casie's mother now stubbornly enables her out of guilt and loyalty, even as this destroys the mother's second marriage. Casie's boyfriend John tries to keep her functioning, but he's an addict, too. John shows up late to the pre-intervention, claiming it was because Casie got strung out on drugs and was doing her chores, but the group suspects he was using too. Casie ends up agreeing to go to treatment and John reveals that they got engaged the night before the intervention. Epilogue: Casie and John dropped out of treatment after a month. They moved in together. A few months later they broke up. Hank and her mother completed their family treatment program at the Betty Ford Clinic. Casie became sober in March 2009 and got pregnant. She ended up having a healthy baby boy. | |||||
84 | 7 | "Anthony" | drug abuse, alcohol abuse | January 26, 2009 | |
From an early age, Anthony's father made him feel worthless. His parents divorced and his mother remarried, but she was still unhappy and turned to alcohol and drugs. It was little wonder, then, that Anthony began drinking at age 13. Another blow came when Anthony's younger brother died of leukemia. Anthony spiraled downward and now he drinks half a gallon of vodka a day and takes whatever drugs he can find. During the course of the intervention, Anthony goes on a binge so bad that he has to be hospitalized for five days and the doctors say that his liver can't process alcohol anymore and one more binge could kill him. While in the hospital, he decides to drink hand sanitizer as it has alcohol in it. Epilogue: Anthony’s mother continues to drink but her family says she is drinking less and she also started to see a councilor. Anthony spent seven months in treatment, then had a relapse and left; he was recently hospitalized following a drinking binge. His family has continued to hold to their bottom lines however. | |||||
85 | 8 | "Lana" | drug abuse, alcohol abuse | February 2, 2009 | |
Lana grew up in a family of 11 children and her older sister introduced her to drinking at the age of seven. Despite this precarious start, Lana excelled in sports and was active in the church. But at 18, Lana began to enter into dangerous relationships with men and started abusing drugs and alcohol. She was in two near-fatal car accidents. And now, to make things even worse, she is in a relationship plagued by physical violence. Epilogue: Lana completed treatment and lives in a sober living facility in Florida. She broke up with her boyfriend. She plans to work as an esthetician. Lana has been sober since October 9, 2008. | |||||
86 | 9 | "Angelina and Peggy" | drug abuse | February 9, 2009 | |
When Angelina was eight, her family grew apart over an argument about money. Her mother, Peggy, turned to prescription drugs and cocaine to deal with the stress. After graduating from high school, Angelina became her younger brother's legal guardian, but she was overwhelmed by the job of taking care of her brother and addict mother. Angelina became addicted to OxyContin and spent her trust fund of $350,000 on the drug. Then Angelina turned to cheaper drugs and heroin to support her habit. Epilogue: In treatment, Peggy admitted she was using drugs prior to the intervention. Angelina and Peggy both completed treatment and now live in two separate sober living facilities. They speak to each other once a week. Angelina is applying to college in California to study psychology. They both have been sober since September 29, 2008 | |||||
87 | 10 | "Chris" | alcoholism | February 16, 2009 | |
Born into a family with traditional Catholic values, Chris struggled with his sexuality until coming out at 18. Now, at 34, Chris feels that being gay has cheated him out of the things he wants most – marriage, children and inclusion in his family. He drinks first thing in the morning to ward off tremors, he's abusive to his partner and he can't keep a job. His father believes Chris should be able to stop drinking by sheer force of will, but his mother believes that genetics is to blame for his alcoholism. Chris' family and partner convince him to go to treatment ultimately. Epilogue: Three months after the intervention Chris' partner Shawn visits him at treatment and he noticeably looks better. Chris feels much better off alcohol and accepts that his problems with his family are the fault of his drinking. Shawn goes through counseling himself for Chris' drinking. After leaving treatment, Chris moves back in with Shawn but relapses two months later. Chris checked himself back into treatment and vowed to stay sober for at least six months once he gets out. Unfortunately, Chris relapsed again and eventually took his own life on August 28, 2009, becoming the third addict profiled on the show to die of complications caused by their addiction. | |||||
88 | 11 | "Intervention In-Depth: Compulsive Gambling" | gambling | February 23, 2009 | |
89 | 12 | "Nik / Tiffany" | heroin, alcoholism | March 2, 2009 | |
Nik, 35, was a successful college graduate and businessman who was adored by his entire family. He used to direct a profitable chain of casinos. But after suffering a back injury, Nik became addicted to the painkiller OxyContin and as his addiction progressed, he moved onto heroin. Now he is homeless, jobless and has lost custody of his son. His family hopes an intervention can help Nik. Tiffany is a beautiful young woman who was once an excellent student and talented athlete. However, as a child, she was plagued by the pain of her parents' chaotic and violent marriage. Tiffany got married at a young age to escape her home life. However, her husband became controlling and abusive and Tiffany was forced to leave. Now Tiffany abuses alcohol to numb the pain of her troubled childhood and failed relationships. She frequently injures herself while drunk and has attempted suicide. Tiffany objects to the fact that her parents want her to stop drinking, but yet remain in denial of their own substance abuse problems. | |||||
90 | 13 | "Sandy" | alcohol abuse, drug abuse | March 16, 2009 | |
By her late 20's, Sandy had achieved the American Dream. She was married with four beautiful daughters and owned a home she and her husband built themselves. But today, Sandy's life is unrecognizable from what it once was. Her days consist of combining prescription drugs with a pint of vodka and relying on her daughters to monitor both her diabetes and drinking. Her speech is slurred and she's been hospitalized several times. Her family has only one option left – an intervention. Epilogue: While in treatment, Sandy received news that her husband, a recovering alcoholic, was going to divorce her. She relapsed by buying and drinking a bottle of mouthwash; ten days later, she was kicked out of the program for doing so again and for abusing her prescription medications. Her husband has remained sober since the divorce; she lived in a homeless shelter and resumed drinking for some time, but later moved back home. She became sober in February 2009. According to an October 2011 update, Sandy was sober and present at each of her daughters' weddings; Subsequently, Sandy died in June 2011. | |||||
91 | 14 | "Sharon" | compulsive shopping, body dysmorphic disorder, self-injury | March 23, 2009 | |
Sharon is a compulsive shopper who has undergone numerous plastic surgeries to feel better about her appearance. She also feels she must hit herself. She has bruises on her thighs and stomach and repeatedly hits her head with a hairbrush. |
Season 7: 2009
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
92 | 1 | "Gabe V." | drug abuse | May 25, 2009 | |
When he was three, Gabe's mother abandoned him on the streets of Calcutta, but he was adopted by a young American couple. Gabe seemed happy in America, but he secretly felt like an outsider. In high school he started to rebel and resent his conservative Christian upbringing. He began using marijuana and cocaine and later graduated to heroin. Then he squandered all of the $37,500 he received after a car accident to support his drug habit. Now the family fears that without an intervention, Gabe's addiction and depression will soon lead to his death. Epilogue: Gabe relapsed twice, but completed five months of treatment. He has made amends with his father and has been sober since March 30, 2009. | |||||
93 | 2 | "Jeff" | alcoholism | June 1, 2009 | |
Forty-year-old Jeff was once known as a heroic firefighter after he saved his partner's life. But Jeff was traumatized by the harrowing event and his drinking increased drastically. Jeff has received two DUI's and been rushed to the hospital numerous times for seizures. Jeff's alcoholism has also forced his son and wife to move out. Now his family's last hope is that an intervention will stop Jeff from drinking himself to death. Epilogue: After treatment, Jeff and Lorena moved in together and had another child. Jeff is once again a firefighter and has been sober since September 2009. | |||||
94 | 3 | "Sonia and Julia" | eating disorder | June 8, 2009 | |
Identical twins Sonia and Julia, 22, shared everything as children and grew up in a loving home. Their parents emigrated from Poland and worked multiple jobs to send their children to the best schools. But now the family's American Dream is turning into a nightmare as Sonia and Julia are withering away from anorexia. The sisters' competitive spirit has turned to bitter rivalry and jealousy. And they're so stricken with fear that the other will burn more calories that they never let each other out of their sight. Now their desperate parents seek help. | |||||
