Loving and Concerned Sister

Only a few months after my brothers first go at treatment, he was living at home and using again. His use escalated quickly and the son and brother my parents and I know and love quickly disappeared. We lived in fear of his behavior knowing that his disease had taken over once again. My parents were visibly hurt and exhausted; I constantly checked my phone for fear of an emergency. Each day I became more and more concerned about the way addiction had continued to deeply wound our family. My parents frequently let my brother know that the option for treatment was always on the table – he just had to say the word.

Unfortunately, my brother was at a point where he could not see the forest for the trees. He refused treatment and we continued to feel helpless. How could we get him the help we knew he needed?

A good friend of ours who has been sober for four years recommended Ian – he was his interventionist, too. My parents and I chose a wilderness treatment program for my brother through the strong recommendation of family friends and IC. The whole process happened within a few days – Ian was fully available for us and spoke to each one of us on the phone before he arrived in Chicago.

Prior to and during the intervention, Ian remained our voice of reason. As family members, it is so easy for us to be scared and to justify symptoms of addiction. We want to keep our loved ones safe and so frequently it feels that in order to keep them safe we have to keep them close. Ian reminded us that my brother needed to establish healthy independence and adulthood on his own and that the treatment program we had chosen would provide him with these skills and resources.

We spent that long morning terrified that my brother would walk out the door instead of accepting treatment. Ian and his partner were so well versed in the intervention process – they knew exactly how to connect with a struggling twenty year old. My brother spent a significant amount of time deciding whether to accept treatment. Despite this, Ian never lost confidence and he his presence kept my parents and I strong.

My brother is now finishing his 2 month wilderness treatment program and has accepted after care. He will be graduating from his program next week and has started to establish confidence in himself once again.

The morning of my brother’s intervention was filled with every emotion imaginable, but when he walked out of the door with Ian, my parents and I felt only one: relief.

Thank you, Ian.

-A loving and concerned sister

A Loving and Concern Girlfriend, South Carolina

"I.C. was the last on a short list of interventionists I received in an email from a recovery program I had called out of desperation earlier that day. Several of the others had links to websites which I clicked on and was supposed to be impressed, but felt lost instead. At the bottom of the email was a short note: "I think I.C. might be good for your situation. He is younger and more affordable, so that might help with the parents. He's also really successful and compassionate. Good luck..." Read More

Concerned Mom, Ohio

"I had been talking to my twenty year old son for weeks about checking into rehab for his drug use, and I had found the perfect place for him, a treatment center that specializes in working with young, male drug addicts. Unfortunately, my son was balking. He insisted that he could quit on his own, but I knew that was unlikely to happen. As I was talking to the intake counselor at Treatment Center about what to do, she gave me I.C.'s phone number and told me that I could call him, free of charge, just to find out what an Intervention was like and how it worked..." Read More

Concerned Parents, Chicago

"We recommend I.C. as an interventionist wholeheartedly and without reservation. Years from now, when all this is past, you will still be talking about how amazing I.C. was and how grateful you were to find him. I.C. will take care of your child and you with concern, focus, and expertise. He appreciates the gravity of the situation you are in and he handles the responsibility of being allowed into your family at such an intense moment with competence that is well beyond his years..."Read More

Concerned Parents, Chicago

"Families who have loved ones in need of an intervention are often emotionally and psychologically fatigued. Living with anger, worry and frustration becomes an accepted condition, and this allows the substance-abusing individual to maintain a false sense of reality. In our case, we lost influence with our son and were no longer able to cope with the risks and dangers of such a powerfully negative dynamic and family system. ..."Read More

Loving and Concern Parents, South Carolina

"My husband and I chose the interventionist, I.C., when we finally came to the realization that we couldn't help our son anymore ourselves, but that our son needed outside help to be convinced to enter a rehabilitation facility, where he would get the best help he needed. In our search for the right person to help our son, we spoke to a number of interventionists and got their views and input into how they would handle our situation..."Read More

Loving and Concerned Parents, Maryland

"It is a pleasure to write this letter on behalf of I.C. and his work as an interventionist. My husband and I came to the realization that our son was spiraling out of control and there was nothing that we could do to help him. We had been in touch with a recovery program and decided that this was the best option..."Read More

Chicago Area Family

"After a year of escalating drug and alcohol use we finally convinced our 20 year old son to enter into a treatment center. He had been hospitalized three times during the year for trauma suffered after days of partying and psychotic episodes.."Read More

Admission Counselor Treatment Center, Chicago

"I just wanted to tell you, I just got off the phone with a new client. Wow, you did it again. She just cannot say enough about you. You did a great job. You are going to make it hard for me to ever refer any other Interventionist..."Read More

Candee Braunstein, A concerned parent

"I had recently contacted Ian Cunningham for an Intervention service for my teenage son. Ian interventions skills were extremely helpful. He spoke with me at length and took an interest right away in understanding the serious situation with my son's substance abuse. Ian was very professional and courteous...."Read More

Loving parents,Utah

"Our family was introduced to the Ian Cunningham Intervention Services for transport of our son with mental health issues. We were extremely pleased with the safe transport, ease of getting it set up and reasonable cost. We especially appreciated the multiple updates during the travel time....."Read More

Lily, Santa Maria, California

"She had spiraled after a difficult period in her life. She went from being a good student about to graduate from college to associating and living with known gang members and abusing hard drugs. Her drug use was so debilitating she could not think logically and began to lie and steal to get what she wanted, with no concern on the effects on others. We decided to get her into a rehab situation, but her involvement with drugs and gangs made it almost impossible to get her to a safe environment......"Read More

Lou and Betty Rehrig, concerned parents

"My husband and I chose the interventionist, Ian Cunningham at the Cunningham INtervention Services INc when we finally came to the realization that we couldn't help our son any more ourselves, but that our son needed outside help to be convinced to enter a rehabilitation facility, where he would get the best help he needed...."Read More

Brian, Portland, Maine

"My son was suffering. He was volatile, had refused treatment and his symptoms were worsening. We knew he needed help but we couldn’t get him to accept it even after months of arguing and pleading. We called Ian. From the start he was professional, responsive and experienced...."Read More