Use specific questions to compare intervention fees, family preparation, travel, treatment placement, follow-through, and payment terms.
David Gates, CIP
Lead Interventionist
Use specific questions to compare intervention fees, family preparation, travel, treatment placement, follow-through, and payment terms.
A quoted fee tells you little unless the proposal names what happens before, during, and after the meeting. In an intervention pricing conversation, ask who prepares your family, who travels, how treatment placement works, and what follow-through includes. Compare written scope before you compare totals.
Professional intervention can span several days of preparation, travel, a structured meeting, admissions coordination, and support after your loved one decides. Addiction Interventions organizes its work into four phases: a free confidential call, family preparation, the intervention, and ongoing support.
Use the same scope categories for every proposal. A lower total may cover fewer preparation sessions, leave out travel, or stop after the meeting. A higher total may bundle services your family does not need. The written proposal should settle those questions.
Addiction Interventions begins with a free, fully confidential consultation. That call lets us hear what is happening and outline possible next steps with no commitment required. Family coaching and the intervention itself sit in later phases, each with its own scope.
| Scope area | What the written proposal should explain |
|---|---|
| Initial consultation | The fee, confidentiality terms, who joins the call, and whether any commitment is required |
| Family preparation | Who participates, how coaching works, what materials are prepared, and how boundaries are discussed |
| Intervention meeting | The location, lead professional, scheduling assumptions, and plan if your loved one refuses |
| Travel | Which expenses are included, which are billed separately, and who approves changes |
| Treatment placement | How programs are considered, who coordinates admissions, and whether placement support has an end point |
| Follow-through | How the interventionist supports your family during treatment and after the meeting |
A useful script is, “Please separate the professional fee, travel costs, placement support, and follow-through so our family can compare the full scope.”
Ask direct questions and request written answers. Vague labels such as “full service” mean little until the provider lists the work, people, timing, and financial terms behind them.
Start with who will lead the case and what credentials that person holds. Ask what preparation your family will receive before the meeting, how you will plan what to say, and how firm boundaries get set. Clarify what happens if the meeting runs long or must be postponed. Press for detail on airfare, lodging, local transportation, and schedule changes. Confirm whether the fee covers treatment research, placement coordination, and admissions support. Ask how long follow-through continues and what ends that support. Finish with deposit, cancellation, refund, payment-plan, and sliding-scale terms.
At Addiction Interventions, callers speak directly with co-founders David Allen Gates and Jennifer Miela-McDaniel rather than a centralized call center. David is a Certified Intervention Professional and Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor who has led over 1,500 interventions. Jennifer began working as a drug and alcohol counselor in 1993 and is trained in five intervention models.
Ask who will actually arrive at your location. A company founder’s credentials do not automatically describe every person who may work on a case.
Get every answer in writing.
Preparation should give your family a plan for the meeting and for the response that follows. During the second phase of our process, we coach family members on what to say, what to expect, and how to hold loving but firm boundaries.
Ask how the interventionist will decide who attends. The provider should also explain how family members prepare statements, respond to denial, and avoid arguments that pull the conversation away from treatment. Compassion can sit beside clear limits.
The preparation plan should match the situation. Addiction Interventions works with alcohol and drug use, mental health concerns, dual diagnosis, teen cases, executive cases, and family interventions. A teen intervention may need different participants and boundaries than an executive intervention with privacy concerns.
Bring specific observations to the first call. Dates, missed responsibilities, health changes, threats, financial problems, and prior treatment attempts give the interventionist usable information. The Mayo Clinic overview of drug addiction can help you identify behaviors worth reporting. Leave diagnosis to a licensed clinician.
Ask how much preparation is included, how your family can reach the interventionist between sessions, and what would create an added fee.
Travel terms can change the final amount, so discuss them before anyone books a flight or hotel. Addiction Interventions serves families in all 50 states through a network of certified interventionists who travel to the client’s location.
Our headquarters is at 3822 Campus Dr #300-B, Newport Beach, CA 92660. Services can take place in a home or facility, so the headquarters address alone does not tell you who will travel or what expenses may apply.