95 | 4 | "Donald" | drug abuse | June 15, 2009 | |
When he was five, Donald's parents divorced. He longed for a strong father figure, but his father had very little contact with him. Donald became a gifted boxer, but ultimately chose drugs over his career. He joined a violent gang and turned to stealing to support his crack habit. Donald's girlfriend just had a baby and Donald has a second chance to be a good father, but his crack use is spiraling out of control. Epilogue: Donald completed treatment, but relapsed on crack and alcohol soon afterward. He and his girlfriend broke up, and he returned to treatment. | |||||
96 | 5 | "Jason B." | drug abuse | June 22, 2009 | |
Jason grew up in a seemingly perfect upper-middle class family in Littleton, Colorado, but he struggled to gain his father's approval. When Jason failed to make the baseball team his freshman year, Jason and his father were devastated. Jason began rollerblading and excelled, but he quit because his father disapproved of the sport. Jason turned to drugs and by his senior year he was an addict. A year later, the Columbine High School shooters named Jason one of the bullies they retaliated against. Overcome with guilt and grief for his dead classmates (he felt that it was his fault that the massacre happened), Jason's addiction escalated. Now Jason lives on the streets of Denver and his family is in pieces. | |||||
97 | 6 | "Nikki" | drug abuse | July 6, 2009 | |
When she was young, Nikki's mother and grandmother worked hard to give her a good life. Nikki excelled in school, but she was devastated when her grandmother died. She began hanging out with a rebellious crowd, skipping school and using crack. Nikki eventually had two daughters, but has remained addicted to drugs. Her daughters desperately want to have a relationship with Nikki and know that an intervention is their only hope of saving their mother's life. Epilogue: Nikki left treatment after only 23 days. Her boyfriend and one-time drug dealer, Joe, paid for her flight home. As of June 2010, Nikki had not used methadone since July 2009. | |||||
98 | 7 | "Bret" | alcoholism | July 13, 2009 | |
Forty-two year old Bret grew up as a "golden boy", playing sports. He married his high school sweetheart, Amaya and they had two children, Kelsey and Kyle. Bret was a real estate agent. He and Amaya divorced after he began drinking heavily. He had an intervention before; this time, he strongly resisted and angrily left and walked back to his house. His family broke into his condo to take his shotgun after worrying he may use it on himself. He agreed to treatment after his family threatened to make him take a psychiatric evaluation. Bret went to the Hope by the Sea treatment center in California. Eighty days into treatment, Bret was diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer. He died three weeks later on June 19, 2009. He was sober for 104 days. Note: Bret became the second person to die after being on this show. | |||||
99 | 8 | "Aaron / Andrea" | methamphetamine abuse, alcoholism | July 20, 2009 | |
As a boy, Aaron Brink was subjected to his parents' divorce and custody battle. He lived with his father while his 2 brothers lived with their mother. Aaron began rebelling in his teens, experimenting with alcohol and other drugs and spending time in juvenile prison. In his 20s he began a successful career as a mixed martial arts fighter and also worked as a porn star. He was introduced to crystal meth through the porn industry and addiction quickly took over his life. His wife and family are at their wit's end and hope Aaron will accept treatment to save his life. Andrea, a 29 year old mother of two from Milwaukee, grew up in a household strained by divorce and her father's alcoholism. Andrea married at 19 and had 2 children and seemed well on her way to happiness and stability, but turned to drink after her father died of the disease and is quickly following in her father's footsteps to an early grave. Andrea's mother, estranged husband and 2 children hope Andrea will accept treatment and return to being the wife and mother she was before she started drinking. | |||||
100 | 9 | "Danielle" | oxycodone abuse | July 27, 2009 | |
Danielle lives in Vancouver, BC, with her two children and husband Rod. As a child, she and her two sisters struggled with her father's drinking and subsequent neglect by him. Now an adult, she is addicted to Percocet, taking up to 40 pills in 1 day. She gets the pills from her mother's prescription and stole one of her sister's identities in order to get more. Epilogue: Three weeks after returning from treatment, Danielle left her husband and two kids and moved to Calgary. The couple subsequently divorced. | |||||
101 | 10 | "Chad and Brooke (follow-up)" | crack cocaine abuse, prescription medication abuse | August 3, 2009 | |
The episode features Chad Gerlach, clean nearly a year, in training for his first competitive cycling race (in Italy) since undergoing treatment. He has signed on with a cycling team consisting of and sponsored by recovering addicts. His relationship with his girlfriend, pregnant with their first child, is also featured. Sobriety and impending fatherhood have caused Chad to mature significantly as a person. Chad performs poorly in the race, but has recovered and matured enough to realize it's just an early step in his road to recovery. The other half of the episode features Brooke, still struggling with abuse of prescription medications. She returned from treatment to her hometown and family and appeared to be well on the road to recovery before suffering a relapse. Eventually she is put on a different regimen of medications for her rheumatoid arthritis and undergoes knee replacement surgery, which greatly improves her mobility and obviates the need for addictive prescription medications. | |||||
102 | 11 | "Joey" | heroin abuse | August 10, 2009 | |
As a boy, Joey was subjected to his parents' divorce and subsequent remarriages. Both parents were focused primarily on their new marriages and starting new families and often neglected Joey's emotional needs. Joey entered his teens feeling rejected and abandoned by his parents, and began experimenting with marijuana and other drugs. At 19, he broke into his mother's house and stole her credit cards to finance his burgeoning heroin habit. His mother pressed charges and Joey spent a year in prison. Upon his release he entered treatment, began a successful career as a tattoo artist, met his girlfriend (also in recovery) and fathered a little girl (Lyla). Fatherhood proved to be too much pressure on Joey, however, and he relapsed. Now, Joey is seriously addicted to heroin, spends over $200 per day on the drug, and is in danger of losing his family, his home and his life to his addiction. Joey's family hopes an intervention can help him accept treatment, repair his relationships with his family and become a better father to his young daughter. Note: Joey completed 3 months of treatment, returned to Pittsburgh, and returned to work as a tattoo artist. After six months sober, Joey relapsed and returned to treatment. He has been sober since 25 April 2010. | |||||
103 | 12 | "Sebastian and Marcel" | heroin abuse | August 17, 2009 | |
Sebastian, 22 and Marcel, 20, brothers and the sons of Chilean immigrants, grew up overindulged, inadequately supervised and spoiled rotten in Palm Springs, California. As a result of the irresponsible and negligent parenting they received, Sebastian started experimenting with alcohol, drugs and sex before he even reached puberty. Once Marcel started to witness his older brother's self-indulgent behavior he quickly followed in his footsteps. By age 17 Sebastian had become addicted to cocaine and crystal meth and was sent to treatment in Chile for 6 months. Marcel remained at home and continued to use. Upon his return from Chile, Sebastian got caught up in Marcel's lifestyle, quickly relapsed and eventually started to use heroin. Both brothers still live with their parents, smoke up to $600 worth of black tar heroin a day and are involved in trafficking to finance their addiction. Sebastian and Marcel's parents are held hostage by their sons' addiction and criminal behavior, are in severe denial, think their sons are perfect and can do no wrong and think themselves powerless to stop their sons' self-destructive behavior. Note: The family home was burglarized by an intruder looking for drugs while the intervention was taking place. Sebastian and Marcel's parents and older brother completed family co-dependency treatment at the Betty Ford Center. Sebastian and Marcel both left treatment early and relapsed. Sebastian re-entered and completed treatment and has been sober since August 2, 2009. Marcel, however, never returned to treatment. He no longer uses heroin but continues to abuse Xanax. | |||||
104 | 13 | "Gloria" | alcoholism | August 24, 2009 | |
