Dear Steve,
We knew our son was in trouble. He was homeless and unable to show up dependably for his job. We suspected drugs but were met with a bored denial when we mentioned it to him. We decided that a certain facility could rehab his life whether he was doing drugs or not. They referred us to Steve Bruno, a graduate who they said would probably be able to steer our son into the program. After calling Steve, we waited a few days for him to be available (he was in another intervention). When we met him he told us his personal drug use story...several failed "rehabs", lies, broken promises, manipulation of relatives, the general working plan of an addict. He told us that he advised against a confrontational intervention, knowing that it would activate an addict's denial. He advised that he be introduced to our son as a graduate of the program, and that he just tell his story of his own life to our son, and that he establish himself as a trusted confidant "who has been there". He then asked us about the relationship of each family member and each friend to our son, because he was seeking to learn who was trusted by our son. When he understood who the most trusted allies were, he developed a plan for a close friend of our son to introduce Steve to our son. Concurrently he gave specific instructions of what the "trusted allies" were to say to our son in a meeting wherein they withdrew all hope of future support until he went to the program. As with all interventions, there were daily surprises requiring fast thinking and revisions in the plan, constant communication via telephone to the interested parties, and exclusion of the parties who were not perceived as trusted by our son. Steve orchestrated the entire drama with insight and finesse. Within 48 hours of the family meeting in which support was withdrawn, our son decided on his own to go to the facility. Steve then drove him, and later advised us that there was indeed an extremely serious drug addiction. All this was accomplished without our son being required to admit drug use to the family members or to his friends. We have confidence that because he went voluntarily, he will eventually lead a drug-free life.
B. W.
Thank you again, Steve, for sacrificing your Holidays, and working so patiently with us all. The satisfaction and thrill I saw in your face after she agreed to go must be the reason you can do this over and over. She's already called with the first, "I wanna come home", but I think that snapped us to attention, and she told her to give it a try. Her sister was VERY low Saturday night and Sunday (she said your call made her feel a lot better), but that call from Kirsten probably brought back the reality of her coming home without treatment. Laura sounded more like herself last night. My family is still treating me like I alone committed Kirsten to an insane asylum , and if it doesn't work out I'll be strung up, tarred and feathered, but I'm dealing with it. Your talk about controlling relationships has actually helped me to shut down some of the negativity I receive on a daily basis. Okay, so I turned my phone off, but I did tell my mom I wouldn't listen to any negative comments and had to ask her to leave my house yesterday. She just laughs at me, but if felt good to have that control.
Thank you again, Steve. I don't know how I'll ever thank you for all you did. If there is ever anything I can do, let me know. Clarice.
QUESTION: We're all trying to decide how much contact we should try to have with Kirsten right now. Laura was wanting everyone to call and write and send packages, but Jane and I talked about letting Kirsten settle in a little.
Dear Steve,
It was about a month ago that we learned our oldest son who lived halfway across the state of Colorado had become a heroin addict. The night we learned of his problem, his mother, one of his two brothers and I (his step mother), armed with no more than an hour worth of internet research, arrived unannounced at his apartment at 10:30 p.m. We then proceeded blindly into the chaos that is associated with addiction to this drug. I have described to friends and family that it was like throwing feathers in the wind. We would seem to have a plan and then halfway into it, that plan would suddenly turn out to be the worst plan ever laid. Other plans were arrived at, which also failed to materialize as intended. We spent two days dragging him between emergency rooms, public health departments and clinics. After two days of missing work, we drove the 250 miles home whereupon his Father took over. His experience with our son was the same as ours: lots of frustration and little or no progress in finding where to get the required help. Our son was adamant that he did not want to be in a methadone program. He also had the idea that he would be able to simply attend Narcotics Anonymous with some group therapy thrown in and that would suffice to win this battle. We soon learned that even if he consented to a detox program in a local hospital and wanted to get treatment, there were no facilities that would have a place for him for two to three weeks. His dad arrived home three days later as confused and frightened as the Moms. Next was more surfing on the Internet for drug rehabilitation@ (or something similar), and finally we came across a website that made sense to us. We hoped that our son would be interested too. The person that I called that day called me later that afternoon and I explained we were simply at a loss as to where to turn to for help. The suggestion to try a private interventionist was welcome news. We had already become as dangerous to our son's recovery as we could be.
That is how we came to you Steve. Finally, for the first time in more that a week we felt hopeful. We realized how intricate the dance between our son and his drug addiction was. Immediately, through telephone conversations, you began your plan. You spoke with our entire family and family friends, all of our son=s friends, and began to get to know the persons that could, should, or should not become factors in persuading our son to make a life saving decision. That decision to seek treatment would not have been possible without your calming and constructive influence. The intervention was as much for us as for our son. Your succinct and positive instruction and guidance, as well as your ever-prevailing sense of hope precipitated the result that we had all been praying for. After only one week, our son is a recognizable person from the one that had been lost for the previous eight months. There is a light at the end of this very dark tunnel for us but most importantly for him. This is truly the result of your assistance. We will always be eternally grateful.
