By Maggie Jessup
When addiction takes hold, the decision to seek treatment rarely happens in isolation. For many families, the first step toward recovery begins not in a rehab facility but around a kitchen table, with an intervention.
“Addiction is still a taboo subject,” says Dr. Leslie Koralek, an internationally recognized interventionist and recovery consultant. “I wanted to shed some light on it. This was a way I could give back.”
Koralek speaks from experience. A person in long-term recovery himself, has transformed his own journey through addiction into a career dedicated to helping others find their way out. Over the years, he has worked with families across the United States and around the world — traveling nationally and internationally to facilitate interventions and collaborate with treatment centers in several countries.
The Role of the Family
Contrary to popular belief, the person struggling with addiction often isn’t the one making the initial call for help. “As I specialize in intervention, it’s most often family members and friends who contact me,” Koralek explains. “When a family contacts me, I give a general overview of what an intervention looks like and get some basic information about the alcoholic or addict.”
That early conversation, he says, is as much about education as it is action. Families often imagine interventions as emotional ambushes, an image fueled by reality TV and popular culture. “I try to dispel the myth that an intervention is an attack,” Koralek says. Instead, the process is structured, guided, and compassionate, emphasizing boundaries and follow-through.
The family’s role doesn’t end once their loved one enters treatment. “I have the family stick to the limits and consequences they set during the intervention,” he says. “That consistency is critical.”
How People Choose a Rehab Facility
For many families, the rehab decision is an overwhelming one, a tangle of options, costs, and philosophies. While glossy websites and celebrity endorsements make some centers look luxurious, not all are legitimate or effective.
“Most programs are similar in their approach: detox, education, group therapy, individual therapy, family therapy, and aftercare,” Dr. Koralek notes. But he’s careful about where he refers people. “I don’t refer to programs I haven’t visited. I want to get a sense of the culture and energy of a program.”
Because he works with families in crisis, he almost always recommends in-patient treatment first. “I’d rather do too much than not enough,” he says. “If the treatment program recommends outpatient later, I’ll support that.”
Having traveled extensively to assess programs in the U.S. and abroad, Koralek has firsthand familiarity with a wide range of facilities from private clinics in Europe and Asia to therapeutic communities in Latin America. “Whether a program is a good fit, I work with the family to figure that out,” he explains. “Both individual and family issues matter, and I take them both into account.”
Relapse and Recovery
Recovery, as Koralek reminds families, is rarely linear. “When there’s a relapse, I recommend that the individual reexamine their aftercare plan,” he says. “In more extreme situations, I might suggest additional treatment, whether in-patient or outpatient.”
While relapse can be discouraging, it’s not a failure, it’s data. It shows what supports may be missing. “I give the individual permission to contact me if they decide to get help again,” he adds. “The goal is to keep the door open.”
His own long-term recovery gives him a unique empathy with both clients and their loved ones. “I’ve been there,” Koralek says simply. “I know what it takes to rebuild a life.”
The Business and Ethics of Treatment
The booming addiction-treatment industry, now worth billions annually in the U.S., is a mix of genuin
e medical care and questionable marketing. “There are several expensive programs where they promise to teach you how to drink ‘normally,” Dr. Koralek says. “One I know of proudly states that you’ll have your own private chef.”
Unlike hospitals, many private treatment centers operate with minimal oversight. “There are some blanket organizations, but membership is voluntary,” he explains. “I’m not sure what role marketing really plays. Some programs have open houses or advertise new drugs to curb cravings, but that’s about it.”
A Bridge Between Work and Recovery
Beyond private interventions, Koralek also helps companies establish Employee Assistance Programs (E.A.P.s), off-site and confidential support systems for employees and their families. “Basically, an E.A.P. is meant to be a resource where employees can receive free, confidential help for any number of issues,” he says.
Research supports their effectiveness: for every dollar spent on an E.A.P., companies save between three and six dollars through reduced absenteeism, improved productivity, and fewer worker’s compensation claims.
In that sense, E.A.P.s offer what many interventions strive for an early, supportive bridge between crisis and care.
Breaking the Taboo
Ultimately, Dr. Koralek’s work is about bringing addiction into the open. “This is still such a taboo subject,” he says, “but the more we talk about it, the more we treat it like any other illness, the more lives we can save.”
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