Gloria, 53, is an attractive African-American caterer living outside San Francisco who has been an alcoholic for 30 years. She drinks because, in her words, "African Americans don't have it very good in this country and that's just what we do." She has survived giving birth to a stillborn baby, domestic violence and breast cancer and sees herself as a passive victim in life instead of an active participant. She puts on a front of being a "functional" alcoholic, but 30 years of alcoholism has left her anything but. Her drinking has left her in debt and has prevented her from having any sort of meaningful relationship with her two adult daughters whom she basically abandoned when they were very young. Gloria's daughters hope that an intervention will give them the sober, loving mom they never had. Note: Gloria completed treatment, sees her daughters regularly, has gone back to work and school and has been sober since April 23, 2009. | |||||
105 | 14 | "Marci" | methamphetamine addiction | August 31, 2009 | |
Marci, 36, grew up in Chico, California in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic father and a mother in denial who tried to cover up the family's secrets in order to impress outsiders. Marci began drinking and experimenting with drugs in her late teens and early 20s. She stopped using after her 2 children were born, but being trapped in an unhappy marriage with 2 young children proved too much stress and drove her back to the bottle. After her divorce, in which her ex-husband was awarded custody of the children, Marci began using methamphetamine. Three years later, Marci smokes, snorts, or injects meth multiple times a day ad is showing signs of drug-induced psychosis. She has no job and no home of her own. She has minimal contact with her children, and a heavily strained relationship with her family, including her mother and her brother (who is seriously ill with a heart condition). Marci's family hope an intervention will help Marci give up drugs, re-establish ties with her children. and restore her relationship with her family. Epilogue: While in treatment, Marci was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and sent to a psychiatric hospital, where she was prescribed medication to stabilize her condition. She then returned to treatment, but was subsequently expelled for refusing to take her medication. She soon relapsed on crystal meth and returned to California to live with her mother, who bought her an SUV. Marci totaled it two months later and, as of April 2011, has resumed her drug habit. | |||||
106 | 15 | "Intervention in Depth: Addiction in Uniform" | alcoholism; cocaine abuse | September 14, 2009 | |
Looking at veterans of Iraq and their struggles with addition caused by combat stress. Leia is an alcoholic, Paul turned to cocaine and alcohol, and Matt also drank to alleviate some of the anxiety and painful images that remained when they came home. | |||||
107 | 16 | "Follow-up: Gabe V. and Allison Follow-Up" | heroin abuse | September 21, 2009 | |
108 | 17 | "One Man Rehab" | TBA | September 28, 2009 | |
The nation's leading "sober companions" go the distance to help high risk addicts who are struggling with relapse transition into sober living environments. Donna helps Tara stay off meth so she can see her daughter again. Mike helps a teen client who has been living in a gang house stay away from drugs and stop his progression into even harder drug use. |
Season 8: 2009–2010
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
109 | 1 | "Linda" | Fentanyl abuse | November 23, 2009 | |
After graduating from college, Linda found success working as an extra in Hollywood, achieving the glamorous life she always wanted. But her dreams died when she allegedly developed Ehlers–Danlos syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by joint dislocations. Linda started taking Fentanyl, a painkiller 100 times stronger than morphine. As her painkiller use escalated, she claimed that different sources were causing her pain, including electricity, energy, colors, and even specific people. Despite Linda's wild claims, her mother clings to the belief that Linda's pain is real and she must do everything to help her, including depleting the family's savings and sending her son to be Linda's caretaker. Linda's entire family is now held hostage by her manipulative, narcissistic and addictive behaviour. During the intervention she claims one of her brothers causes her pain and makes him leave, but ultimately runs from the room and building screaming until her family corners her in the parking lot where she finally calms down. Linda doesn't take her father's letter cutting her off if she refuses help seriously as she knows her mother will still support her, claiming to have dislocated her hips and that if she goes into a facility all her "progress" will be undone. As her mother still supports her despite Linda's blatant lies (she freely walks around during the intervention and ran away) the mother is removed from the scene. Unable to manipulate her mother further, Linda finally agrees to treatment and her mother apologizes to her son for forcing him to deal with her like that for eight years. Epilogue: Linda's mother completed two weeks of co-dependency treatment while the son who cared for Linda, Sam, moved back in with his parents in Connecticut. Two months into her treatment, Linda was diagnosed with a delusional disorder and moved into a residential care home. Linda hasn't used Fentanyl since the intervention. | |||||
110 | 2 | "Greg" | morphine | December 7, 2009 | |
Greg once owned a thriving business and was a devoted husband and father. But after a back injury left him disabled, he lost his business, started gambling, and became dependent on pain medication. He also became obsessed with Internet sweepstakes, and other 419 scams. As a result of these cons, and his habitual sending of funds overseas, he has bankrupted his family in a relentless pursuit of big winnings. Having lost everything, Greg's family just want their proud father back. The family believes he may be bipolar too. During the intervention, Greg is shocked, but admits he has a problem and even supports his family in reading their letters. He immediately agrees and heads off to the recovery center. During the drive to the airport, Greg tells Jeff that he's looking forward to this chance to get his life back and had started to think he was better off in prison. At the rehab center, Greg is eager to start his treatment and the doctors believe that his pain was under-managed since his injury and if it had been better managed before, he wouldn't have had so much pain so part of their goals is to help him manage his pain better so its tolerable to him. Epilogue: Three months after the intervention, Greg is doing noticeably better, playing basketball, moving around a lot better and saying he's no longer in so much pain. It was revealed that during his treatment Greg admitted to doing methamphetamine and cocaine and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Greg also had surgery to remove benign polyps from his throat. After his treatment was over, Greg returned home to his wife and has not used methamphetamine or cocaine since before his intervention and is managing his bipolar disorder. As of the June 22, 2010 re-airing, Greg has not abused pain medicine since July 25, 2009. | |||||
111 | 3 | "Jennifer" | alcohol | December 14, 2009 | |
Once an effervescent, beautiful young woman, Jennifer was considered a genius by her teachers and was the pride and joy of her parents. But at age 17, Jennifer was involved in a car accident that caused a brain injury and kidney damage. Jennifer survived, but only three days after she left the hospital another family car accident ended in a fatality. Jennifer turned to drugs and alcohol to cope and now spends her days searching for parties or drinking companions. Her parents know that only an intervention can save her. | |||||
112 | 4 | "Rob" | alcohol, methamphetamine abuse | December 21, 2009 | |
Once a gifted singer/songwriter, Rob was part of a successful band. He loved the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, but he began a long descent into addiction when he turned to drugs and alcohol to fuel his creativity. When his band fell apart—a casualty of his drug use—he was devastated. He lost his siblings' respect and custody of his daughter. Now he spends his days in a haze of meth smoke and alcohol in his filthy apartment. But his mother still sees him as her sweet little boy. | |||||
113 | 5 | "Amy W." | alcohol, anorexia, self-harm | December 28, 2009 | |
Amy grew up feeling unloved and unable to meet her parents' high expectations. She was also molested by a neighbor when she was eight, but never told anyone in her family. She began to self-mutilate and restrict her diet, and by 17, she was diagnosed with anorexia and bipolar disorder. Now, Amy eats only 500 calories a day, drinks up to two bottles of vodka a night, and regularly self-harms by burning herself with cigarettes and cutting. She has become a victim of date rape, has stolen money from her parents, and has attempted suicide multiple times. She currently has a roommate who is also alcoholic, and the two feed into each other's addictions. Family members are worried about Amy's young daughter and are ready to give up on Amy, but they still don't know about her childhood sexual abuse. Only Amy's friend, Jessica, knows the truth. At the intervention, before Amy arrives, Jessica informs Amy's family members about the molestation. They claim to have had no idea about it, and they decide that at this point, they will not mention it to Amy but will proceed with the intervention as planned. Although she resists the intervention at first, Amy ultimately agrees to go to treatment. As of this episode's airdate, she had completed two months of treatment, continued to attend twelve-step meetings and had been sober since July 14, 2009. | |||||