It's been almost a week and a half since you last graced our doorstep. From the first moment that we contacted you to help our son, there was hope. And this hope grew stronger as each day passed while working with you during the intervention. It continues to grow as we learn of our son's determination to leave the chaos behind. We now fully realize, that left to our own devices, we alone could not have helped our son.
Steve,
I was glad to see your email. I hope things are going well with you. I have wanted to contact you and let you know how much I appreciated the time and care you gave to our family. It was by far the hardest thing I've done to this point to show how much I care about someone and one of the most emotionally draining experiences. I don't think we could have done it without you. I wanted to tell you I got the most awesome phone call from Jimmy yesterday. It was the first time he had contacted me since our short goodbye before he left. He sounded so good. He told me about his experience to date at the center, how the coursework is really making him think and how much better he is feeling and that he didn't realize how bad he had been feeling. I was talking to a much more hopeful, positive person and his humor was there too. I wanted to cry - I know I'm getting my brother back! I know you have probably worked with families who have dealt with a drug situation for much longer or seen more devastation. But I feel so blessed that we acted and found someone like you to lead us through this very difficult time and that Jim accepted the help before we went years and years down the road. Words seem pretty inadequate to thank you but I want you to know that I feel your 'calling' to do this kind of work is amazing and one that saves lives and gives so much hope to a situation that often leaves everyone feeling hopeless.
Janice
Dear Steve,
I can't seem to find the right words to express how grateful we are for the intervention with our son. I thought intervention was a third party who helped communication between the addict and the family. I did not realize the scope of your job. Not only did you become a friend and an ally for our son but you also taught me (the mother) the importance of my role in my son's addiction. You overcame an addict's hostility to treatment, a father who was at the end of the line, a controlling emotional mother and a legal system that was not cooperating. Each of these things are difficult in themselves but throw all four together and you have an uphill battle. All this you overcame without being confrontational and letting things get out of hand.
I found strength in your words and I will never forget you or your words of wisdom. In closing, I will simply say THANK YOU!!!!!! Please feel free to use James or I as a reference.
J&J
Dear Steven,
Thanks! With your guidance and coaching through every step of the process we (you) were able to get Tommy into a treatment program. You succeeded where we previously all had failed.
At the time the family finally decided that we needed the help of an interventionist, we were at a complete loss as to how to get him into treatment. Most of us knew that this would probably be the last chance for Tommy to take back control of his life or to continue to be a part of our lives.
You clearly understood what Tommy was going through and what he needed to hear from each of us for Tommy to make the choice to get treatment for himself. He was able to relate to you and identify with your experience. Prior to your assistance he only felt conflict with us and that we were trying to control his life.
Our prayers of Tommy getting help have been answered. We realize that it may be difficult for him to complete the program but deep down we feel that the program is best suited for his individual needs and that he will get his life back by completing the program and using skills learned in the program for the rest of his life.
My only regret is that the family did not ask for your services sooner as this may have spared us all some of the devastating effects of his addiction.
Thanks again for a very difficult job well done.
Sincerely,
A.D.
Dear Steve
How do I even begin to say "THANK YOU"!?!? You are an amazing person and I am so thankful for your guidance and assistance in helping me to understand and deal with my daughter's addiction. I truly believe if it were not for you Sharon would still be living from place to place feeding her addiction.
Things did not always go as planned with her moving every couple of days, but you never gave up. You were able to provided knowledge and a plan for each new crisis, giving me hope when everyone around me was saying it was hopeless. When the time was right you came in and spent hours with key members who would be involved in the intervention, giving insight for the ones who could not fathom how addiction controls a person.
You put it all together and made it possible for us to get through to Sharon for her to agree to get help. As you know she is now in treatment getting her life back on track. For that I am forever grateful to you and thankful to have found you. I hope that others who are distraught over a loved ones addiction are able to find you so that you can continue to provide families with calm during the chaos of addiction, because you are truly gifted in what you do. Any time you need a reference, please feel free to use my name and number.
Sincerely,
G.C.
Dear Steve,
When I discovered that my daughter was using drugs, my whole world fell apart.
The worst feeling of all was that of helplessness. I was uneducated with regard to drugs and the only thing I knew was that I need to get her some help but I didn't know how. She didn't want to go to rehab and I had no idea how to get her there until I met you.
Now when my daughter is getting help she needs, I am writing this to express my gratitude for all your help during this most difficult time of my family.
We are deeply grateful for all your compassion, efforts, never ending patience and hard work that you put into it and I know that it would not work if it didn't come from the heart.
We will never forget all that you have done for us. Without your support, education, and long phone calls, I don't think we would be able to get thru it.
Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.
Sincerely,
L.Z. and C.Z.
Dear Steve,
Where do I begin? It all happened so quickly, thanks to you. I truly believe in providence, and every door was opened and every step fell into place. All in a little over a weeks time, I placed a call to the treatment facility, who referred me to a "professional interventionist", that was you. I placed the call to you Steve, and decided on the spot that you were who we needed to be the mediator, to draw all of the pieces of the puzzle together, in order to approach my son about going into rehab, for an approximate 5 year use of various drugs, ending in Meth.