Ask whether the quote includes airfare, lodging, meals, local transportation, and booking changes. Find out who chooses the itinerary and whether your approval is required before costs rise. The proposal should also explain what happens to travel expenses if your loved one leaves, refuses to attend, or the family postpones the meeting.
Ask before authorizing travel.
Placement support needs its own written scope. At Addiction Interventions, ongoing support includes treatment placement coordination and follow-through during treatment and after the intervention meeting.
Ask how the interventionist evaluates possible programs. The answer should address the person’s substance use, mental health symptoms, age, medical needs, location, and financial limits. For alcohol treatment, the NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator offers criteria families can use when reviewing care. SAMHSA’s treatment locator is another place to search for mental health and substance use services.
The financial conversation should cover possible conflicts. Ask whether the intervention provider receives compensation from any treatment program, how many placement options your family will review, and what happens if the first program declines admission or has no opening.
Intervention fees and treatment costs belong in separate columns. Insurance may treat them differently, and a treatment center may require its own clinical assessment before admission. No interventionist can guarantee that a specific program will admit your loved one.
Sliding-scale language needs a written definition. The term may mean an income-based reduction, a payment plan, a smaller service package, or a limited discount. Those arrangements produce different costs and different levels of support.
Ask how eligibility is determined, what documents are required, and whether the service scope changes. Confirm the amount due before travel begins, the remaining payment dates, and any cancellation terms. A payment plan spreads an agreed amount across dates. A sliding scale changes the amount according to stated criteria.
Our initial consultation is free and fully confidential. The free call covers listening to your situation and explaining options. Any later service should have clear financial terms before your family proceeds.
Insurance requires two separate questions. First, ask whether the intervention service can be submitted under your plan. Then ask what coverage may apply to the recommended treatment program. Request available billing codes and receipts from the provider, and confirm coverage directly with the insurer. An insurer makes its own benefit and reimbursement decisions.
A sliding scale, payment plan, insurance benefit, and free consultation are four different financial arrangements. Ask the provider to name which one applies.
Pricing can wait during immediate danger. Call 911 if someone may harm themselves or another person, has a suspected overdose, or needs emergency medical care.
For suicidal thoughts or an emotional, mental health, or substance use crisis, call or text 988. The SAMHSA 988 resource explains how the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline connects people with crisis counselors.
Addiction Interventions maintains 24/7 availability for families in crisis. Emergency dispatch remains the role of 911, while 988 provides crisis counseling. Once the immediate danger has passed, our team can discuss whether a planned intervention fits the situation.
Safety comes first.
A useful total requires details about preparation, location, travel, the interventionist, placement coordination, and follow-through. Addiction Interventions provides a free confidential consultation so your family can discuss the situation before deciding on services.
Availability and terms require direct confirmation with our team. Our free consultation is separate from any payment arrangement for later services, so ask for written eligibility and scope details.
Coverage depends on the service and your plan’s terms. Ask the intervention provider what documentation is available, then verify intervention benefits and treatment benefits separately with your insurer.
Your proposal should explain the refusal plan before the meeting occurs. Preparation may cover family boundaries, future communication, placement alternatives, and follow-through, but no provider can guarantee treatment acceptance.
Addiction Interventions serves clients across all 50 states. Our network of certified interventionists can provide in-home or facility-based interventions at the client’s location.
You speak directly with co-founders David Allen Gates or Jennifer Miela-McDaniel rather than a centralized call center. The consultation is free, confidential, and available 24/7.
Call Addiction Interventions at 949-776-7093 for a free and fully confidential consultation. Bring your scope questions, any written proposals you have received, and a short timeline of recent concerns. Our team serves families nationwide from our headquarters at 3822 Campus Dr #300-B, Newport Beach, CA 92660.
About the Author
David Allen Gates is a Certified Intervention Professional (CIP) and founder of Addiction Interventions. He has personally led more than 1,500 family interventions nationwide.
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