114 | 6 | "Sarah" | oxycodone | January 4, 2010 | |
Raped when she was 14 and feeling abandoned by her family, Sarah turned to drugs, even becoming a stripper to support her drug habit. She's prohibited by the courts from seeing her three-year-old son, and now lives with a man who is more than twice her age and manages a massage parlor. Epilogue: While in rehab, Sarah called off her engagement to the massage parlor owner she was living with, and as of early May 2010, she has been sober since September 9, 2009. | |||||
115 | 7 | "Jackie" | alcohol | January 11, 2010 | |
Once known as "the prettiest girl in town", Jackie had a promising career as a radiation therapist. She became a wealthy doctor's wife, a country club member, and a proud mother. But Jackie was haunted by childhood traumas. She was devastated when her father died when she was 13. And as an overweight adolescent, she was teased with the nickname "Fat Jack" and felt she was never as good as her pretty sister. After Jackie's second pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, she turned to alcohol. She's had three failed stints in rehab, an ugly divorce, and lost custody of her daughter to her sister. Today, Jackie drinks two bottles of wine a day and regularly suffers broken bones and bruises in her drunken state. | |||||
116 | 8 | "Vinnie" | crack cocaine | January 18, 2010 | |
Vinnie, 28, a talented mechanic and once a promising BMX competitor, has been addicted to crack cocaine since the age of 19, smoking it up to 8 times a day. He suffered through childhood constantly seeking approval from his abusive father and never receiving it. At 14 his parents divorced and he was sent to live with his abusive father. By 19 he was a high-school dropout abusing alcohol and crack. Now at 28 Vinnie is living at his mother's house after a four-month stint of homelessness. He hasn't been able to hold down a job for more than 4 months and has turned to auto theft and borrowing money from his mother to finance his addiction. He's managed to alienate himself from his parents, brother, sister and 3 girlfriends, and now has only his dog for companionship. Epilogue: Vinnie left after 29 days; his mom flew him home. His mother attended the Betty Ford Center for Families. Vinnie has relapsed several times, but claims to be sober since March 12, 2010. | |||||
117 | 9 | "Robby" | alcoholism | January 25, 2010 | |
Robby, a 30 year-old music prodigy from New Jersey, was once a successful hip hop and R&B musician, who wrote, produced for and performed with such famous acts as Will Smith and Jay-Z. Robby was a member of the Grammy-nominated R & B group City High. Robby's success, however, allowed him to get caught up in the rock n' roll lifestyle and he began drinking heavily and using drugs to mask the pain of his parents' divorce and humiliation of his career downfall. Robby managed to drink his entire fortune away and is now living with his mother, virtually bankrupt, drinking up to a fifth of vodka and a case of malt liquor per day, and estranged from his girlfriend and their daughter, Lyric. Robby's loved ones hope an intervention can give them back the talented, loving Robby they used to know and get his career and his life back on track. Epilogue: After completing three months of treatment, Robby moved into an apartment with his girlfriend and their daughter. Robby and his girlfriend married shortly after. Following a brief relapse, Robby has been sober since July 4, 2010. | |||||
118 | Sp–10 | "Intervention in Depth: Huffing" | inhalant abuse | February 1, 2010 | |
The dangers of inhalant abuse, including computer dusters, solvents and gasoline, are exposed. | |||||
119 | 11 | "Marquel" | alcohol, compulsive exercising | February 8, 2010 | |
Marquel, a 30-year-old Cuban-American fitness instructor from Miami, suffers from alcoholism and compulsive exercising and is in complete denial of her addictions. She lost her mother to breast cancer at 15 and to mask the pain and grief, exercises over 7 hours a day and spends her nights drinking heavily and partying in South Beach clubs, often leaving her two small children home alone. She left her ex-husband and a stable domestic life for the thrills of exercise, drinking and clubbing. Marquel's family is exasperated by her self-indulgent and self-destructive behavior and hoped an intervention would convince her to commit to putting her children and family first and enter treatment. Marquel, however, steadfastly denied she has any problems and, after a heated confrontation with her father and sisters, to date has refused to seek help. Note: Marquel continues to drink, party and exercise compulsively, her children live full time with her ex-husband and her father and sisters refuse to speak with her. A January 2012 re-airing revealed that she was arrested for DUI and spent two months in jail. She got clean in jail, and has been sober since May 17, 2010. | |||||
120 | 12 | "Kristine" | alcoholism | February 15, 2010 | |
Although she has a blood clot in her brain that makes drinking dangerous, Kristine is an alcoholic. But she doesn't believe her condition is a reason to quit because she recently learned that she may have leukemia. Now she figures she may as well keep drinking because the leukemia might kill her anyway. Epilogue: Kristine's leukemia-like symptoms were found to be the result of her excessive drinking, not leukemia. After completing 90 days of treatment, Kristine returned home to her family. She has been sober since November 4, 2009. | |||||
121 | 13 | "Shane" | alcoholism, Oxycontin, prescription drugs | February 22, 2010 | |
A talented cellist and an aspiring music producer, Shane's musical aspirations are now out of reach because he abuses prescription drugs and deals drugs out of his grandmother's house. After injuring his neck in a car accident, he began abusing OxyContin and other pain medications. His father was a drug addict, too, who died from an overdose. Now Shane is following in his father's deadly footsteps. Epilogue: Shane completed treatment and moved into a sober-living facility in Florida. He returned to Arizona and cared for his ailing grandmother before her death. He has been sober since November 2, 2009 | |||||
122 | 14 | "Rocky" | crack cocaine | April 5, 2010 | |
Rocky Lockridge, once a world champion lightweight boxer, is now a homeless crack addict living on the streets of Camden, New Jersey. He began abusing cocaine whilst the champion, but switched to crack after his boxing career ended. His addiction has alienated him from his twin sons and his brother, and his only support left is from his best friend Joey, an aspiring boxer who provides him with food and money to finance his addiction. When short of cash, Rocky panhandles to finance his $75/day habit. In spite of Rocky's long-term crack addiction, it's clear that he still has a heart and a soul and wants to get well and reconnect with his family. Can an intervention save him before he loses his life to this disease? This episode is famous online for giving birth to the internet meme "best cry ever." | |||||
123 | 15 | "Ashley" | heroin abuse | April 12, 2010 | |
Ashley was raised by a mother addicted to gambling and methamphetamines until her aunt and uncle became her legal guardians, but when her beloved grandfather died, she started using heroin and her family fears she will overdose and die. Her aunt spends a lot of time chasing her down and trying to stop her but fails in keeping her stopped. The intervention succeeds and Ashley becomes sober and claims to not miss heroin. Her mother, an admitted gambling addict once addicted to crystal meth as well, also considers going to treatment but ultimately rejects a 90-day treatment offer. Epilogue: After 5 months in rehab, Ashley left treatment against the wishes of her counselors. She moved back to Las Vegas where she soon relapsed on heroin. Her aunt and uncle refused to let her move back in, so she moved in with her mother and says she is still using heroin. | |||||
124 | 16 | "Amy P." | anorexia, bulimia | April 19, 2010 | |
Amy was an anxious child who was never comfortable in her own skin. She became anorexic in high school and dropped out of college after one semester. She began binging and purging shortly after. She went to an inpatient treatment center and was in recovery for a year, but then relapsed and has been on a downward spiral ever since. Her bulimia has caused major health problems and friction between her and her family members. Amy has stolen from her family and been caught shoplifting food multiple times. Her parents have moved to a new house to accommodate Amy's disorder, allowing her to live in the basement but locking her out of the main house to prevent her from stealing their groceries. Amy consumes an average of 24,000 calories a day and is obsessed with exercise and burning calories. Her family hopes that an intervention will save her from slowly killing herself. Amy accepted the offer of treatment and completed three months at Remuda Ranch, where she did not always cooperate in her recovery but ultimately gained weight. After being transferred to an extended care facility, she was discharged after twelve days for noncompliance. In keeping with the rules they set out at the intervention, her parents did not allow her to continue living with them, so she went to stay with a friend and was still binging and purging as of this episode's airing. | |||||