As of this date my son is at the facility starting his program of withdrawal, detox, and counseling, thanks to the guidance and direction consisting of many, many phone calls with you.
Thank you for helping me keep my calm in times of panic, when things didn't go exactly as planned. Thank you for the education you gave me regarding the devastation associated with the drug abuse. Thank you for being there, no matter when, no matter what. I know I could not have done it with out your assistance, Steve. It truly takes someone outside of the loop, to orchestrate, and approach the person in need of help. You befriended my son and encouraged him to move on with his life. Thank you too, for flying with him to the facility, to insure that he got there safe and sound.
What an experience! I am so proud of my son for making the decision to turn his life around, for himself, and his family. We couldn't have done it without you Steve. We are eternally grateful.
Dear Steven,
Words can not express how thankful we feel and how deep our gratitude is. You probably get many of these letters and you're very humble about it, but we want you to know that because of you, JP is given another opportunity in life and as such, you've made a tremendous difference in our lives.
Although JP had several near death incidents, he still refused to seek help despite all the pleas from his friends and family. We were frustrated, hopeless and had nowhere or no one to turn to.
We were extremely fortunate to have reached you. You are extremely knowledgeable and informative. Not only did you answer all our questions, you volunteered an abundance of pertinent and helpful information and advice. You were there from the very inception, answering all our questions, educating and informing us. You provided us with advice and suggestions. We can't tell you how much that meant to us in our time of need.
You flew cross-country to work with us. Steve, you were incredibly amazing. Not only did you work non-stop, you had such insight and was extremely thorough in your planning. It was evident throughout the process, the effort, the amount of thought and care that went into the private intervention. You spoke to each one of us individually and together as a group countless of times. You walked us through every step of the way and offered constant encouragement and coaching. You incorporated in your methods to allow JP to make the decision with dignity and respect. Within 48 hours, your intense efforts resulted in JP agreeing to seek help. Even afterwards, you felt that your involvement did not end there. You assured us that you would fly back if required and were constantly following up on the status.
Steve, you are an exceptionally special individual that always go above and beyond. The commitment, dedication and professionalism that you exhibited are unparalleled and would make a critical difference whether someone like JP will succeed. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Dear Steve,
I wanted to write to thank you for all your help in getting my nephew into your facility for treatment. We believe Michael has an opportunity to turn his troubled life around and we wish you and him the best of luck!
I want to address the intervention and Steve Bruno's role. We would have been unlikely to succeed in getting Michael's voluntary admission without him. Steve was the essence of professionalism, dedication and perseverance. What we know now is we were not equipped to deal with the complex issues of someone with substance abuse problems. Even though Michael was hospitalized at the time we undertook the intervention I doubt we would have gotten his cooperation at all, let alone so swiftly. Steve enabled us to mobilize all family members toward a common goal. He did that by making himself available to each and everyone by phone from the minute I first called him then made himself available to us in person - half a continent away from his home - less than 48 hours later. He quickly assessed the family players and recommended the roles each should play in the process of getting Mike to you and tying up appropriate loose ends. When we got a commitment from Michael, Steve was willing to immediately drive him to your facility which gave us all a sense of relief. Should you ever need a testimony/reference for Steve's work, please call us and we will accommodate to the best of our ability.
Sincerely,
P.D.
Steven,
Sorry this note has come so late. It is partly because I was having a hard time thinking of the right words to express to you my thanks and my feelings. How can I thank someone for rescuing and saving my precious child? My child that was determined to destroy her life with drugs. How you worked your magic with all our crazy family problems I will never truly understand. You came on the scene with such a positive attitude. The moment we met I knew we had found the solution to our inability to get through to her. The first meeting gave me hope I had given up on, and your first meeting with her was just perfect. You are so great with your talent to get to the center, what is real, from all the lies and excuses. God bless you Steve. I wish I could tell everyone with a loved child battling with these horrid drugs to call you. I will be forever grateful to you, and grateful for following up to see that everything is going okay, and it is. Keep doing what you're doing. It is your calling.
L.
Dear Sirs,
I wanted to take time to write a letter expressing my sincere appreciation of the job Steve did for us here with the intervention with Kent . Not only was Steve able to talk to him in a way he could relate to, but he also made my daughter and me feel hope for the first time in a long time. He helped us understand just what we needed to do, and made it all seem possible each step of the way. He basically was here making a dramatic attempt to save my husband from a horrible life of addiction and yet we found him very easy going, soothing and in control of the situation we had long ago lost control of. He helped take the stress out of a very stressful event for me, and for that I will always be so very thankful.
I don't know if there are other people out there like Steve, doing the kind of work he does, but I must tell you that I would highly recommend him for anyone looking for the sort of help he brought to us. We don't know where this will all end for Kent , but there now is a chance for him that we didn't know about only 2 weeks ago, and I am just so thankful we had Steve to help us through the front end, and now have y'all working on the addiction. Thanks to Steve, we got Kent through your front door.
Sincerely,
N.B.