125 | 17 | "Tyler" | crack cocaine, methamphetamine abuse, heroin, prescription drug abuse | May 3, 2010 | |
Tyler is a mechanic addicted to crack, crystal methamphetamine, alcohol, Xanax, Soma, heroin, and Dilaudid. In three months, he has lost his brother and sister to drug overdoses. To keep him from having the same fate, Tyler's family has set up an intervention as their last hope. Epilogue: Tyler left treatment after 8 days. He still continues to drink and use drugs.[5] His father, despite attending codependency treatment, allowed Tyler back into his home, but kicked him out 15 months later after catching him stealing. As of August 2012, Tyler is in jail for violating his parole. | |||||
126 | 18 | "Richard" | crack cocaine | May 10, 2010 | |
Richard is a diabetic whose crack-cocaine abuse puts him at high risk for death. Once a loving father and husband, he now spends his days using drugs to numb the pain and trauma he suffers from as the result of a childhood rape. His family fears that an intervention may be his last hope. |
Season 9: 2010
# | # | Subjects | Addiction Topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
127 | 1 | "Donna and Josh" | alcoholism | June 28, 2010 | |
Every day, Donna, 47, and her son, Josh, 20, cause a storm of drinking, fighting, and chaos in the overcrowded home they share with Donna's sister, mother, and a stable-full of dogs and cats. Raised by alcoholic parents, Donna was exposed to violence and abuse at an early age, and later drank so heavily that she lost custody of her two children. Josh, now an adult, has moved back in with Donna, and they have become drinking buddies. Both mother and son need help desperately to save themselves and to stop the cycle of alcoholism from being passed down to another generation of their family. | |||||
128 | 2 | "Adam" | alcoholism, post-traumatic stress disorder | July 5, 2010 | |
Adam was once one of top skiers in the United States. As a Marine, he served in 15 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan, on terrorist-related missions. But when he came back home from overseas, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and started drinking. His alcohol abuse is ruining his body. | |||||
129 | 3 | "Miriam" | phencyclidine (PCP) | July 12, 2010 | |
A charismatic reverend at a wedding chapel, Miriam, 38, is adored by her clients, but suffers inner torment. Sexually abused as a child by someone she trusted, Miriam turned to drugs at a young age, and now she has been addicted to PCP for the past 25 years. Because of her drug abuse, she has spent over a year in jail and sometimes prostitutes herself for drug money. She once managed two years of sobriety, but ultimately she relapsed. Her family has practically given up on her, and she risks losing her relationship with her daughter, who was taken away from her years ago and adopted by Miriam's brother. Epilogue: Miriam agreed to enter treatment, and after completing three months in an inpatient facility, she moved into a sober living facility in Florida. As of the show's airing, she was speaking with her daughter regularly and had been sober since March 12, 2010. | |||||
130 | 4 | "Andrew" | Oxycodone | July 19, 2010 | |
Once bright, likable, and athletic, Andrew has become a gaunt, menacing OxyContin addict. As a child, Andrew learned to manipulate his father, Dan, who now admits, "I can't stand up to Andrew. He'll threaten to commit crimes and trash our motel room. I'd rather give him money for a pill than have him out robbing innocent people." Andrew, his father, and two brothers have been evicted seven times due to property damage and financial hardship, and they can go days without food. Can an intervention help Andrew--and make his father realize that if he doesn't get tough with Andrew, the whole family will be destroyed? Epilogue: Andrew completed three months of treatment and moved to Vancouver. Three months after that, he briefly relapsed on heroin. Andrew joined his father and brothers in Alberta. He has been sober November 7, 2010. | |||||
131 | 5 | "Amber" | alcohol abuse, bulimia nervosa | July 26, 2010 | |
When Amber was molested as a young child, she bottled up her emotions. She began binge eating, and became bulimic because she wanted to be popular and beautiful like her older sister. After high school, Amber had a baby and married, and managed to look like she was living an idyllic family life. But she was actually depressed, drinking heavily, and purging regularly. Her family hopes an intervention can help her confront her problems. | |||||
132 | 6 | "Lorna" | crack cocaine | August 2, 2010 | |
Once a Hollywood success story, Lorna is now a crack addict. She danced on Soul Train and for the "Ike and Tina Turner Revue" in Las Vegas, then landed a big job at A&M records. But the music industry party scene led to drug addiction, and she even abandoned her three children. Lorna needs to get clean and make amends with her kids before it's too late. | |||||
133 | 7 | "Joe" | self-asphyxiation, heroin | August 9, 2010 | |
Though he grew up in a close-knit family, Joe has felt lonely and isolated all his life. As a child, he was excluded by his peers and didn't get the affection and acceptance he needed from his father. At age eight, Joe learned "the choking game," in which a person uses his hands to cut off the oxygen supply to his brain to get high. Joe loved the sensation, and secretly choked himself regularly throughout childhood as a way of dealing with his pain. In high school, Joe discovered drugs and alcohol; he began using heroin at 18 and has been addicted for the past six years. Now, living in a motel, he often steals to support his addiction, and he has been arrested and jailed several times for drug possession and theft. He has gone through treatment programs before but has always relapsed soon afterward. Epilogue: Joe agreed to enter a treatment center, and he was still there as of the episode's airing. He reports that his relationship with his father has improved, he is no longer in contact with his addict friends, and he has not used heroin or self-asphyxiated since February 8, 2010. A later re-airing revealed that Joe relapsed on heroin two months after completing treatment and then returned to treatment. While there, he missed a court date, and subsequently spent six months in prison. He has been sober since April 2011. | |||||
134 | 8 | "John / Dionicio" | alcoholism, heroin | August 16, 2010 | |
John is a flight attendant who loves his job, but his lifestyle is fueling his alcoholism. When he was a boy, John's parents focused their attention on his "profoundly retarded" brother. His mother blamed herself for the disability and turned her anger towards John. Now John's alcoholism leaves him prone to blackouts and frequent serious injuries, but he denies that anything is wrong. Growing up with an abusive mother, Dionicio turned to crime and drugs as a teen. He became a father, but couldn't handle the pressure of providing for a family. Now he spends his time panhandling and shooting heroin. Epilogue: John left treatment early and returned to his alcoholic lifestyle. His family and friends have held the bottom lines they outlined in the intervention. Dionicio completed treatment and returned to his family, but relapsed on heroin a few months later. He continues to spend much of his time panhandling and using heroin. | |||||
135 | 9 | "Ryan / Jason" | alcoholism, heroin | August 23, 2010 | |
When Jason's mother and stepfather had twins, Jason felt abandoned. He dropped out of school and turned to drugs. Now he lives with his grandmother in a retirement community and takes up to 30 mg of Xanax and shoots heroin up to five times a day. After an overdose, Jason had multiple hospitalizations and four grand mal seizures. Worn out from the drama, his family is frustrated with their inability to get Jason to stop using drugs and into treatment. A chef for 15 years, Ryan dreams of running a kitchen in a four-star restaurant. But alcoholism stands in his way. Ryan always felt like the black sheep of the family compared to his successful, police officer brother. His mother supplies him with alcohol so that he doesn't go into withdrawal. But now the family feels that "it's not if we lose him, but when." Epilogue: A December 2010 re-airing revealed that six weeks after completing treatment, Jason relapsed and moved back to Florida. He is living on the streets and continues to use heroin. Ryan completed 90 days of treatment, moved home and briefly relapsed. He has been sober since February 20, 2010. |
Season 10: 2010–2011
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
136 | 1 | "Rachel" | cocaine, methamphetamine abuse, heroin | December 13, 2010 | |
Rachel started experimenting with cocaine and meth at 14 and using heroin at 16. She survived on the streets with the help of her boyfriend until he was sent to jail. Can an intervention save her from herself? Update: Rachel's ex-boyfriend, Joseph "Joie" Minozzi was found dead in San Francisco on January 12th, 2012, of stab wounds to the torso. Joie had been sober and employed as a window-washer. A tribute to him on Rachel's Facebook page read, "i love you babyboy. always and forever. NO MATTER WHAT." | |||||
137 | 2 | "Darick" | methamphetamine, OxyContin | December 20, 2010 | |
Once a football player with a bright future, Darick dropped out of college to get married when his girlfriend got pregnant. When his marriage ended, Darick learned his daughter was not his biological child. Devastated, Darick turned to drugs. Having already lost one family member to addiction, Darick's close-knit family is enabling his habit. | |||||
138 | 3 | "Michelle / Austin" | alcohol abuse, heroin | December 27, 2010 | |
Michelle, a lesbian, has a troubled history of being abandoned by her father and molested by a stranger. She was also ridiculed in middle school. After a relationship ended badly, Michelle turned to heroin and desperately needs an intervention. After seeing the group gathered, Michelle walked out in shock but came back when someone went and got her. Michelle agrees to go to treatment when asked and shows hope for the future. When Austin's stepfather died from alcoholism, he turned to alcohol himself to numb the pain. But Austin's girlfriend is now pregnant and the partying and binging he is engaging in needs to stop. Austin needs an intervention to become a sober dad and break his family's cycle of alcoholism. Austin initially walks right out of the intervention after seeing the people gathered as he realized what it was, but the interventionist goes after Austin and convinces him to hear them out. After an emotional plea from his little sister that drives both to tears, Austin agrees to go. Epilogue: Three months later Michelle lives in sober living and is better dealing with his transgender issues, changed his name to Felix and is transitioning. As Felix, he is much happier, a change that his family accepts and supports, saying that Felix is now much more comfortable with himself. Felix has been sober since July 27, 2010. Austin was kicked out of treatment for noncompliance after two months while his family completed dependency treatment. Austin gave up his addiction on his own and had been sober since December 7, 2010, with plans to go to college, but in late 2011, Austin died of what was believed to be a heroin overdose.[6] | |||||
139 | 4 | "Erin" | methamphetamine | January 3, 2011 | |
Erin relies on her looks to score drugs, including meth. She abandoned her child and the child's father and continues to engage in a drug-induced party lifestyle. Now her daughter has been sent away and the rest of the family wants to get Erin help now. | |||||
140 | 5 | "Jimmy" | methadone | January 10, 2011 | |
Jimmy was raised by an alcoholic father but is now a heroin addict. At 13, he was in a gang which abused drugs. Jimmy also has a son and has tried getting sober in the past, but the pressure from his family in this instance lead to dependence on methadone. Jimmy's mother Joannie is also a methadone addict due to her originally getting on it for lupus treatment. Joannie is also alcoholic and enables her son by paying for his bills and his medicine and also giving Jimmy her own methadone. While the family gathers to have an intervention on Jimmy, they also turn to Joannie to convince her to get treatment for her own addiction and she agrees. Jimmy immediately realizes what's going on and refuses to go to treatment, but agrees to listen to his family's letters even though he says it won't change anything. He rejects his mother and sister's pleas, but when his father, who was an alcoholic when he was a child makes his plea, Jimmy listens as his father is emotional and has always maintained a distance from him. Jimmy finally agrees and he and his mother go off to treatment. Epilogue: Three months later both Joannie and Jimmy are doing much better. Joannie is recovering well from her alcoholism and drug addiction and the rehab center is helping her deal with her lupus pain and she is doing much better. She has been sober since November 19, 2010. Jimmy also is recovering well and finally admits to the fact that he's an addict. After treatment he moved to North Carolina and has contact with his son and father every week. He briefly relapsed but has been sober since April 15, 2011. He has been diagnosed with epilepsy and is taking medication as directed after suffering a fractured skull during a seizure. | |||||
141 | 6 | "Cassie" | crack cocaine, oxycodone | January 17, 2011 | |
As a child, Cassie was abandoned by her mother and raised by her father, who married and divorced several women. Her rebellious behavior led him to send her to a behavior modification camp for teenagers that was run like a prison. She is now addicted to crack and oxycodone, a habit she supports by prostituting herself, and has an infant son whom she hardly ever sees. Cassie's family must try to break through her deep distrust of them and stop her father from enabling her further in order to save her. At the intervention, Cassie is furious as she figured out the truth and had been promised it wasn't an intervention. Her refusal to listen causes her grandfather to storm out and she kicks everyone but her father and aunt (the only two people she'll listen to) out. Cassie refuses to listen and throws the treatment center pamphlets around the room in an act of defiance. Her father and aunt break down in tears at Cassie's indifference. Finally, her aunt leaves after giving her a final goodbye and Cassie storms out after her father decides to cut her off. After the failed intervention, Cassie's father stops his last payment on her motel bill and a week later, Cassie finally agrees to treatment. Epilogue: Cassie attended treatment and recovered from her addiction. She was able to forgive the people who hurt her in her life and admitted to being a bitch at the intervention and was even able to joke about it. Cassie completed treatment and moved back to Florida, but totaled her car in June. She claims to be clean, but her family thinks she's using again. | |||||
142 | 7 | "Jimbo" | painkillers, benzodiazepines | January 24, 2011 | |
Jimbo's addiction to painkillers has already resulted in a devastating injury and a strained relationship with his devoted dad. Unable to stop using he now spends his days snorting drugs and flying into rages that have terrorized his family and community. Can an intervention stop this small-town menace? Epilogue: Jimbo threatened his interventionist with violence and was given the choice of rehab or jail. Jimbo chose rehab but was expelled for fighting after 30 days. After relapsing in December 2010, Jimbo has been sober since February 2011. | |||||
143 | 8 | "Jenna" | heroin | January 31, 2011 | |
Jenna, 28, once a sweet-natured and compassionate young girl, endured a brutal childhood that still haunts her and her siblings. Today she steals and manipulates her family to support her destructive heroin habit. Can Jenna and her siblings overcome their past to work together as a family and get Jenna into treatment? | |||||
144 | 9 | "Benny" | alcoholism, various drugs | February 7, 2011 | |
An ambitious inventor and entrepreneur, Benny once dreamed of becoming a millionaire. But stress, drugs, and alcohol have turned his dream into a nightmare. Worst of all, he is no longer a dependable father to his six-year-old daughter. Benny, now 38 and living with his mother, has seen his relationship with his family reach the breaking point, and only an intervention can save him now. | |||||
145 | 10 | "Megan / MaryAnne" | crack cocaine, alcoholism | February 21, 2011 | |
Once happy-go-lucky, Megan, 25, is now a volatile drug addict who scares her family with her unchecked anger. A child of neglect, Megan is now enabled and financed by her guilt-ridden mother. She spends her days drinking and smoking crack. How will Megan react when confronted by her family in an intervention they believe is needed to save her life? After the tragic and shocking loss of her two young children years ago, MaryAnne turned to alcohol to cope with the pain. Today, MaryAnne is the mother of three, but her inability to stay sober has jeopardized the safety of her children. She's lost custody of two and lives in squalor with her youngest daughter. MaryAnne needs an intervention before her tragic streak continues. | |||||
146 | 11 | "Jamie" | alcoholism | March 7, 2011 | |
Jamie abused both drugs and alcohol and at 21 she got sober. However, a fatal overdose that killed her twin sister triggered a relapse. Jamie already has pancreatitis and suicidal tendencies, she needs an intervention fast. | |||||
147 | 12 | "Tiffany" | methamphetamine | March 14, 2011 | |
Tiffany, a former beauty queen, has always wanted the family she never had. Now, after ten years of using crystal meth and looking for love in all the wrong places, Tiffany may lose the one thing she values most, her one-year-old daughter. Her family is terrified that they're going to lose Tiffany, and desperately hope that an intervention will save her from her abusive boyfriend and constant drug use. | |||||
148 | 13 | "Michael" | methamphetamine | March 21, 2011 | |
A talkative, eccentric, antiques collector, Michael, 52, was a military brat who moved with his family all over Europe and the U.S. But what he really wanted was a stable, loving home. After a series of traumatic events, Michael began to do drugs, and now he's a rambling, self-loathing addict. Even worse, his two sons have become his using buddies. Michael needs an intervention to save himself and his children. |
Season 11: 2011
# | # | Subjects | Addiction Topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
149 | 1 | "Brittany" | heroin | June 20, 2011 | |
Brittany once dreamed of becoming a police officer to protect people from the traumas that she faced as a child. But at 22, her goal is slipping away. She's a heroin addict who sells her body to get her next high. Can Brittany's family convince her that it's not too late to get help? | |||||
150 | 2 | "Sarah / Mikael" | heroin | June 27, 2011 | |
Like Romeo and Juliet on heroin, Mikeal and Sarah are a poor boy and a rich girl who have found sanctuary in each other's pain. Sarah's family feels that Mikeal has corrupted their daughter, taking Sarah from a casual pill abuser to a full-blown heroin addict. But now both families now agree that an intervention is their only hope. Will Sarah and Mikeal get help, or help each other tumble deeper into addiction? | |||||
151 | 3 | "Eddie" | alcoholism | July 4, 2011 | |
Eddie, an All-American baseball player in college with offers to play in the majors, was pursuing two master's degrees but school pressure and his father's overbearing expectations pushed Eddie to drink and gamble heavily. His addictions have left him divorced, homeless, and in legal trouble due to five DUI charges. Can an intervention save this once perfect son and hometown hero from self-destruction? | |||||
152 | 4 | "Latisha" | crack cocaine | July 11, 2011 | |
A mother of three, Latisha will go to any lengths to feed her crack addiction, including prostitution. Having been abandoned by her own parents because of their addictions, she's happy with her life and just wants her family to get off her back, but the needs of her young daughter Tuesday are going unmet. There's only one way to save Latisha from her herself: an intervention. | |||||
153 | 5 | "Larry / Megan" | alcoholism / multiple drugs | July 18, 2011 | |
Growing up with parents who demanded hard work, Larry rebelled with a life of crime. Today, he drinks a fifth of brandy a day even though he's a spiritual man whose religion prohibits alcohol. Megan is struggling with her own demons. Her mother divorced and remarried, but Megan never felt included in her new family. She became an addict and even turned to prostitution to pay for her drugs. Can an intervention save Larry from being ostracized by his spiritual community, and can Megan still realize the dreams she once had of becoming a lawyer or professor? | |||||
154 | 6 | "Penny-Lee" | alcoholism | July 25, 2011 | |
Living in a small Hawaiian village, Penny-Lee has an infectious laugh and loves to have fun. But despite having a good family life and four children to be proud of, she's an out-of-control alcoholic who spends most of her time alone, screaming and crying out to no one as she downs beer after beer. An intervention is her family's last hope for their beloved family matriarch. | |||||
155 | 7 | "Luke / Shantel" | crack cocaine / oxycodone | August 1, 2011 | |
Luke, 23, dreams of a career in photojournalism, but his daily cocktail of drugs has derailed his college plans and left both him and his mother struggling to survive on the streets of San Francisco. Shantel uses OxyContin to cope with learning and mood disorders and to find friends in the drug culture. An overprotective mother provides her with money, and now Shantel, who faces potential jail time for a robbery, spends her days feeding her addiction in a motel. Without interventions, Luke and Shantel will continue to see their lives spiral downwards. | |||||
156 | 8 | "Tiffany D." | methamphetamine | August 8, 2011 | |
Tiffany, 24, a former athlete and cheerleader who dreamed of a career in the medical field, has no intention of giving up her IV crystal meth addiction, despite the fact that her four-year-old son is being cared for by her family. Can an intervention help Tiffany to regain her son and her life? | |||||
157 | 9 | "Brittney / Ricardo" | alcoholism / methamphetamine | August 15, 2011 | |
Brittney saw her food addiction transformed into a raging alcohol addiction after gastric bypass surgery. Now she stands to lose her family as they grow weary of her alcohol-fueled antics. Ricardo, is a dedicated dad of three on weekends, but suffers from a daily addiction to meth which threatens to destroy his health, professional success, and relationship with his children. Brittney's and Ricardo's families have been pushed to the brink, and now realize that only an intervention can save their loved ones. | |||||
158 | 10 | "Michelle" | methadone, alprazolam | August 22, 2011 | |
Michelle, 30, looks like an aging mother of two who takes a daily concoction of methadone, Xanax, and blood pressure pills to keep her identity as an edgy party girl alive, while her family begs her to wake up to the harm that her addiction has caused them. Now the family has had enough, and they're finally ready to confront Michelle at an intervention. | |||||
159 | 11 | "Jeff" | alcoholism | August 29, 2011 | |
A college graduate who now works as a genealogist, Jeff can't give up his 30-cans-of-beer-per-day habit even though his health is failing, he recently lost his wife, and his children are struggling to cope with the loss of their mother. Now Jeff faces a choice–his life or his beer. Can an intervention bring him to his senses? | |||||
160 | 12 | "Jeanna" | methamphetamine | September 12, 2011 | |
Jeanna conquered generations of addiction until the murder of her four-year-old son sent her spiraling into a $100-a-day meth addiction. An intervention is the only way to help Jeanna start to heal her troubled soul. |
Season 12: 2012
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
161 | 1 | "Christina" | painkillers, methamphetamine | January 2, 2012 | |
Growing up, Christina had to shuttle back and forth between her drug-addicted mother and neglectful father. Having never received the support she desperately craved, Christina turned to drugs at an early age. Now prescription painkillers and meth have taken over her life, and she's repeated her mother's mistake by losing custody of her son. Only an intervention can free Christina from the devastating cycle of addiction that grips her. Epilogue: Christina agreed to go to treatment after her mother refused to let her continue living in the house. One month into her treatment program, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed medication. After 97 days, she was kicked out for breaking the rules, then moved back in with her mother and relapsed on meth. Christina's father and brother are holding their bottom lines; according to an August 2012 re-airing, she says she is sober. | |||||
162 | 2 | "Dallas" | heroin | January 9, 2012 | |
Strikingly beautiful with a great sense of humor, Dallas is nevertheless addicted to heroin and lives on the streets. After her mother attempted suicide, Dallas turned to drugs to deal with the confusion and pain. But Dallas' mother is in denial about her addiction and supports her "heroin-chic" lifestyle. Dallas' family needs a wake-up call and face her problems head-on if they're going to save her. | |||||
163 | 3 | "Richard K." | methamphetamine | January 16, 2012 | |
A 34-year-old gay man, Richard grew up knowing he was different and never feeling accepted. His stepfather disciplined him severely for his effeminate behavior. Today, Richard lives in subsidized housing and has done everything from dealing to prostituting himself to support his meth addiction. Richard's family will have to make amends to him if they hope to get through to him. | |||||
164 | 4 | "Kimberly" | alcoholism | January 23, 2012 | |
To the outside world, Kimberly lives a dream life in an extravagant mansion without a financial care in the world. But the "dream" is really a nightmare because Kimberly is an alcoholic with no limits. She lives with her boyfriend, who has locked her in a bedroom in an effort to stop her from drinking. Kimberly's father has written her off, but the family must come together or Kimberly will continue to drown her pain in alcohol. Epilogue: After completing treatment, Kimberly moved in with her boyfriend Steven and was arrested four days later after a police officer smelled alcohol on her breath. She was sentenced to 120 days in jail; both Steven and her mother Meg attended counseling at the Betty Ford Center. Since her release, she has moved back in with Steven and resumed drinking. | |||||
165 | 5 | "Suzon" | crack cocaine | January 30, 2012 | |
Once a supermom who took her kids to soccer practice and kept a spotless home, Suzon's life spiraled out of control. Now she lives with her new boyfriend, collects scrap metal, and sells prescription drugs to pay for crack. Suzon needs an intervention, but her mother threatens to hijack the process with her old resentments. Can mom put aside her agenda and help save her daughter? | |||||
166 | 6 | "Dorothy / Ivan" | alcohol, cocaine, self-harm / PCP | February 6, 2012 | |
Neglected as a child by her alcoholic mother, Dorothy is now lost in a haze of drugs, alcohol, and self-inflicted cuts and burns. Ivan was once a rising rap star who got caught up in the "thug life" and PCP addiction. Both need interventions to reclaim the promise of their youth and talent. | |||||
167 | 7 | "Zeinah" | prescription drug abuse | February 13, 2012 | |
Once a successful, outstanding student, Zeinah turned to drugs to deal with the drama-filled divorce between her Christian mother and Muslim father. After her husband overdosed, her drug use increased, and she lost custody of her daughter. Can Zeinah's family forget their grudges and religious differences to come together and save her from her prescription pill death spiral? | |||||
168 | 8 | "Skyler / Jessa" | bath salts / methamphetamine abuse, alcohol abuse | February 20, 2012 | |
When Skyler was a kid, his mother pushed him to do modeling and TV work, but the tension drove Skyler to drugs. Now he uses the new synthetic drug "bath salts," which cause him to hallucinate. Can an intervention save Skyler's sanity–and his life? Jessa's meth and alcohol addiction have caused her to hole up in the her parents' basement, drinking and using drugs until she blacks out, punches walls, and even attempts suicide. An intervention is desperately needed before Jessa overdoses and dies right under her parents' noses. Epilogue: Skyler entered treatment and was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. At the time of airing, it was not known whether his use of "bath salts" was a contributing factor. Jessa completed three-plus months of treatment and returned to Minnesota. Six months later, she relapsed with marijuana. | |||||
169 | 9 | "Julie" | alcoholism | February 27, 2012 | |
Now 40, Julie has often turned to food and alcohol to find comfort in tough times. She had gastric bypass surgery when her weight ballooned, but now she spends her son's child support money on beer and 90-proof peppermint schnapps. She has a failing liver and constant blackouts, often waking up in strangers' beds. Julie needs an intervention before she loses her family–and her life. | |||||
170 | 10 | "Courtney" | heroin | March 5, 2012 | |
Courtney, 20, lives in Miami and injects heroin up to eight times a day, prostituting herself to support both her own habit and her boyfriend's. Her mother, sister, and grandmother want her to get help and are ready to use Florida's legal system to force her into it if they have to. Epilogue: Courtney immediately fled the intervention. A month later, her family signed documents to have her involuntarily sent to court-ordered drug treatment under Florida's Marchman Act. After evading the authorities for two months, she agreed to go to treatment, but left 11 days later against her counselors' advice. She returned to Miami and has resumed her drug use, but has had no contact with her family. | |||||
171 | 11 | "Sean" | alcoholism | March 12, 2012 | |
Growing up in a rough neighborhood, Sean developed anxiety problems and was stigmatized for having an openly gay father. He showed promise as a popular local DJ, but his musical aspirations were ruined once he turned to alcohol. He now drinks constantly, relying on his daughter to look after him and pay the bar tabs he can no longer afford. Epilogue: Sean agreed to go to treatment, but began to have second thoughts during the drive to the center. He agreed to meet with the interventionist the next morning to continue the journey, but never showed up. He has since moved in with his girlfriend, is still drinking, and has had no contact with his father; his daughter plans to attend family counseling at the Betty Ford Center. | |||||
172 | 12 | "Kaylene" | prescription drug abuse | March 26, 2012 | |
As a child, Kaylene was physically abused by her father. Later, she and her mother began using cocaine together. Now Kaylene is a 21-year-old who oozes sweetness and charm but who is unafraid to die and will stop at nothing to get her next fix. After so many years of neglect, can Kaylene's family finally step up and help her get the live-saving treatment she so desperately needs? Epilogue: Against professional advice, Kaylene left treatment after nine days and returned to North Carolina. She moved in with her mother and enrolled in a methadone program. | |||||
173 | 13 | "Terry D. / Leon" | alcoholism / PCP | April 2, 2012 | |
Once a stunning model and devoted mother, Terry binges on vodka every day to escape her mother's taunts and her father's neglect. She ignores her doctor's warning that she will be dead in six months if she doesn't stop drinking. Leon, a 25-year-old Russian-Jewish immigrant and former cello prodigy, smokes PCP to escape from the feelings of disappointment and failure that plague him. Both Terry and Leon have one last chance–an intervention. |
Season 13: 2012
# | # | Subjects | Addiction topics | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
175 | 1 | "Nichole" | alcoholism | August 13, 2012 | |
Nichole, 25, spends her days mostly incoherent and suffering from constant tremors due to a severe alcohol addiction as she struggles to overcome the pain of her sister's betrayal. Epilogue: Nichole completed 99 days of treatment, then left against professional advice. Within 24 hours, she was arrested for public intoxication. She then returned to treatment and realized that in order to live the life she desires, she could never drink again. She moved to Victoria, British Columbia, and works at a sober living facility. | |||||
176 | 2 | "Elena" | methamphetamine, prescription drug abuse | August 13, 2012 | |
Elena, 63, has no intentions of stopping her daily meth addiction, even though her children and grandchildren desperately want their adoring grandmother to get well. Epilogue: After assurances from her daughter and granddaughter that they too were entering treatment, Elena agreed to go. She completed three months of treatment, then returned home to California, where she now lives with and cares for her aged mother. | |||||
177 | 3 | "Katie" | alcoholism, bulimia | August 20, 2012 | |
Twenty-five year-old Katie uses her eating disorder and binge drinking to cope with her mother's secret alcoholism and parents' war with each other while her worried siblings pray someone can step in and save them all. | |||||
178 | 4 | "Dennis" | methamphetamine | August 27, 2012 | |
Once a big-hearted Christian family man, Dennis uses his meth addiction to run from the past that haunts him, while his family falls apart. Epilogue: Dennis left treatment after only three days. His family has maintained their bottom lines and refused contact with him. They plan to attend the Betty Ford family program and move on with their lives. Dennis was arrested on a charge of receiving stolen property and is currently in jail. | |||||
180 | 5 | "Diana" | methamphetamine, alcoholism | September 10, 2012 | |
A former "super mom" to her three children, Diana has exchanged her apron for an alcohol and meth addiction and is unraveling her marriage, family and sense of self-respect. | |||||
181 | 6 | "Britney / Terry K." | bath salts, suboxone / cocaine, fentanyl | September 17, 2012 | |
A family begging her to get help and two overdoses in the last two weeks don't phase 21-year-old Britney as she fearlessly shoots up suboxone and bath salts up to 30 times a day. Terry, 32, is a chef who dreamed of opening and managing his own restaurant, but his career, marriage and parental rights to his nine-year-old daughter have hit a dead end as a result of his $500-a-day cocaine and fentanyl addiction. Epilogue: Britney left treatment, relapsed, and transferred to another program. She completed it and has been sober since July 2012. Terry left treatment after 48 days, moved back home, and got a job as a chef; he has been sober since June 2012. | |||||
182 | 7 | "Amanda" | alcoholism / heroin | October 1, 2012 | |
Amanda, 31, abandoned her dreams of becoming a teacher in favor of heavy drinking (four bottles of wine a day) and a heroin addiction. Her boyfriend is also an addict, and her PTSD-afflicted father provides money and support to feed her habits. Epilogue: After Amanda completed three months of treatment, her boyfriend accepted a 30-day scholarship to the same program. She moved in with him after he finished, and the two have been attending regular 12-step meetings; she has been sober since December 19, 2011. Amanda's father has not undergone counseling for his PTSD, but he has begun sleeping in his bed instead of his office. | |||||
183 | 8 | "Susie / Miriam" | crack cocaine / alcoholism | October 8, 2012 | |
Attractive, charismatic 41-year-old twins, Susie and Miriam, battle crack and alcohol addictions and each other as their career success and families slowly slip away. | |||||
184 | 9 | "Ryan" | alcoholism | October 15, 2012 | |
Ryan, 25, is a sweet, sensitive man whose alcohol addiction is spiraling out of control as he and his fiancée are expecting their first child in a matter of months. | |||||
185 | 10 | "Cher" | alcoholism | October 22, 2012 | |
Loud and spunky 50-year-old Cher's alcohol addiction has led to liver damage and is driving a wedge between herself and her family. Epilogue:Cher's father died while she was in treatment; she relapsed one day after completing the program. Her daughter Brooke stays in contact with her each week and plans to attend counseling at the Betty Ford Center. Cher says she is sober, but her family believes she is still drinking. | |||||
186 | 11 | "Al" | methamphetamine, prescription drug abuse | October 29, 2012 | |
Al, a big guy with a big personality, is sacrificing his relationships with his wife and children to chase his out-of-control meth and painkiller addiction. |
References
- ^ "Intervention: DVDs, Complete Season DVDs & More — Official A&E Store". aetv.com. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- ^ Board Message
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.sacbee.com/2009/10t/04/2229294/comeback-cyclist-chad-gerlach.html Comeback Cyclist Chad Gerlach Living On The Streets Again
- ^ http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/2010/05/03/intervention-tylers-addiction-and-horrific-tragedies/
- ^ http://mydeathspace.com/article/2011/12/06/Austin_Powers_(24)_died_from_a_suspected_heroin_overdose